Universities Announce the Appointments of Three Women to Dean Positions

Susan Gilbertz has been appointed the interim dean of the College of Business at Montana State University. In 2003, she joined the university as the director of environmental studies at Montana State University Billings. Dr. Gilbertz’s primary research interests have focused on the sustainability of the communities of the Yellowstone, the Clark’s Fork, Madison, the Ruby, the Milk, and the St. Mary’s Rivers of Montana. Earlier, she taught at Texas A&M University for 18 years.

Dr. Gilbertz grew up on a ranch south of Gillette, Wyoming. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication and a master’s degree in conflict resolution from the University of Wyoming. She holds a Ph.D. in geography from Texas A&M University.

Brietta Clark is the new Fritz B. Burns Dean of Loyola Marymount University Law School in California. Clark, who is the nineteenth dean of the law school, is the first woman to hold the position and also the first Black dean in the law school’s history. Dean Clark has served as interim dean since July 16, 2023. Since joining the law school faculty in 2001, Clark has served in numerous leadership roles in addition to interim dean, including associate dean for faculty from 2015-20. Clark also served as the co-chair of the Law School Strategic Planning Committee.

Clark earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago and a juris doctorate from the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California.

Sarah Gordon is the new dean of the Graduate College at Arkansas Tech University. Dr. Gordon joined the Arkansas Tech faculty in 2018 as an associate professor of educational leadership and held departmental leadership positions in the department of student affairs administration and the Center for Leadership and Learning before becoming interim dean of the Graduate College in February 2022.

Dr. Gordon holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a Ph.D., all from  Oklahoma State University.