New Administrative Roles for Eight Women at U.S. Universities

Sophia Lee was named chief of staff for the president of Temple University in Philadelphia. She is a partner in the litigation practice at Blank Rome in Philadelphia. Earlier, she was counsel for Sunoco Inc.

Lee holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Cornell University. She holds a master’s degree and a juris doctorate from the Temple University School of Law.

Nicole McDonald has been appointed senior vice president for transformation initiatives at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was the assistant vice provost for student success strategies at the University of Houston.

Dr. McDonald is a graduate of Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where she majored in political science. She holds a master’s degree in higher education administration and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Chanel Derricott was appointed assistant vice president for housing and facilities at Virginia Union University in Richmond. Prior to joining Virginia Union University, Derricott was n executive in facilities management at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Derricott earned a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk Virginia. She holds a master of public health degree from Eastern Virginia Medical School.

Keri Kei Shibata has been promoted to assistant vice president for campus safety and chief of police at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She has been a member of the university’s police department for 18 years.

Shibata is a graduate of what is now Bethel University. She holds an executive MBA from the University of Notre Dame.

Tiffani Dawn Sykes was named vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. She was the executive senior associate athletic director for varsity sports and senior woman administrator at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Sykes is a graduate of Virginia State University. She earned a master’s degree in sport administration from Grambling State University in Louisiana.

Emily Fisher was appointed secretary to the board of trust at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, effective December 1. She has been serving as chief of staff for the president of Emory University. She has been on the staff at Emory University since 2015.

Fisher holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the State University of New York College at Cortland. She earned a juris doctorate from the University of Alabama.

Anita B. Walton is the new vice president for institutional advancement at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. She was vice chancellor for university advancement at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina and executive director of the ECSU Foundation. Earlier, she was vice chancellor of student affairs at North Carolina Central University in Durham.

Walton holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She earned a master’s degree in higher education administration from North Carolina State University.

Stacie Williamson was appointed vice president for alumni engagement at Wichita State University in Kansas, effective November 28. Williamson most recently served as vice president for advancement at Heartspring Inc. in Wichita, a non-profit organization serving children with special needs and developmental disabilities.

Williamson holds a bachelor of business administration degree in marketing from Wichita State University.