Five Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed Deans at Universities

Karen Kim has been named dean of Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey, effective September 1. She has been serving as vice provost for research at the University of Chicago. She also was the Sara and Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Medicine, associate director of community outreach and engagement for the University of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, and founder and director of the Center for Asian Health Equity at the University of Chicago.

Dr. Kim earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She holds a master’s degree in neurobiology/physiology from Northwestern University and her medical degree from Loyola University in Chicago.

Donna LaVoie was appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Saint Louis University, effective July 1. A professor of psychology, Dr. LaVoie also served as an associate dean in the college for 12 years. She has been on the university’s faculty for nearly 30 years.

Professor LaVoie is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in cognitive psychology from Claremont Graduate University in California.

Badia Ahad has been appointed as the next dean of Oxford College of Emory University, effective August 1. Dr. Ahad has been serving as vice provost for faculty affairs and professor of English at Loyola University Chicago. A scholar of African American literature and culture, Dr. Ahad is the author of Afro-Nostalgia: Feeling Good in Contemporary Black Culture (University of Illinois Press, 2021).

Dr. Ahad is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

Loretta Griffy will be the inaugural dean of University College at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. A professor of mathematics, she has served as director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, associate provost for student success, and associate vice president for student success strategic initiatives at the university.

Dr. Griffy is a graduate of Austin Peay State University, where she majored in mathematics. She holds a master’s degree in mathematics and statistics from the University of Memphis and a doctorate in higher education administration from Tennessee State University.

Patricia Timmons-Goodson was named dean of the School of Law at North Carolina Central University, effective July 1. She is a former associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. She was the fourth woman and the first African American woman to sit on the state’s highest court. She was first appointed to the bench as a district court judge at the age of 29.

Dean Timmons-Goodson received a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also holds a master’s degree from Duke University Law School.

Related Articles

Latest News

Data Shows High Attrition Rates for Women in STEM Degree Programs

For women who began their four-year college career in a STEM discipline, 14 percent dropped out of college and 32 percent switched to a non-STEM major before earning their degree.

Monique Guillory Named Ninth President of Dillard University

Dr. Guillory has served as Dillard University's interim president for the past seven months. Her background includes over three decades of higher education administration experience.

Lynne Coy-Organ Is the First Woman President of Husson University

Lynne Coy-Organ has been named the first woman president of Husson University in Maine. She has served as the university's provost and senior vice president for academic affairs for the past 15 years.

Donna Hedgepath Will Be the First Woman President of Wayland Baptist University

Current provost of Campbellsville University in Kentucky, Donna Hedgepath, has been named president of Wayland Baptist University in Texas, making her the first woman to be selected for the position.

Three Women Scholars Appointed to Provost Positions

The new provosts are Elizabeth Dumont at the University of California, Merced, Marguerite Giguette at Xavier University in New Orleans, and Margaret Brown Marsden at Midwestern State University in Texas.

MOSDOH – Dean of the Missouri School of Dentistry & Oral Health

The dean serves as the chief academic and administrative officer for MOSDOH, leading a mission-driven dental school known for innovation, community partnerships, and service to the underserved.

Vice President for Administrative Services and Chief Financial Officer

The successful candidate will have a strong financial and administrative background and demonstrated ability to excel in a fast-paced, dynamic and complex community college that values integrity, excellence, empowerment, inclusiveness, collaboration and stewardship.

Instructional Professor in Law, Letters, and Society (Open Rank)

The Social Sciences Collegiate Division at the University of Chicago is now accepting applications for a full-time Instructional Professor who will teach in the program in Law, Letters, and Society.

Instructor, Economics

The Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics at the University of Chicago invites applications for tenure-track faculty positions in Economics at the Instructor position level to begin in the 2025-26 academic year and is renewable for up to three years.

Vice Chancellor for Student Success

The Vice Chancellor for Student Success will be a strategic, student-centered, data-informed, systems thinker who thrives in a fast paced, high-achieving environment.