New Administrative Roles for Nine Women at Colleges and Universities in the United States

Priscilla Arungwa was appointed director of students at the Blanding campus of Utah State University. She most recently served as manager of academic and career advising at Lone Star College Cy-Fair in Texas. Earlier, she was a career services coordinator at Prairie View A&M in Texas.

Dr. Arungwa earned a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. She holds an MBA and a doctorate in educational leadership from Prairie View A&M University.

Karen Ferrer-Muniz was appointed associate vice president for enrollment management at Utica College in New York. She was the associate dean of students and director of minority student affairs at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.

Ferrer-Muniz earned a bachelor’s degree from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico with majors in political science and social sciences. She holds a master’s degree from the University at Albany in social sciences and Latin American studies. She is currently a doctoral candidate at the University at Albany.

Fran Pharis was named architect for the Fred Carl Jr. Small Town Center at Mississippi State University. Pharis previously worked at several private architecture firms, as well as for a company specializing in water purification systems.

Pharis is a graduate of Hinds Community College in Mississippi and holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Mississippi State University.

Kedra Ishop was named vice president for enrollment management at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She has been serving as vice provost for enrollment management at the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the University of Michigan in 2014, Dr. Ishop spent nearly two decades in admissions at the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Ishop holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a master’s degree in higher education administration, and a doctorate in educational administration, all from the University of Texas at Austin.

Laura McPhie Oliveira was appointed interim vice president of enrollment management at Brenau University in Gainesville, Georgia. Since 1999, she has served as senior associate consultant for Ruffalo Noel Levitz. She is the former vice president for enrollment and planning at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.

Dr. Oliveira is a graduate of Amherst College in Massachusetts, where she majored in American studies and English. She holds a master’s degree in education from Boston College and a doctorate in higher education leadership from the University of Massachusetts.

Yolanda Bevill is the new vice president for university communications at Colorado State University. She was the chief public affairs officer at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Earlier in her career, Bevill worked for the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Bevill earned a law degree from South Texas Law College and a degree in public communications from Syracuse University.

Rosalie M. Rodriguez was appointed senior associate dean of students for equity and inclusion at Colorado College. She will also serve as director of the Butler Center. Rodriguez most recently served as director of multicultural student services at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Earlier, she served as special assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

Rodriguez earned a bachelor’s degree in biocommunication from Juniata College, and a master’s degree in community psychology and social change from Pennsylvania State University.

Gretchel Hathaway was named vice president of diversity, equity, and inclusion at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She has been serving as dean of diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at Union College in Schenectady, New York.

Dr. Hathaway holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Manhattanville College in Harrison, New York. She earned a master’s degree in psychology from Yeshiva University in New York and a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Pittsburgh.

Stacy Grooters was appointed director of the Boston College Center for Teaching Excellence, which provides support for faculty and graduate student instructors to create engaging and inclusive learning environments. She is the former director of faculty programs for the center.

Dr. Grooters earned a master’s degree in English from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a doctorate from the University of Washington in Seattle.