Colleges and Universities Appoint Eight Women to Administrative Positions

Rosalinda García has been named vice president for student engagement at Texas A&M University International in Laredo. She has been serving as vice president for administration at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. Earlier, she was assistant dean of students and director of the Latino Cultural Center at Yale University.

García holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. She earned a master’s degree in higher education administration from Teachers College at Columbia University and a master’s degree in bilingual-bicultural studies from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Julia Watkins was appointed chaplain and director of the Religious and Spiritual Life Office at Davidson College in North Carolina. She was associate pastor for outreach and congregational life at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina.

Watkins is a 2014 graduate of Davidson College, where she majored in psychology. She earned a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey.

Barbara Blake Gonzalez, former chief administrative officer of the Strome College of Business’ Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, is the inaugural director of the Monarch Internship and Co-Op Office at the university.

Dr. Blake Gonzalez earned a bachelor’s degree in international business from High Point University in North Carolina. She holds a master’s degree in international studies from the University of Leeds in England and a doctorate in higher education administration from George Washington University.

Erin M. Curtis is the new Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Director of the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery at Scripps College in Claremont, California. She previously served as a curator at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park.

Dr. Custis earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Pomona College in Claremont, California. She holds a master’s degree in public humanities and a Ph.D. in American studies from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Valerie Melton is the new vice president for university advancement at Albany State University in Georgia. She also serves as the executive director of the ASU Foundation. She previously served as vice president for advancement at four other universities.

Melton holds a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University and a master of public administration degree from Delaware State University, where she is working on a doctorate in higher education administration.

Stacey Kostell has been appointed vice president of enrollment at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, effective August 28. She has been serving as chief executive officer of the Coalition for College, an organization that helps students access resources to find a college that matches their academic, financial, and social needs.

A first-generation college graduate, Kostell earned a bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University and a master’s degree from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Janet Barnes is the new chair of the Grambling State University Foundation in Louisiana. She is the owner of Pedi-pop Pediatrics, which has been providing healthcare to the children of metropolitan New Orleans for more than 40 years.

A graduate of Grambling State University with a degree in chemistry, Dr. Barnes received her medical degree and pediatric training at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. She also holds an executive MBA from the University of New Orleans.

Jackie Mullen was promoted to assistant vice president for student affairs/student experience at Mississippi State University. She has been serving as assistant dean of students. Earlier, she was director of Student Activities and Fraternity and Sorority Life. Dr. Mullen has been on the staff at the university for nearly 15 years.

Dr. Mullen holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration/marketing from the University of Tennessee. She earned a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in higher education leadership at Mississippi State University.