Six Women Who Have Been Appointed Deans at Universities

Tarlika Nunez-Navarro was appointed dean of The Benjamin L. Crump College of Law at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, effective August 7. Nunez-Navarro currently serves as a circuit court judge for the Ninth Judicial Circuit and presides in the Felony Criminal Division in Orange County, Florida.

Judge Nunez-Navarro is a graduate of the University of Miami. She earned a juris doctorate at St. Thomas University.

Margie Ferree Jones is the new dean of The Collins College of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Dr. Jones is a certified wine educator and certified sommelier who has taught courses in strategic leadership, marketing, special events, food and beverage, and hotel/resort planning and development. A member of the college faculty since 1990, Dr. Jones served as interim dean prior to her permanent appointment.

Dr. Jones earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Indiana University and her master’s degree in hotel administration from Cornell University. She holds a doctorate in education studies from Claremont Graduate University in California.

Melinda Pettigrew will become dean of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health on December 29. She is the Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Epidemiology and deputy dean of the Yale School of Public Health, who served as interim dean during the last year.

Dr. Pettigrew is a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa, where she majored in biology. She earned a Ph.D. in the epidemiology of microbial diseases from Yale University.

Cynthia Carter Ching is serving as the interim dean for the School of Education at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Ching has been serving as associate dean for academic programs in the School of Education since 2016. She joined the university’s faculty in 2007. Dr. Ching has also served as interim vice provost and dean of undergraduate education.

Dr. Ching is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine, where she majored in psychology. She holds a Ph.D. in psychological studies in education from the University of California Los Angeles.

Carol McNulty has been appointed interim dean of the Watson College of Education at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She had been serving as associate provost for undergraduate education and faculty affairs at the university.

Dr. McNulty is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds a master’s degree from Mercer University in Georgia and a Ph.D. in elementary education from the University of Georgia.

Junghee Lee is the new interim dean of the School of Social Work at Portland State University in Oregon. Dr. Lee joined the university’s faculty in 2006 as an assistant professor of social work. She was the director of the Ph.D. program for the School of Social Work from 2015 to 2023.

Dr. Lee holds a master of social work degree and a Ph.D. in social work from Arizona State University.