Five Women Scholars Who Have Been Named to New Positions in the Academic World

Nasia Safdar, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin, was given the added duties as associate dean for clinical trials and the research director of the new Wisconsin Medicine Institute for Clinical Trials.

Dr. Safdar earned her medical degree at Aga Khan University Medical College in Lahore, Pakistan. She holds a master’s degree in public health science and a Ph.D. in clinical research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Julie Wolter, a professor in the School of Speech, Language, Hearing and Occupational Sciences at the University of Montana, was given the added duties of associate vice provost for innovation and online learning. Before joining the University of Montana faculty in 2015, the Billings native served 10 years on the faculty at Utah State University, including four years as chair of its Speech-Language Pathology Division.

Dr. Wolter holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech-language pathology from Western Washington University. She earned a Ph.D. from Wichita State University in Kansas.

Janet Chen was promoted to full professor of history at Princeton University in New Jersey. She is a historian of modern China, specializing in the twentieth century, and joined the faculty of the Princeton history department in 2006. Professor Chen is the author of Guilty of Indigence: The Urban Poor in China, 1900-1953 (Princeton University Press, 2012).

Dr. Chen is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she majored in history and Asian studies. She holds two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in history from Yale University.

Jennifer Karas Montez was appointed a University Professor at Syracuse University in New York. She is a professor of sociology, director of the Center for Aging and Policy Studies, and co-director of the Policy, Place, and Population Health Lab in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Dr. Karas Montez joined the faculty in 2015 after teaching at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Professor Karas Montez holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in statistics from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She earned a master’s degree in sociology at the University of Houston and a Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Texas at Austin.

Kathy Yelick, the Robert S. Pepper Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, is taking on additional duties as vice chancellor for research. Dr. Yelick joined the faculty at the university in 1991. She was only the second woman to be hired to the faculty in the university’s computer science division.

Professor Yelick earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles

Latest News

Anne Carson Wins the Nobel Prize in Literature

Dr. Carson is known for her work in poetry, fiction, and translation. She has taught at several educational institutions throughout Canada and the United States.

Kimberly T. Kostelis Selected to Lead Central Connecticut State University

Dr. Kostelis, the new interim president of Central Connecticut State University, has been with the university for more than two decades. For the past five years, she has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs.

California State University Dominguez Hills Extends Interim President’s Contract

Mary Ann Villarreal took the helm of CSU Dominguez Hills on January 1, 2026. She will continue to serve as the university's interim president through the 2028–2029 academic year.

Six Women With Academic Ties Named MacArthur Fellows

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently announced the 20 latest recipients in its fellowship program, commonly referred to as “genius grants.” Six of the awardees are American women with ties to the academic world.

Report Ranks the United States 47th Among World Nations in Gender Equality

Along with 31 other economies, the U.S. has reached 100 percent gender parity in educational attainment. But gender gaps in the U.S. persist in economic opportunity, health and survival, and political empowerment, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.

Assistant Professor, Jazz

The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure-stream position in the area of Jazz.

Associate Professor, Piano Pedagogy

The Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto invites applications for a full-time tenure-stream position in the area of Piano Pedagogy.

Future Faculty in the Physical Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship

We seek to attract a diverse cohort of early career scientists who will conduct research in physics, broadly defined, including astrophysics, biophysics, geophysics, and planetary physics, independently or in collaboration with Princeton faculty, postdoctoral researchers and students.

Director of the School of Dance

The College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah invites nominations and applications for a visionary leader to serve as the next Director of its School of Dance.

Assistant Professor of Teaching in Neuroscience in the UCLA Department of Psychology and Undergraduate Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program

The UCLA Department of Psychology and the UCLA Undergraduate Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program invite applications for a full-time Assistant Professor of Teaching who will develop and teach courses in Behavioral, Cellular, and Molecular Neuroscience.