New Administrative Duties for Eight Women in Higher Education

Monique S. Allard has been named vice president for student life at the University of Southern California. Since 2021, she has been the interim vice president for student affairs. Dr. Allard is the first woman and the first member of the Latino community to lead the student affairs division at the university. She was the first person from her family to graduate from high school.

Dr. Allard earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from California State University, Los Angeles. She holds a master’s degree and a doctoral degree in education from the University of Southern California.

Anna Miarka-Grzelak is the new vice president for strategic enrollment and innovation at the State University of New York Cobleskill. She was dean of enrollment management at Clinton Community College in Plattsburgh, New York.

Born in Poland, Miarka-Grzelak earned a master’s degree in English philology from the University of Warsaw and a master’s in adult education from Indiana University. She is currently completing her doctoral dissertation in higher education administration from the University of Wyoming.

Aimee Turner has been named vice president for finance and treasurer at the University of Delaware, effective May 1. She has been serving as chief financial officer of the Duke Clinical Research Institute. Earlier, she was associate vice president and university controller at Cornell University and university controller at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Turner earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting with a minor in psychology from Frostburg State University in Maryland.

Zenobia Lane was named vice president for human resources at Santa Clara University in California. She has been serving in the role on an interim basis. Before joining the staff at Santa Clara University, Lane held human resources leadership roles in Pennsylvania at Saint Joseph’s University and at Swarthmore College.

Lane earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from West Chester University in Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in human resources management from Walden University.

Jacqueline Travisano was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, effective in July. She currently serves as executive vice president for business and finance and chief operating officer at the University of Miami. Before joining the University of Miami in 2017, she served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Travisano is a graduate of Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. She holds an MBA from Chatham University in Pittsburgh and a doctorate in higher education leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Camacia Smith-Ross has been appointed chief of staff at Southern University New Orleans. She is the former dean of the School of Education at Louisiana College in Pineville. Earlier in her career, Dr. Smith-Ross was an assistant professor of education at Southern University.

Dr. Smith-Ross is a graduate of Southern University in Baton Rouge, where she majored in elementary education. She holds a master’s degree in urban education and leadership from the University of New Orleans and an educational doctorate in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.

Gina Bleck was named vice chancellor for planning, design, and construction at the University of Pittsburgh. Bleck most recently served as university architect at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Bleck is a graduate of Boston Architectural College. She earned a master’s degree in urban and regional planning at Georgetown University.

Alli Lambert is the new chief development officer at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Prior to joining Colby College, Lambert served as vice president and assistant vice president for development at the University of Vermont Foundation.

Lambert is a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree in early childhood education from Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts.