Six Women Full Professors Who Have Retired

Esther Rothblum, a professor and interim chair of women’s studies at San Diego State University is retiring in August. She has been on the faculty at the university since 2005. Earlier, she was a member of the psychology faculty at the University of Vermont for 23 years.

Dr. Rothblum is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Thomasine Heitkamp, the Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor at the University of North Dakota, has retired after serving on the faculty for 39 years. She had served as chair of the department of social work and was an associate provost for three years. Her work has focused on helping rural and tribal communities combat addiction.

Professor Heitkamp is a graduate of the University of North Dakota, where she majored in social work. She holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Debra Bacharz was named professor emerita at the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois. She held the rank of professor of nursing in the Leach College of Nursing and maintained a full-time faculty appointment at the university for 30 years.

Dr. Bacharz is a graduate of the now-closed Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa. She earned a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University and her Ph.D. from Capella University.

Anne Zajac, professor of parasitology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia, has retired and been granted emerita status. She has been part of the Virginia Tech community for 35 years. Her book, Veterinary Clinical Parasitology (Wiley-Blackwell, 9th edition, 2021) has sold more than 50,000 copies and has been translated into three languages.

Professor Zajac earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. She holds a master’s degree and a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Michigan State University. She also earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.

Amy Struthers, professor of advertising and public relations at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has retired after teaching at the university for 18 years. During her tenure, she served as chair of graduate programs as well as interim dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Professor Struthers is a graduate of the University of Nebraska with bachelor’s degrees in English, French and comparative literature. She also holds a master’s degree in French language and literature and a Ph.D. in educational studies from the University of Nebraska.

Carolyn Sabo, a professor and former dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Nevada la Vegas has retired and been granted emerita status. She taught and conducted research at the university for 37 years. She taught her last class in the spring 2019 semester but stayed on as director of strategic initiatives.

Professor Sabo received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Utah specializing in physiologic nursing. She earned a doctorate in higher education administration from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.