Colleges and Universities Appoint Four Women to Dean Positions

Aimee N. Wall is the new dean of the School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been serving as senior associate dean and professor of public law and government at the school. Professor Wall joined the School of Government faculty in 2001. Prior to joining the Carolina faculty, Wall worked in health care law with Powell, Goldstein, Frazer, and Murphy in Washington D.C., and served as a health policy analyst in the Office of the Secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dean Wall is a graduate of Ohio State University, where she majored in English. She holds a master of public health degree and a juris doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ja’Wanda Grant was appointed vice president and dean of students at Maryville College in Maryville, Tennessee, effective April 13. She has been serving as manager of educational and pathway programs at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and previously served as the laboratory’s lead for university and student affairs.

Dr. Grant earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Mississippi. She holds a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.

Elizabeth Lorang has been named interim dean of University Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, effective May 2. Dr. Lorang joined the University Libraries in 2013 as a research assistant professor and digital projects librarian, and in 2016 was appointed associate professor and humanities librarian following a national search. She has served as associate dean of University Libraries since 2018.

Dr. Lorang holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University in Maryland. She earned a master’s degree in information science and learning technology from the University of Missouri and a doctorate in English from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Suzanne Wright assumed the new role of interim dean of the School of Nursing at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. The university has been educating nurses for nearly 60 years but the School of Nursing is new and Dr. Wright will be its first leader. Before joining the faculty at Old Dominion University in 2021, Dr. Wright previously served as a full professor and in leadership positions at Virginia Commonwealth University for nearly 20 years.

Dr. Wright earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing, a master’s degree in nurse anesthesia, and a Ph.D. in health-related sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University.