Eight Women Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions at State Universities

Kathryn Sloan, who has been serving as the interim vice provost for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas, has been named the interim dean for the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. She has been on the university’s faculty for 18 years. Dr. Sloan is the author of three books on Latin American history, most recently Death in the City: Suicide and the Social Imaginary in Modern Mexico (University of California Press, 2017).

Dr. Sloan holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kansas State University. She earned master’s degrees in business administration and Latin American studies and a doctorate in Latin American history from the University of Kansas.

Emily Frazier, assistant dean of students, has been promoted to dean of students at North Dakota State University in Fargo. Dr. Frazier joined NDSU in 2002 as director of Sevrinson Hall. She moved to the Office of Registration and Records in 2008 and to the dean of students office later that year.

Dr. Frazier earned a bachelor’s degree at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. She holds a master’s degree in education and an educational doctorate from North Dakota State University.

Joi Spencer has been named the next dean of the School of Education at the University of California, Riverside, effective January 1. She is a professor of mathematics education at the University of San Diego. She has served on the faculty at the University of San Diego for 16 years.

Professor Spencer holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Michelle Clare has been named interim dean for Experience-Based Learning and Career Education at the University of Cincinnati. Most recently, she has served as senior director for partnership development and career education and has been on the staff for 15 years.

Clare earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northern Kentucky University. She holds a master’s degree in communication from the University of Cincinnati.

Ethel Scurlock, an associate professor of English and African American studies, was named dean of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi. She has been interim dean for the past year. Earlier, she was senior fellow of the Luckyday Residential College and chair of the department of African American studies. She joined the faculty at the university in 1996.

Dr. Scurlock is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in English from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Whitney Nash is the new dean of Waters College of Health Professions at Georgia Southern University. She was a professor in the School of Nursing, associate dean of practice and service, and associate vice president of interprofessional practice at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Dr. Nash holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in nursing from the University of Louisville.

Lisa Owens-Jackson was appointed dean of the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics at North Carolina A&T State University. She was serving as chair of the department of accounting and economics.

Dr. Owens-Jackson is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she majored in accounting. She holds a master’s degree from Ohio State University and a Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University.

Elizabeth Yakel was appointed interim dean of the School of Information at the University of Michigan. She is the C. Olivia Frost Collegiate Professor of Information and senior associate dean for academic affairs at the school.

Professor Yakel is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She holds a master of library and information science degree and a Ph.D. from the School of Information at the University of Michigan.