Paulina Mena has been appointed as faculty fellow for diversity and inclusion at Central College in Pella, Iowa. She is an associate professor of biology at the college. She joined the faculty at the college in 2009. Her research focuses on understanding how organisms adapt to their environment and what role their chromosomal architecture plays in that process.
Dr. Mena is a graduate of the Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso in Chile. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.
Fatimah Conley is the new vice president of institutional equity and chief diversity officer at the University of Delaware. Since October 2020, she has been the acting chief diversity office at the university. She joined the university in 2015 as a staff member in the Office of the General Counsel.
Conley is a graduate of Fairleigh-Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. She holds a law degree from Tulane University in New Orleans and is currently pursuing an MBA at the Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware.
Jackie Hunter was named senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer for the University of Vermont Health Network. She has been serving as the leader of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for Banner Health in Arizona.
Dr. Hunter is a graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. She earned a doctor of chiropractic degree at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa. She then became a doctor of naturopathic medicine at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, Arizona. Dr. Hunter also holds a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Howard joins Spelman from Ohio State University, where she has been serving as dean of the College of Engineering. She is a nationally recognized expert in robotics, artificial intelligence, and human-centered technology.
Dr. Gonko has led Henry Ford College in Dearborn, Michigan on an interim basis for the past year. She will assume the presidency of Macomb Community College on July 1.
Since 2014, Dr. Lynch has been the associate vice chancellor for educational development and technologies for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. She has been selected to serve as interim president of the system's Central Lakes College beginning on July 1.
Lesley Reid and Lynne Cossman are the new permanent provosts of the University of Alabama and the University of Massachusetts Lowell, respectively. Brooke Blevins was tapped to serve as interim provost at the University of Idaho.
Dr. Balidemaj-Basha has been a member of the RIT Kosovo community for nearly two decades. Most recently, she served as dean of faculty. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Dr. Balidemaj-Basha earned her Ph.D. from Clemson University in South Carolina.