Universities Announce the Appointment of Six Women to Dean Positions

Celine Parreñas Shimizu was named dean of the Arts Division at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Dr. Shimizu has been serving as director of the School of Cinema and professor of cinema studies, as well as a member of the graduate faculty in sexuality studies at San Francisco State University. Prior to that, she was a professor of Asian American, film and media, and feminist studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara for 15 years.

Professor Shimizu holds a bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned a master of fine arts degree in production and directing from the School of Theatre, Film and Television at the Univerity of California, Los Angeles and a  Ph.D. from the Program in Modern Thought and Literature at Stanford University.

Amanda Thein was appointed dean of the Graduate College at the University of Iowa. She has been serving as associate dean for faculty and academic affairs and professor of literacy, culture, and language in the College of Education at the university. Dr. Thein joined the faculty at the university in 2013 and was promoted to full professor in 2018. Earlier, she taught at the University of Pittsburgh for six years.

Dr. Thein is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder where she double majored in journalism and English. She earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Denver and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction in English education from the University of Minnesota.

Danica Hays has been named dean of the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She joined the faculty in 2015 as a professor and executive associate dean and has served as interim dean since August 2020.

Dr. Hays earned her doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision, with an emphasis in multicultural research, from Georgia State University.

Debra J. Barksdale will be the next dean of the School of Nursing and a professor in family and community nursing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She begins her new job on July 19. Currently, Dr. Barksdale is a professor of nursing and the associate dean of academic affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. Barksdale is a graduate of the University of Virginia. She earned a master’s degree in nursing from Howard University and a Ph.D. in nursing research from the University of Michigan.

Molly Gribb has been named dean of both the College of Engineering and Technology and the College of Business at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. She will be the first woman to oversee either college at Bradley University. Since 2015, she has served as the dean of the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Dr. Gribb is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Deborah LaVine has been named dean of the School of Filmmaking at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem. LaVine is the second woman to lead the School of Filmmaking, which has had a majority female incoming class for the past two years. She was the program director of the graduate-level film directing program at the California Institute of the Arts.

Levine has directed over 300 professional productions across the United States. Also, she has directed numerous award-winning short films as well as the feature film Wild Prairie Rose.