Three Universities Announce the Appointments of Women to Dean Positions

Debora Jackson was appointed dean of the Robert A. Foisie Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, effective January 1. Dr. Jackson has been serving as the director of operations for All Girls Allowed, Inc., a nonprofit organization focused on educating and empowering women and girls. She is the author of Meant for Good: Fundamentals in Womanist Leadership (Judson Press, 2020).

Dr. Jackson holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems and operations management from Indiana University Bloomington. She earned master’s degrees in management and manufacturing engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Jackson also holds a master of divinity degree and a doctorate in ministry from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Massachusetts.

Beverly Henry was named interim dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at Northern Illinois University. She is the director of the doctorate program in health sciences at the university. Dr. Henry has previously served as associate dean for academic affairs in the college, as well as interim chair in the School of Interdisciplinary Health Professions.

Dr. Henry is a 1983 graduate of Northern Illinois University, where she majored in dietetics, nutrition, and food science. She holds a master’s degree in nutrition and medical dietetics from the Univerity of Illinois at Chicago and a Ph.D. in higher education from Loyola University of Chicago.

Margaret Shadduck was appointed vice president for regional campuses and dean of the College of Applied and Technical Studies at Kent State University in Ohio. She currently serves as associate dean and faculty and unit director of New College at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. She will join Kent State on April 1, 2021.

Dr. Shadduck earned a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College with majors in mathematics and East Asian Studies. After a short stint as an actuary, she went to graduate school, earning a master’s degree in neuroscience from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois,  and a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.