A Quartet of Women Scholars Assume New Roles at Major State Universities

Chieri Kubota was named a Distinguished Professor of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University. Dr. Kubota is a professor in the department of horticulture and crop science and director of Ohio State’s Controlled Environment Agriculture Research Center. Her research focuses on plant propagation techniques, crop production management, and engineering applications. Dr. Kubota joined the Ohio State faculty in 2017 after teaching at the University of Arizona.

Dr. Kubota holds a bachelor’s degree in agriculture science, a master’s degree in horticultural science, and a Ph.D. in horticultural engineering, all from Chiba University in Japan.

Carla Pfeffer is the new chair of the department of sociology at Michigan State University. Dr. Pfeffer is a professor of sociology and previously served as the inaugural director for the university’s Consortium for Sexual and Gender Minority Health. She came to the university’s College of Social Science in 2021 from the University of South Carolina where she was an associate professor of sociology and women’s and gender studies and director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.

Dr. Pfeffer holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and women’s studies, a master’s degree in sociology, a master of social work degree, and a Ph.D. in sociology, all from the University of Michigan.

Rosemarie Wesson, a professor of chemical engineering at the City University of New York, was given the added duties of associate vice chancellor and university vice provost for research. She was associate provost for research and earlier associate dean for research in The Grove School of Engineering at City College of New York.

Dr. Wesson holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She earned master’s and doctoral degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, where she was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in the field.

Lisa Angeloni was appointed director of the Graduate Center for Inclusive Mentoring at Colorado State University. She is a long-time faculty member in the department of biology and the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at the university. Her research is focused on behavioral ecology, including the evolution and plasticity of behavior in fishes, the effects of human disturbance on wildlife behavior, and the behavior of species of conservation concern.

Dr. Angeloni holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego.