State Universities Announce the Appointments of Six Women to Dean Positions

Beth Mayer-Davis, the Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor of Nutrition and Medicine, chair of the department of nutrition, and the director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center, has been named dean of The Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, effective September 1. For the past eight years, she has led the department of nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Dr. Mayer-Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from the University of Tennessee. She holds a master of public health degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a doctorate in epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Leslee Battle has been appointed dean of the School of Health Sciences at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. She joined the faculty at the university in 2005 as an assistant professor of nursing. During her tenure, she served as assistant dean for curriculum and instruction in the Division of Nursing before being named interim dean of the School of Health Sciences in 2020.

Dr. Battle s a graduate of Winston-Salem State University, where she majored in nursing. She holds s master’s degree in nursing education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a doctorate in educational leadership and administration from Walden University.

Margaret A. Amstutz has been named dean of the Jere W. Morehead Honors College at the University of Georgia. She has served as interim dean since February. She was associate provost for academic programs at the university. From July 2017 to July 2018, Dr. Amstutz served as interim president of the College of Coastal Georgia.

Dr. Amstutz received her bachelor’s degree in English from Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, and master’s and doctoral degrees in English and American literature from Washington University in St. Louis.

Paula Montgomery is the new interim dean of the College of Education at the University of Louisiana Lafayette. Dr. Montgomery is a former professor and associate dean of the College of Education. She retired from those positions in 2020. She first joined the university in 2002, as a faculty member in the college’s department of educational foundations and leadership.

Dr. Montgomery holds a bachelor’s degree in social studies secondary education and a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from the University of Louisiana Lafayette. She earned a master’s degree in educational administration and a doctorate in educational leadership and research from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Amy Ellen Schwartz has been appointed dean of the School of Public Policy and Administration at the University of Delaware, effective September 1. She has been serving as a professor and chair of the economics department at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

A native New Yorker, Professor Schwartz earned a bachelor’s degree in applied economics at Cornell University. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University.

Jenna Hyatt has been named as the interim assistant vice chancellor and dean of students at Washington State University. For the past 15 years, she has been in executive leadership roles at Central Washington University and has served for the past 5 years as the associate dean of student living.

Dr. Hyatt is a graduate of Central Washington University. She earned a master’s degree in higher education from Ball State Univerity in Muncie, Indiana, and a doctorate in higher education from the University of North Texas.