Colleges and Universities Appoint Eight Women to Administrative Positions

Denise M. Baird is the new assistant provost of accreditation and academic accountability at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Baird was associate provost at Franklin College in Indiana, where she served as the college’s accreditation liaison officer to the Higher Learning Commission.

Dr. Baird is a graduate of the University of Akron in Ohio, where she majored in sociology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Lauren Thomas has been named director of academic advising initiatives at Virginia Tech. Thomas has served as interim director since fall 2019. She began her career at Virginia Tech in December 2013 after serving as assistant advising coordinator at Radford University in Virginia.

Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Virginia Tech and a master’s degree in counseling and human development from Radford University.

Iika McCarter has been named director of the Office of Admissions at Mississippi University for Women. She has served as assistant director since October 2006 and has been a staff member at the university for 25 years.

McCarter holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mississippi University for Women.

Lisa Blazer has joined the Division of Enrollment and Academic Services at Texas A&M University as associate vice president for enrollment services. She most recently served as senior associate vice provost for academic innovation at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Dr. Blazer is a graduate of Missouri Baptist University, where she majored in piano performance. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in organizational development from the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio.

Anca Matcovschi was promoted to director of statewide and online recruitment at Utah State University. She has been the online marketing manager with the university’s marketing and communications division.

Matcovschi holds both a bachelor’s and master’s in marketing and business communications from Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi, Romania, and an MBA from Utah State University.

Jane Wildermuth will be the new head of the Special Collections and Archives Department in the Wright State University Libraries. Wildermuth has worked at the University Libraries for 22 years.

Wildermuth earned a bachelor’s degree in history and sociology and a master’s degree in history from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Jacqueline Terrassa was appointed the Carolyn Muzzy Director of the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine. Terrassa, who currently serves as the Woman’s Board vice president for learning and public engagement at the Art Institute of Chicago, will assume her role in October.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Terrassa earned a bachelor’s degree at Washington University in St. Louis and a master of fine arts degree from the University of Chicago.

Tara Hart is the new vice president of enrollment and student development at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. She is the former associate director of admissions at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.

Dr. Hart is a graduate of Wayne State College in Nebraska, where she majored in human service counseling. She earned a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and an educational doctorate from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas.