Six Universities Have Announced the Appointment of Women Scholars as Deans

Bindhu Alappat was appointed dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Sciences at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has been serving as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at St. Xavier University in Chicago.

Dr. Alappat holds undergraduate degrees in both chemistry and education. She earned a master’s degree in chemistry at Mahatma Gandhi University, in Kerala, India, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, in Madras.

Tracey Weldon has been named dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate education at the University of South Carolina. She has served in these roles on an interim basis for the past year. She joined the university in 2000 as a faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences with a joint appointment in the department of English language and literature and the linguistics program.

Dr. Weldon is a graduate of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, where she majored in English and French. She holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from Ohio State University.

Linda Nagel will be the next dean of the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources at Utah State University, effective in August. She has been serving as a professor and head of the department of forest and rangeland stewardship in the Warner College of Natural Resources at Colorado State University.

Dr. Nagel received a bachelorʼs degree in biology from South Dakota State University. She holds a masterʼs degree in natural resource sciences from Washington State University and a doctorate in forestry from the University of Montana.

Sharon Beard has been appointed to the position of dean of students a Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She has been on the staff at the university since 1998, serving most recently as associate dean of students within the Office of Community Standards.

Beard holds a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in dispute resolution from Pepperdine University.

Laura Bridgewater was appointed dean of the College of Life Sciences at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, effective July 1. She has been serving as the associate academic vice president for faculty development at the university. Dr. Bridgewater is the former chair of the department of microbiology and molecular biology. She has been on the university’s faculty since 1999.

Dr. Bridgewater received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology at Brigham Young University. She holds a doctorate in genetics from George Washington University.

Stacy L. Jones has been named the new dean of students at the University of Alabama. She has been interim dean since August 2020. Dr. Jones has been a student affairs practitioner at the University of Alabama for more than 28 years.

Dr. Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising and a master’s degree and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Alabama.