Three Women Scholars Appointed to Provost Positions at Colleges and Universities

Suzanne Sherman was recently appointed provost and vice-president for academic affairs at New College of Florida in Sarasota. Dr. Sherman is an associate professor of chemistry who joined the faculty at New College in 1989. She has served as associate provost since 2018, was chair of the faculty from 2013 to 2016, and was chair of the Natural Sciences Division from 1999 to 2002. Her research interests span many areas of bioinorganic chemistry, including interactions of metals with biological ligands and metals in medicine.

Dr. Sherman earned a bachelor’s degree from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System. She holds a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Francine Conway, a child psychologist, has been named provost and executive vice chancellor of academic affairs at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She has been serving as dean of the Graduate School of Applied Psychology. She joined the faculty at Rutgers in 2016. From 2008 to 2016, Dr. Conway was chair of the psychology program at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.  Her research is focused on the psychology of aging and on child psychopathology.

A native of Guyana, Dr. Conway, is a graduate of Cornell University. She earned a master’s degree at Columbia University and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Adelphi University.

Melody Tankersley is the new senior vice president and provost at Kent State University in Ohio. She has been serving as interim provost. Earlier, Dr. Tankersley was senior associate provost and dean of graduate studies. She joined the university’s faculty in 1993 and is a professor in the College of Education, Health, and Human Services. Her research focuses on supporting parents and teachers in responding to the emotional needs of children and students.

Dr. Tankersley holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree both in special education from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She earned a doctorate in special education from the University of Virginia.