Eight Women Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Positions in Higher Education

Erika Jordan was appointed vice president for alumni engagement at Boston University. For the past six years, she has served as assistant vice chancellor for alumni relations and constituent engagement at the University of California, Irvine. She will assume her new duties on June 1.

Jordan earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Southern California.

Daye Dearing will serve as the director of the Women’s Business Center at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. She has been on the staff at the university since 2005, most recently as coordinator of internships and grants.

Dearing is a graduate of Delta State University in Mississippi, where she majored in marking. She holds a master’s degree in workforce education leadership from Alcorn State University.

Candace Rypisi was promoted to assistant vice provost and director of student-faculty programs at the California Institute of Technology. Since 2007, she has served as director of the Office of Student-Faculty Programs.

Dr. Rypisi is a graduate of Arizona State University, where she majored in women’s studies. She holds a master’s degree in English from Colorado State University and an educational doctorate from the University of Southern California.

Courtney Thornton has been named vice provost for strategic planning and institutional effectiveness at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro. Dr. Thorton was associate vice provost for academic personnel and policy at North Carolina State University since February 2017 and has been an adjunct assistant professor since 2009.

Dr. Thornton earned her a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and science education, a master’s degree in higher education with a student affairs concentration, and a doctorate in higher education administration, all from North Carolina State University.

Deborah Accurso is the new director of enrollment management at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was director of admissions in the School of Adult and Graduate Education at the college. She joined the staff at Cedar Crest in 2018.

Accurso received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She holds a master’s degree in anthropology from The New School in New York City.

Vareva Harris is the new assistant vice president for enrollment management at Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. She has served the college as an English learning specialist; director for scholarships administration and transportation programs; and associate vice president for sponsored programs, government relations, corporate relations, and community relations.

Dr. Harris earned a bachelor’s degree in the teaching of English from Benedict College. She holds a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Columbia College, and a doctorate of management degree in organizational leadership from the University of Phoenix.

Gloria Umberger has been named associate vice president for research and director of industry research collaborations at Pennsylvania State University, effective May 1. She is the former assistant vice president for industry relations at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Dr. Umberger attended the University of Kentucky where she earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy, a master of public health degree, and a Ph.D. in anatomy and neurobiology.

LaWanna Gilbert-Bell has been promoted to director of the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research at the University of Louisiana Monroe. She was associate director and has worked in the office for the past 12 years.

Gilbert-Bell holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in educational technology leadership from the University of Louisiana Monroe.