Colleges and Universities Appoint Eight Women to Dean Positions

Ruma Chopra, an Indian American professor of history has been named dean of the School for Cultural and Social Transformation at the University of Utah. She will begin her new role on July 1. Dr. Chopra is co-founder and director of the university-wide honors program and associate dean of research in the College of Social Science at San Jose State University in California. She is the author of several books including Almost Home: Maroons Between Slavery and Freedom in Jamaica, Nova Scotia, and Sierra Leone (Yale University Press, 2018).

Dr. Chopra holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She earned a master’s degree in linguistics from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System and a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley.

Deborah L. Nelson has been appointed dean of the Division of the Humanities at the University of Chicago, effective July 1. She is the Helen B. and Frank L. Sulzberger Professor in the department of English and currently serves as chair of the department of English language and literature. Professor Nelson, who has been on the faculty at the University of Chicago since 1996,  is the author of Pursuing Privacy in Cold War America (Columbia University Press, 2002).

Dr. Nelson is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree in English from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in English from the City University of New York.

Sheryl Long has been appointed dean of the School of Education, Health, and Human Services at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She has been serving as dean of graduate and professional studies, director of teacher education and graduate studies in education, and as an associate professor of education at Salem College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Dr. Long is an alumna of Meredith College, where she majored in English. She also holds a master’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from North Carolina State University.

Abimbola O. Asojo will be the second dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University in Baltimore, effective August 2. Dr. Asojo has served for the past 12 years at the University of Minnesota, where she was the associate dean for faculty at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a professor of interior design in the School of Architecture of the College of Design. Her work focuses on cross-cultural design, architectural lighting design, African architecture, computing and design, global issues, sustainable design, and K-12 spaces.

Dr. Asojo received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria. She earned a master’s degree in architecture and computing design from the University of East London in England and a Ph.D. in instructional psychology and technology, anthropology, and history from the University of Oklahoma.

Jill Swisher was appointed dean of the Graduate School & Adult Learning at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. Swisher comes to Northwestern from Concordia University in Irvine, California, where she has been serving as the senior director of master’s degree programs in the School of Education.

Dr. Swisher holds master’s degrees in organizational leadership from Chapman University in Orange, California, and a master’s degree in communication studies from San Diego State University. She earned a doctorate in educational leadership from Concordia University.

Julie Sanford has been named the next dean of the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama. For the past four years, she has been dean and professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Earlier, she was director of the James Madison University School of Nursing in Virginia.

Dr. Sanford earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Alabama. She holds a master’s degree in adult health nursing and nursing education from the University of South Alabama and a doctor of nursing science degree from Louisiana State University.

M. Evelyn Fields, a professor of early childhood education at South Carolina State University, has been appointed dean of the university’s College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences. Dr. Fields had served as the college’s acting dean for the past 15 months. Her primary area of research centers around equity and culturally relevant pedagogy, particularly as it relates to effectively teaching African American boys.

Dr. Fields holds a master’s degree in education and a Ph.D. in early childhood education from the University of South Carolina.

Laura Curran was appointed the fifteenth dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Connecticut, effective August 11. Dr. Curran currently is vice provost for faculty affairs at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Prior to serving as vice provost, Dr. Curran held the position of senior associate dean of academic affairs at the Rutgers University School of Social Work.

Dr. Curran earned a bachelor’s degree at Barnard College in New York City. She holds a master of social work degree from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley.