Seven Women Faculty Members Who Are Taking on New Roles

Heidi Hehnly, the Renée Crown Professor in the Sciences and Mathematics and associate professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University in New York, has been appointed associate director of the BioInspired Institute at the university. BioInspired is an interdisciplinary research institute whose members examine complex biological systems, developing and designing programmable smart materials to address global challenges in health, medicine, and materials innovation. Dr. Hehnly joined the faculty in 2018.

Dr. Hehnly is a graduate of the University of Rochester in New York, where she majored in biochemistry. She holds a Ph.D. in molecular physiology and biophysics from the College of Medicine at the University of Iowa.

Hope (Bess) Wilson is the new chair of the department of special and early education at Northern Illinois University. She comes to NIU from the University of North Florida, where she had taught since 2012 and most recently served as a professor in the department of teaching, learning and curriculum.

Dr. Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in art and a master’s degree in art education from Austin College in Texas. She earned a master’s degree in gifted education at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, and a Ph.D. in education psychology at the University of Connecticut.

Chinenye Anyanwu has been named faculty director of the new Black Sisters Optimizing Unity & Leadership (BSOUL House) Learning Community at the University of Connecticut. The BSOUL House is designed to support the scholastic efforts of female students who identify as African American/Black. She is an assistant clinical professor of pharmacy practice at the university. Her research centers on improving the provision of pharmaceutical care for racial/ethnic minorities through community-based interventions, policy change, and advocacy.

Dr. Anyanwu holds a bachelor’s degree and a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Connecticut. She also earned a master of public health degree from George Washington University.

Jennifer Freeman, professor of toxicology in the School of Health Sciences at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, has been named assistant vice president for research development. A member of the faculty since 2007. Dr. Freeman recently served as associate head of the School of Health Sciences and earlier had been interim director of the Center for the Environment.

Dr. Freeman holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and a Ph.D. in environmental toxicology and molecular cytogenetics from the University of Illinois.

Sabrina Jedlicka, an associate professor in the departments of materials science and engineering, and bioengineering at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was given the added duties of deputy provost for graduate education. Since 2020, she has served as associate dean for academic affairs in the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science at the university.

Dr. Jedlicka is a graduate of Kansas State University, where she majored in psychology, agricultural engineering, and women’s studies. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in engineering from Purdue University.

Samantha Francois was hired as an associate professor of psychology at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. She was the co-executive director of the Violence Prevention Institute at Tulane University in New Orleans. Her research examines the intersections of the individual, community, and structural factors that impact development in Black and African American adolescents and emerging adults.

Dr. Francois is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Xavier University and a master’s degree and a doctorate in psychological sciences from Tulane University.

Jocelyn Viterna was named chair of women, gender, and sexuaility at Harvard University. She is a professor of sociology whose research examines how social mobilization affects gender norms and practices in politics, in government institutions, in warfare, and in communities. Dr. Viterna joined the faculty in 2007 after teaching at Tulane University in New Orleans.

Professor Viterna is a graduate of Kansas State University, where she majored in sociology and Latin American studies. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from Indiana University.