Three State Universities Announce the Appointments of Women to Dean Positions

Alexandra Minna Stern will be the new dean of humanities at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her appointment is effective November 1. She currently is the associate dean for the humanities and the Carroll Smith-Rosenberg Collegiate Professor of American Culture in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Stern earned a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University. She holds a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of California, San Diego and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago.

Beth Virnig has been named the sixth dean of the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida, effective July 11. She currently serves as a professor in the division of health policy and management at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and as director and lead of the school’s Strategic Global Public Health Programming, where she guides efforts with partner universities in Thailand, India, Mexico, and Ghana.

Dr. Virnig is a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She holds a master of public health degree and a Ph.D. in epidemiology/biostatistics from the University of Minnesota.

Erika Engel Small was named dean of the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina. She has served as interim dean since July 2020. She previously was the chair of the college’s department of management and decision sciences for seven years.

Dr. Small is a summa cum laude graduate of Louisiana State University, where she majored in psychology. She holds a Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Tennessee.