A Trio of Women Who Have Been Appointed to New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Michelle Hernandez was appointed assistant vice president of communications, marketing, and external affairs in the Office of Public Affairs at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, a campus of the City University of New York. Dr. Hernandez has served as director of marketing, communications and public affairs at NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull in Brooklyn, New York.

Dr. Hernandez holds a bachelor’s degree in English and sociology from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She earned a master of public administration degree from Long Island University and a doctor of professional studies degree in business with a concentration in marketing from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University.

Diane Ryan is the new vice president for academic affairs at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland. Prior to joining Harford Community College, she served as the vice president of academic affairs at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona.

Dr. Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and a master’s degree in communication studies from Western Illinois University. She holds a Ph.D. in community college leadership from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Lynda Batiste was appointed senior vice president of finance and chief operating officer at St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the former vice president and chief financial officer at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis. Earlier in her career, Dr. Batiste was the assistant vice president for finance and comptroller at Alabama A&M University.

Dr. Batiste holds bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She holds a Ph.D. in urban higher education from Jackson State University in Mississippi.