Nine Women Who Are Taking on New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Trisha Smith has been named chief of staff to the president of the University of Cincinnati. She will also lead the university’s Office of the Board of Trustees. Smith came to the university in 2017 as deputy chief of staff. Earlier, Smith worked in the Office of the President at the University of Louisville for 20 years.

Smith holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Education and a master’s degree in administration of higher education from the University of Louisville.

Sheryl Huggins Salomon was promoted to director of strategic communications for the Silver School of Social Work at New York University. She has been serving as the chief communications officer at the NYU McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research.

Huggins Salomon holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School.

Tara Jackson Lemoine has been named the new executive director for the Center for Health Care Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS) at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. She was the medical director of simulation and the academic chief of resident and fellow simulation at Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera, California.

After receiving her doctor of osteopathy degree from North Texas Health Science Center, she completed her residency and critical care fellowship at Primary Children’s Medical Center and the University of Utah.

Michelle R. Smith is the new director of the Minority Health and Health Equity Research Center at Dillard University in New Orleans. For the past 12 years, Dr. Smith has been director of the Office of Health Equity at the Arkansas Department of Health.

Dr. Smith is a graduate of Dillard University, where she majored in biology and minored in creative writing. She received a master of public health degree from Tulane University in New Orleans and a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Arkansas.

Sara Woods was promoted to chief engagement officer at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She most recently served as executive assistant to the senior vice chancellor for community engagement and as director of the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center at the university. Earlier, she was associate dean for community outreach and program development in the College of Public Affairs and Community Service.

Woods is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Shelly Deavy is the new assistant vice president of development at the University of Northern Kentucky. She was assistant vice president of development for the University of Cincinnati Foundation. Earlier she was senior director of development for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati.

Deavy holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and theater from Northern Kentucky University. She earned a master of professional studies degree in strategic public relations from George Washington University.

Karen Peart will serve as interim vice president for communications at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. She has been serving as the director of university media relations.

A native of Jamaica and raised in New York, Peart earned a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a juris doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Harriet V. Laird was promoted to senior associate director of the Office of Public Affairs at Mississippi State University. She joined the staff 14 years ago. Prior to joining Mississippi State, Laird was communications coordinator for Nissan North America in Canton and served a combined 17 years as public relations director for Hinds Community College and Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

Hinds holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in public relations from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Shannon Andrea has been named director of media relations and D.C. area communications for Virginia Tech. She joined the media relations team in 2017 to launch an office in the Washington, D.C., area. Prior to coming to Virginia Tech, she worked as the director of marketing communications for the National Catholic Educational Association and the director of media relations for the National Parks Conservation Association.

Andrea holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a concentration in public relations and advertising from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. She earned a master’s degree in public communication from American University in Washington, D.C.