Six Women Who Have Been Appointed to Positions as Deans

Leah Chan Grinvald will begin serving as the new dean for the Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas on July 1. She will be the first Asian American to lead the law school. Grinvald currently serves as the associate dean for academic affairs and professor of law at Suffolk University in Boston. Prior to joining the faculty at Suffolk Law in 2013, she was an assistant professor of law at Saint Louis University School of Law.

Grinvald received a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a juris doctorate from the New York University School of Law.

Tara Baillargeon has been named permanent dean of Marquette University’s Raynor Memorial Libraries. Baillargeon has served as acting dean since October 2021. Previously, she was assistant dean for digital scholarship at the libraries. She joined Marquette in November 2011 as department head of research and instructional services.

Dr. Baillargeon has a bachelor’s degree in communication studies and women’s studies from the University of Windsor in Canada. She holds a master of library and information science degree from the University of Western Ontario, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Kansas State University.

Kate Pechenkina was appointed dean of the School of Social Sciences at Queens College of the City University of New York. Since July 2020, she has served as interim dean. Dr. Pechenkina has been conducting fieldwork in Henan Province, China, for nearly two decades where she excavates at the ancient city of Zhenghan.

Dr. Pechenkina earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in biology and anthropology from Moscow State University in Russia. She received a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Missouri.

Michèle Alexandre was named dean of Loyola University of Chicago’s School of Law. She has been serving as dean and professor of law at the Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida. She was a faculty member at the University of Mississippi from 2008 to 2019 and at the University of Memphis from 2003 to 2008. Prior to joining Stetson, Alexandre served as associate dean for faculty and intellectual life at the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Alexandre is a graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. She earned her law degree at Harvard Law School.

Roxanne Greitz Miller has been named dean of the Attallah College of Educational Studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. Dr. Miller most recently has held concurrent positions as interim dean of the College of Educational Studies and vice provost for graduate education. She joined the faculty in 2005 as an assistant professor and currently holds the Donna Ford Attallah Endowed Professorship.

Dr. Miller is a graduate of the University of Miami. She holds a master’s degree and an educational doctorate from Florida International University.

Karen Rogers, associate professor and associate dean for graduate studies and research has been named acting dean of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction at Auburn University in Alabama. She joined the faculty at the university in 2007. Earlier, Dr. Rogers lived and worked in Bogotá, Colombia, where she served as dean of the School of Architecture and Design at the University of Los Andes and was the founding director and curator of architecture at the Bogotá Museum of Modern Art.

Dr. Rogers is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in architecture. She holds a doctorate in the history and theory of architecture from Binghamton University in New York.