Eight Women Administrators Taking on New Duties at Colleges and Universities

Julie Kriech was appointed vice president of finance and administration at the University of South Dakota. For the past 16 years, she has served as director of finance for the Division of Health Affairs at the university.

Kriech is a 2001 graduate of the University of South Dakota, where she majored in business and human resources.

Michelle Penn-Marshall has been selected as Texas Southern University’s first-ever vice president of research and innovation. Dr. Penn-Marshall previously served as the vice president for research, associate provost, and dean of the Graduate College at Hampton University in Virginia.

Dr. Penn-Marshall earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in biology with a concentration in environmental science from Hampton University. She holds a Ph.D. in community nutrition from Virginia Tech.

Karla Youngblood is the new associate vice president for facilities management at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Since 2019, she was the director of facilities operations at Amherst College. Previously, she was the operations director at Smith College.

Youngblood earned a bachelor’s degree in Russian and Eurasian studies at Mount Holyoke College.

Olajide Cooper was appointed assistant director for external partnerships, student engagement, and pipeline programs for the Service Learning Academy at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She has been serving as a resource navigator for the Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Earlier, she was a Fulbright researcher for the Anne Coyne School for the Deaf in Leon, Nicaragua. She also taught in the Omaha public schools.

Cooper earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in Spanish language teaching from the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Kelly Lake was appointed director of the Office of Student Services and Credentialing at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. She was a school administrator at a charter school in Charleston.

Lake is a graduate of Elon University in North Carolina. She holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from the Southern Wesleyan University in Central, South Carolina.

This May, Rhonda L. Harris will be the new assistant vice president and chief of police at Florida State University. Harris is currently the assistant vice president for public safety and chief of police at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. Previously she was the chief of police at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in public affairs and administration from Rutgers University. She earned a master’s degree in forensic psychology from John Jay College in New York.

Myeshia Armstrong has been named vice president for administration and finance at California State University, East Bay in Hayward. She will begin her new job in June. Armstrong currently serves as vice president of administrative services at East Los Angeles College.

Armstrong received a bachelor’s degree from California State University, Long Beach. She earned an MBA from DePaul University in Chicago.

Susan Henking will be the new vice president for academic and student affairs at Wells College in Aurora, New York, effective July 1. Dr. Henking taught in the department of religious studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and was named professor emerita of religious studies in 2015.

Dr. Henking earned a bachelor’s degree in religion and sociology from Duke University. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School and a Ph.D. in religion and psychological studies from the University of Chicago.