Thirteen Women Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Posts at Colleges and Universities

Stacey Patterson will serve as the next vice president for research at Florida State University. She has served as the vice president for research, outreach, and economic development in the University of Tennessee system and as president of the University of Tennessee Research Foundation since 2017.

Dr. Patterson earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences and a doctorate in microbiology from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. She also holds a master’s degree in environmental health science from East Tennessee State University.

A. Roxanne Gregg has been appointed executive director of the University of Notre Dame’s TRIO programs. She held a similar position at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

Gregg earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and an MBA in management and human resources from the Indiana Institute of Technology.

Elspeth McMahon is the inaugural associate vice president for maritime initiatives at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. She is a commander in the United States Navy Reserves and a former faculty member at the State University of New York Maritime College.

McMahon is a graduate of Massachusetts Maritime College. She holds a master’s degree in international transportation management from SUNY Maritime College and a master’s degree in maritime and air transportation management from the Unversity of Antwerp in Belgium where she is also completing work on a doctorate in nautical sciences.

Constance Cannon Frazier is the new chief of staff and special assistant to the president at Dillard University in New Orleans. Previously, Frazier served as chief operating officer and briefly as chief executive officer of the American Advertising Federation.

Frazier earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She holds an MBA from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Angela Harrington was appointed chief communications and public affairs officer at Palm Beach State College in Florida. Earlier, Harrington served as vice president of communications and external relations at Berkeley College, a multi-campus educational institution in the New York metropolitan area.

Harrington holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She earned a master’s degree in business management and organizational development from Capella University.

Kamrhan Farwell has been named the next vice chancellor of communications at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, effective September 26. She has been serving as vice chancellor and chief marketing and communications officer at the University of Missouri. Prior to joining the University of Missouri, Farwell served for two years as assistant vice chancellor for communications at the University of Pittsburgh and five years as executive editor at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Farwell earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton.

Kali-Ahset Amen is the inaugural executive director of the Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was the executive director of the Billie Holiday Center for the Liberation Arts in Baltimore and an assistant research professor in sociology at Johns Hopkins University.

Amen holds a bachelor’s degree in African studies from Columbia University. She earned a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Maryland.

Kirsten Zoller has been promoted to executive director of strategic initiatives at the Aerospace and Technology Campus of Kansas State Unversity in Salina. She joined the staff at the university in 2009 and most recently was director of professional education and outreach at the Salina campus.

Zoller holds a bachelor’s degree in family studies and human services and a master’s degree in adult learning and leadership from Kansas State University.

Tunesha Witcher is the newly appointed director of global and online learning at Virginia Union University. Since 2017, Witcher has served the campus community as an academic instructional technologist and director of integrated technology.

Witcher earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems from Virginia State University. She is completing work on a master’s degree in learning experience design and educational technology from Western Governors University.

Cynthia Hope was promoted to associate vice president for research administration at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Since 2019, she has served as director of government and not-for-profit contracts and grants at the university. Earlier, she was the assistant vice president for research and director of the Office of Sponsored Programs at the University of Alabama.

Hope is a graduate of the University of Alabama, where she majored in accounting and psychology.

Jessica Cherry has been announced as the next director of athletics and recreation at The College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, effective September 1. She was the associate director of athletics for compliance and senior woman administrator for Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.

Cherry earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. She holds a  master’s degree in health and physical education from Tennessee Technological University.

Tena Bennett, the longtime director of the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Student Center, has been promoted to assistant vice chancellor for auxiliary enterprise. She first joined the staff at the university in 2006.

Dr. Bennett holds a bachelor’s degree in corporate and therapeutic recreation and wellness from Northwest Missouri State University and a master’s degree in sports management from Western Illinois University. She earned a doctorate n higher education administration from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Andrea Thomas, assistant dean of undergraduate studies in the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, was given the added duties of chief experience officer at the university. Dr. Thomas will be tasked with overseeing multidisciplinary teams of designers, data experts, and other professionals who will look across, within, and outside the university to better understand the experience from the students’ perspective.

Dr. Thomas received a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and public relations from the University of Utah. She holds an MBA from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.