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

Jamie Raynor was named vice chancellor of advancement at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. She served as the interim vice chancellor of advancement for the last two years. Raynor first came to work at the university as a director of development in 2015.

Raynor holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education, both from the University of South Carolina-Aiken.

Shawna Cooper-Gibson will be the next vice president for student affairs at Boston College. She has been serving as the vice president for student services at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. Prior to being named vice president at Seton Hall, Dr. Cooper-Gibson served as assistant provost for student academic services at Loyola University Chicago, dean of students for the School of Social Service Administration at the University of Chicago, director of African American student affairs at Northwestern University, and assistant director of student activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Cooper-Gibson earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Illinois. She holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from National Louis University in Wheeling, Illinois, and a doctorate in education and human development from Boston University.

Michelle Light has been appointed as the new associate University Librarian for Special Collections and director of the Beinecke Library at Yale University, effective October 1, 2021. She has been serving as the director of special collections at the Library of Congress. Earlier, she served as director of special collections at the libraries of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of California, Irvine, and head of special collections technical services at the University of Washington.

Light holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Oregon. She earned a master’s degree in information (archives and records management) from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in late Roman and medieval European history from the University of Michigan.

Charlene Alexander was appointed chief strategy officer at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, effective November 1. Dr. Alexander is currently the vice president and chief diversity officer at Oregon State University. Previously, she served as a professor of counseling psychology and guidance services at Ball State.

Dr. Alexander holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. She earned a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Kathleen Gallucci has been named vice president and chief human resources officer at the University of Rochester in New York. Gallucci joined the University of Rochester staff in 2016 and since September 2020 has served as interim chief human resources officer, in addition to continuing her role as vice president for human resources at the university’s Medical Center.

Gallucci is a graduate of the College at Brockport of the State University of New York System, where she majored in English.

Olufunke A. Fontenot was named provost and vice president of academic affairs at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. She had been serving as interim chief of staff at the university. Earlier, Dr. Fontenot was interim regional vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of South Florida – St. Petersburg.

Dr. Fontenot is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. She holds master’s degrees in law from the University of Cambridge in England and Yale Law School and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Ann LaFave has been promoted to assistant dean of academic programs and student success at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. LaFave has served for the past 10 years as senior director of the Office of Student Services in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

LaFave holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and a master of professional study degree in education from Cornell University.

Kimberly D. Clark-Shaw is the new director of the Black Cultural Center at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg. Clark-Shaw had worked within the University of Maryland system, serving as the retention director at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and in advising services at Salisbury University.

Clark-Shaw holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She earned a master’s degree in education with a focus on culture, curriculum, and change from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.