Colleges and Universities Have Announced the Appointment of Three Women to Endowed Professorships

Pamela R. Jeffries has been named to the Valere Potter Distinguished Chair in Nursing at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She became dean of the university’s School of Nursing on July 1. Earlier, Dr. Jeffries was a professor and dean of the George Washington University School of Nursing in Washington, D.C. Prior to being named dean of George Washington University School of Nursing in 2015, Professor Jeffries served as the inaugural vice provost for digital initiatives at Johns Hopkins University  in Baltimore.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, Dr. Jeffries earned a master’s degree in nursing and a doctorate of nursing from Indiana University.

Regina Stevens-Truss was named to the the Dorothy H. Heyl Senior Endowed Chair in Chemistry at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. A professor of chemistry and biochemistry, she has taught at Kalamazoo College since 2000. Research in her lab focuses on testing a variety of compounds (peptides and small molecules) for antimicrobial activity.

Dr. Stevens-Truss earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey and a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from the University of Toledo in Ohio.

Jillian Scheer has been named the inaugural Cobb-Jones Professor of Clinical Psychology at Syracuse University in New York. Professor Scheer has been a faculty member in the psychology department at the university since August 2020. As director of the Minority Stress and Trauma Lab, Dr. Scheer’s research is focused on bettering the mental and behavioral health of racially and ethnically diverse sexual minorities.

Professor Scheer is a graduate of Rutgers university in New Jersey, where she majored in psychology and sociology. She holds a master’s degree in mental health counseling and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Boston College.