Nine Women Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Lauren Jacobson was appointed chief investment officer at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, effective November 7. She has been serving as managing director and co-head of marketables asset classes at Columbia Investment Management Company. Prior to joining Columbia, she worked for eight years as director of investments at The Rockefeller Foundation.

Jacobson is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia where she earned a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Joy L. Jefferson is the new vice president and executive assistant to the president of Hampton University in Virginia. Since January 2016, she served as the chief administrator and strategist for the Old Dominion University Alumni Association and the Office of Alumni Relations. Earlier, she served as vice president for external relations at Hampton University.

A native of Newport News, Virginia, Jefferson is a 1986 graduate of Hampton University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass media arts.

Jessica Kuchta-Miller has been named the first full-time university ombudsperson at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, effective November 7. She has been serving as the staff ombuds at Washington University in St. Louis. Earlier, she served as associate university ombuds at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Kuchta-Miller holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. She earned a juris doctorate at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Olivia Lapeyrolerie was appointed chief communications officer for the McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research at New York University. Most recently, she served as a vice president at SKDK, a progressive communications firm, where she advised many of the firm’s major nonprofit and advocacy clients.

Laperrolerie earned a master’s degree in modern history from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

Liane Moneta-Koehler was promoted to assistant provost for research integrity and compliance at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She had been serving as director of research development and support at the university.

Dr. Moneta-Koehler is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in cognitive science and linguistics. She holds a master’s degree in instructional technology from Teachers College at Columbia University and a Ph.D. in psychology from Vanderbilt University.

Ana Lopez Shalla was appointed director of strategic partnerships and new markets at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She previously served as senior director of workforce development at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce.

Lopez Shalla holds a bachelor’s degree in English and theology from Boston College. She earned a master’s degree in education with a concentration in learning and teaching from Harvard University.

Kristi Smith was named associate vice chancellor of alumni and development at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. She has worked in the alumni office since 2016. Earlier, she was the assistant to the dean of the Graduate School.

Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in international studies and a master of public administration degree from the University of Arkansas Little Rock.

Romy Hübler is the new director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility at Towson University in Maryland. She was the associate director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Dr. Hübler is a native of Germany and came to the United States in 2005. She holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Jennifer Wilkes has been named vice president for human resources and chief human resources officer at Pennsylvania State University. She has served in the post on an interim basis since February. Wilkes was previously assistant vice president for administration for the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses in Pennsylvania.

Wilkes holds a bachelor’s degree in hotel, restaurant, and institutional management and a master’s degree in labor studies and industrial relations, both from Penn State.