Eleven Women Faculty Members Who Have Been Promoted or Are Taking on New Roles in Higher Education

Asuka Sango was promoted to professor of religion at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She joined the faculty at the college in 2007. Dr. Sango serves as department chair and director of the Asian studies program. She is the author of The Halo of Golden Light: Imperial Authority and Buddhist Ritual in Heian Japan (University of Hawai‘i Press, 2015).

Dr. Sango earned a bachelor’s degree from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. She holds a master’s degree in East Asian religions from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Princeton University in New Jersey.

Brie Gertler, Commonwealth Professor of Philosophy in the University of Virginia’s College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, has been given the added duties as vice provost for academic affairs. Dr. Gertler joined the faculty in 2004 after teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the College of William and Mary.

Professor Gertler is a graduate of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Heather J. Kulik was promoted to associate professor of chemical engineering and granted tenure at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research group advances data-driven machine learning models to enable the rapid design of open-shell transition metal complexes.

Dr. Kulik is a graduate of The Cooper Union in New York City. She earned a Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Laura Teoli was appointed director of the master’s degree program in art therapy at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Dr. Teoli most recently served as a tenure-track assistant professor of art therapy at Nazareth College in Rochester, New York.

Dr. Teoli is a graduate of Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, where she majored in psychology. She earned master’s degree in art therapy with an emphasis in counseling from Mount Mary College in Milwaukee and a Ph.D. in expressive arts therapy from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Nicole Ponder, professor of marketing in the College of Business at Mississippi State University, was named associate dean for graduate programs and assessment. She joined the faculty at Mississippi State in 2001.

Professor Ponder earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of South Alabama. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in marketing from the University of Alabama.

Lisa Armstrong is joining the journalism faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. Armstrong comes to Berkeley after teaching journalism for more than a decade, most recently as an associate professor at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.

Armstrong earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental architecture and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Maryland. She also holds a master’s degree in journalism from New York University. 

Molly Helt was promoted to associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She was also granted tenure. Dr. Helt joined the faculty at Trinity College in 2014.

Dr. Helt is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Connecticut.

Deborah Smith-Howell, professor of communications, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs, and dean of graduate studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, has been named interim chief of staff to the chancellor of the university. Professor Smith Howell joined the university’s faculty in 1989.

Dr. Smith-Howell received a bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Northern Michigan University. She holds a master’s degree in speech communication from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Texas at Austin.

Amie Grills, associate dean for faculty affairs and research and a professor of counseling psychology and applied human development in Wheelock College of Education & Human Development at Boston University, was appointed associate provost for undergraduate affairs. She is the co-editor of the book Critical Issues in School Mental Health: Evidence-Based Research, Practice, and Interventions (Routledge, 2015).

Professor Grills is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Virginia Tech.

Lenora Green-Turner is a new assistant professor of music at the University of Arkansas. She is an opera soprano who previously taught at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis and Middle Georgia State University.

A native of Macon, Georgia. Dr. Green-Turner is a graduate of Shorter University in Rome, Georgia. She holds a master’s degree in vocal performance and a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Michigan.

Sandra Loughrin, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Kearney, was named director of the women’s, gender, and ethnic studies program at the university. She joined the faculty at the university in 2013.

Dr. Loughrin earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. She earned a master’s degree and doctorate with an emphasis in gender, sexuality, and family studies at the University of California, Riverside.