Vanessa K. ValdeÌs was appointed interim dean of the Macauley Honors College at the City University of New York. She is a tenured professor in the department of classical and modern languages and literatures at the City College of New York.
Dr. ValdeÌs is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in English. She holds a Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
Robyn Schiffman is the new dean of liberal arts at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She was dean of humanities, fine arts, and social sciences at Illinois Valley Community College in Oglesby, Illinois. She is a former professor of literature at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey.
Dr. Schiffman holds a bachelor’s degree in English and women’s studies from Trinity College. She earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in comparative literature and humanities from the University of Chicago.
Ahkinyala Cobb-Abdullah is the new interim dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Virginia Union University in Richmond. An associate professor of environmental science and ecology, Dr. Cobb-Abdullah was the director of the Center for STEM Diversity at the university.
Dr. Cobb-Abdullah is a graduate of Tuskegee University in Alabama. She holds a master’s degree in molecular biology and a Ph.D. in environmental biomolecular sciences from Florida A&M University.

Dr. Saurbier earned her undergraduate degree in accountancy at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She earned a master’s degree in management and a doctoral degree in management in executive leadership at Walsh College.

Dr. Scatton-Tessler is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University. She earned a master’s degree at Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in French at the University of Iowa.

Professor Hanson holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and astrophysics from the University of Minnesota. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the University of Colorado.

Dr. Staudt earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University, a law degree from the University of Minnesota, and a doctorate in public policy from the University of Chicago.


