Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointment of Five Women to Administrative Positions

Melissa Farmer Richards was named vice president and chief of staff at Emerson College in Boston. For the past four years, she has been vice president for communications and marketing at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Before her term at Hamilton College, Melissa held similar leadership positions at Sweet Briar College in Virginia, and St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.

Richards earned a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and communication studies at the University of Virginia. She holds a master of public administration degree from Virginia Tech.

Fort Valley State University in Georgia has named Emma Bennett-Williams as the new chief of staff. Bennett-Williams previously served as the interim chief of staff and chief legal officer. Bennett-Williams joined Fort Valley State University’s Office of Legal and Government Affairs in 2019.

Bennett-Williams is a graduate of South Carolina State University, where she majored in business administration. She holds an MBA from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, and earned a juris doctorate with a concentration in employment and labor law from California Western School of Law.

Olga N. Weider has been appointed to serve as the University of Virginia’s associate vice president of financial operations and university controller. She will start her new job on January 22. She had served as assistant vice president/university controller at the University of Florida.

Weider holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of South Florida. She earned an MBA from Louisiana State University.

Carlotta Mitchell was appointed director of its Center for Academic Advising at Florida A&M University. In her new role, Mitchell will oversee more than 30 academic advisors located within the university’s 14 colleges and schools. She has been on the university’s staff for 25 years.

Mitchell holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in applied social science from Florida A&M University. She holds a master’s degree in conflict analysis and resolution from Nova Southeastern University.

Nichol L. Luoma has been named executive vice chancellor for administration and chief administrative officer at Washington University in St. Louis, effective February 5. She was vice president of University Business Services at Arizona State University.

Luoma graduated summa cum laude from the W. P. Carey School of Business and Barrett at Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in supply chain management. She earned an MBA from Duke University.