Six Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointments of Women to Dean Positions

Lis Pankl was named dean of library and information services at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Since 2016, Dr. Pankl has been serving as head of Graduate and Undergraduate Services, associate librarian for the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Earlier, she held library posts at Louisiana State University, the University of Kansas, and Stony Brook University in New York.

A native of Cheney, Washington. Dr. Pankl earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Washington State University. She holds master’s degrees from Abilene Christian University in Texas, the University of North Texas, and the University of Utah.  Dr. Pankl earned her Ph.D. in geography at Kansas State University.

Taléa R. Drummer-Ferrell is the new dean of students at Kent State University in Ohio. She has been serving as interim dean since last October. Earlier, Dr. Drummer-Ferrell served as director of Kent State’s Student Multicultural Center.

Dr. Drummer-Ferrell is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she majored in family studies. She holds a master’s degree in college student personnel from the University of Louisville and a Ph.D. in higher education administration and student personnel from Kent State.

Stephanie Nesbitt was appointed dean of the School of Business and Justice Studies at Utica College in New York. She is an associate professor and director of the MBA program and has served as associate dean of the School of Business and Justice Studies for several years.

Dean Nesbitt earned a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College in New York. She holds an MBA from Syracuse University and her juris doctorate from the University at Buffalo.

Aarika Camp was named vice president and dean of students at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Camp has been serving as the associate dean of student services at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. Earlier in her career, she held student affairs posts at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and Florida International University.

Dr. Camp is a graduate of the University of Miami, where she majored in women’s literature and political science. She holds a master’s degree in college student personnel from the University of Florida and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Florida Atlantic University.

Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou was named the tenth dean of the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She has been serving as dean of the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Before joining McGill in 2015, Dr. Bajeux-Besnainou worked for two decades at George Washington University School of Business in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Bajeux-Besnainou holds master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics applied to finance from the Université Paris-Dauphine in France.

Dorie J. Gilbert will be the next dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Prairie View A&M Univerity in Texas. She has been serving as dean of graduate studies at the university. Before coming to Prairie View, Dr. Gilbert was professor and director of the master of social work program at Norfolk State University in Virginia. Earlier, she taught at the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin for 20 years.

A native Texan, Dr. Gilbert received a bachelor’s degree in engineering management, a master of social work degree, and a Ph.D. in social work, all from the University of Texas at Austin.