New Roles in Higher Education for Eight Women Scholars

Colleen Webb, a professor of biology at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and an accomplished disease ecologist, has been named the interim director of the One Health Institute at the university. Professor Webb is the former director of the graduate degree program in ecology at the university and currently serves as the associate dean for the Graduate School.

Dr. Webb received her bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from the University of Chicago. She holds a master’s degree in biology from the University of Oregon and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University

Michell Chresfield is a new assistant professor of Africana studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She has been serving as a lecturer at the University of Birmingham in England. Dr. Chresfield is working on a book entitled What Lies Between: Race, Science, and Prehistory of Multiracial America.

Dr. Chresfield is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she majored in American and Canadian studies. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in history from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Andrea Locke was appointed an assistant professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry at Vanderbilt University. Her research specializes in developing affordable, portable, and rapid point-of-care glucose management devices. She has been a postdoctoral scholar at Vanderbilt since 2018.

Dr. Locke earned a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at Texas A&M University.

Sara Myers, a professor in the department of biomechanics at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, was named interim associate vice chancellor of research and creative activity. Her current research is focused on improving quality of life in older individuals and those with peripheral artery disease.

Dr. Myers holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She earned a Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Ngozi Nnaji has joined the faculty in the business department at Fisk University in Nashville after a 20-year career in the insurance industry. In 2017, she founded Ako Brokerage Services.

​Ngozi earned a bachelor’s degree in actuarial science from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. She holds a master’s degree in risk management and insurance from Florida State University.

Lisa Florman, a professor of the history of art at Ohio State University, is the new vice provost for the arts at the university. Since 2021, Dr. Florman has served as associate dean of interdisciplinary studies and community engagement in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Professor Florman is a graduate of the University of Virginia. She holds two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University.

Marsha Allen is a new professor of earth science at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Her research as a hydrogeologist focuses on fractured rock aquifers.

A native of Tobago, Dr. Allen is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in geology. She earned a master’s degree in earth and environmental sciences at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York and a Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Kelsey Fitzgerald is serving as an associate professor of practice in science communication at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada Reno. She has worked as a science writer and senior communications official at the Desert Research Institute.

Fitzgerald holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. She holds a master’s degree in interactive journalism from the University of Nevada.