New Titles or Duties for Six Women Scholars

Jennifer Escalas, the Dean Samuel B. and Evelyn R. Richmond Professor in Marketing in the Owen Graduate School of Marketing at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, was given the added duties of associate dean of academic programs. She has served as an associate editor for the Journal of Consumer Research.

Dr. Escalas holds bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and economics and an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. She earned a Ph.D. in business administration from Duke University.

Rebecca Rainer Pauly, a professor of medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke, was given the added responsibilities of vice dean of the medical school. She has been serving as the interim senior associate dean for medical education. She previously taught at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the University of Florida.

Dr. Pauly graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and earned her medical degree at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Lindsey Reymore is a new assistant professor of music theory in the School of Music, Dance, and Theatre at Arizona State University. She has been serving as a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University in Montreal.

Originally from Stuart, Florida, Dr. Reymore is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she majored in music. She holds a master’s degree in oboe performance from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in music theory from Ohio State University.

Pernella Rowena Deams was appointed professor of psychology and senior vice president for student life and success at Talladega College in Alabama. She was vice president for student engagement and campus life at Kentucky State University. From 2015 to 2019, Dr. Deams was chair of the psychology department at Talladega College.

Dr. Deams is a graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she majored in both psychology and sociology. She went on to earn a master’s degree in counseling psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology at Tennessee State University.

Linda Holzer, a professor of music at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock since 1995, has been promoted to University Professor. Dr. Holzer is only the second faculty member at the university who has received this distinction.

A native of Chicago, Professor Holzer holds degrees in piano performance from Northwestern University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Florida State University.

Virginia Rougon Chavis, a professor of graphic design at the University of Mississippi, was named associate provost at the university. She had served for seven years as chair of the department of art and art history. Professor Chavis has been a member of the university’s faculty since 2002.

A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Professor Chavis is a graduate of the University of Mississippi. She holds a master of fine arts degree in graphic design from the Savannah College of Art & Design in Georgia.