Universities Offer New Assignments to Eight Women Scholars

Joan Donovan, a renowned expert in online misinformation and disinformation campaigns, has joined the faculty at Boston University as an assistant professor in the College of Communication. Dr. Donovan was most recently research director of the Technology and Social Change Research Project at the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School. She is co-author of Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022).

Dr. Donovan earned a doctorate in sociology and science studies at the University of California, San Diego. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics.

Shanen M. Sherrer was recently promoted to associate professor of biochemistry with tenure at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Her research is focused on studying the biological outcomes of DNA damage caused by environmental sources.

Dr. Sherrer is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she majored in biochemistry. She holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Ohio State University.

Sherry Hartnett is the inaugural director of the Office of Workforce Development at the University of West Florida. She is a professor of marketing and leadership at the university. Dr. Harnett is the founding chair of the university’s Women in Leadership Conference.

Dr. Harnett is a graduate of Towson University in Maryland, where she majored in business administration. She holds a master’s degree in management from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a doctorate in business administration from Georgia State University.

Daphne Penn has joined the faculty of Peabody College of education and human development at Vanderbilt University in Nashville as an assistant professor of education policy and inequality. Her research aims to understand and address the root causes of educational inequality by examining schools as microcosms of society. Her forthcoming book, The American Dream Deferred, examines the politics of immigration-related demographic change when unaccompanied minors from Guatemala are introduced into a historic African American high school in the U.S. South.

Dr. Penn earned a bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development from Vanderbilt University. She holds a master’s degree in sociology from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and a Ph.D. in education from Harvard University.

The Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University announces the appointment of Kanaka Rajan as its first faculty member. She will also serve as a member of the faculty in the department of neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Rajan comes to Harvard from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where she was a tenured associate professor in the department of neuroscience and the Friedman Brain Institute.

Dr. Rajan is a graduate of Anna University in Tamil Nadu, India. She earned a master’s degree at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and a Ph.D. at Columbia University.

Rachel Eells is the new interim director of the School of Education at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. Earlier, Dr. Eells served as vice president for academic affairs and a professor of education at Concordia College New York.

Dr. Eells earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary and special education from Concordia College in Chicago followed by a master’s degree in gifted and talented education from the University of Arkansas Little Rock. She holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Loyola University Chicago.

Tesa Leonce, an associate professor of accounting at Columbus State University in Georgia, was given the added duties as associate dean of the Turner College of Business and Technology at the university. Prior to joining the faculty at Columbus State in 2014, Dr. Leonce taught at Wake Forest University, Eastern Illinois University, and the University of Wyoming.

Dr. Leonce holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a specialization in finance and business computer information systems from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wyoming.

Maria Carreon is a new associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Arkansas. She was a faculty member at the University of Tulsa, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and most recently, at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Dr. Carreon’s research includes plasma catalysis, production of platform chemicals, and materials synthesis and design.

Dr. Carreon completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering at Universidad Michoacana in Mexico and holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Louisville.

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.

Lecturer in Stage Management

The Lecturer in Stage Management will be responsible for teaching three courses and stage managing three Main Stage shows in the Department of Theater and Performance Studies production season.

Vice President for Finance and Enrollment Services

The Vice President for Finance and Enrollment Services is the Chief Financial Officer and principal advisor to the President on all matters related to the management and oversight of business and financial affairs of the College at all campuses and locations, the Foundation, and budgeting oversight for grants.

Assistant Professor in Metabolism Research

The Morgridge Institute for Research, in partnership with the Department of Biomolecular Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, seeks a joint tenure track assistant professor to lead a vibrant metabolism-focused research program.

Executive Assistant to the President

The Executive Assistant to the President plays a vital role in the day-to-day operations of the President's Office at San Francisco Bay University (SFBU), ensuring seamless administrative support that reflects the institution's high standards of professionalism and service.

Acquisitions Librarian

The Acquisitions Librarian responsibilities have an emphasis on one-time, profile-based and approval plan acquisitions that support the general collection, Special Collections and Area Studies.