New Faculty Appointments for Seven Women Scholars

Havva Zorluel Özer has been named an assistant teaching professor of writing studies, rhetoric, and composition at Syracuse University. She most recently served as an assistant professor of English at Sinop University in Türkiye.

Dr. Özer holds a bachelor’s degree in English language teaching from Anadolu University in Türkiye, a master’s degree in English language teaching from Cukurova University in Türkiye, and a Ph.D. in composition and applied linguistics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Crystal Fleming has been appointed professor of Africana studies with tenure at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She currently serves as a professor of sociology and Africana Studies at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is the author of numerous books including Resurrecting Slavery: Racial Legacies and White Supremacy in France (Temple University Press, 2017) and How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide (Beacon Press, 2018).

Dr. Fleming is a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts where she double-majored in sociology and French. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University.

Haleh Ardebili has been appointed assistant vice president of entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem in the Office of Technology, Transfer, and Innovation at the University of Houston. She has been a faculty member with the university for the past two decades, currently holding the title of Kamel Salama Endowed Professor in Mechanical Engineering.

Dr. Ardebili is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University where she majored in engineering science and mechanics. She holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Maryland.

Kirsten Greenidge has been named director of the School of Theatre in the College of Fine Arts at Boston University. She is an associate professor, director of the playwriting track, chair of theatre arts, and co-chair of performance in the College of Fine Arts. She is a playwright of many works including The Luck of the Irish (Samuel French, Inc., 2017) and Milk Like Sugar (Samuel French, Inc., 2012).

Greenidge is a graduate of the Bank Street College of Education at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. She holds a master of fine arts degree from the University of Iowa.

Karen Mainess has been named chair of the department of communications sciences and disorders in the School of Allied Health Professionals at Loma Linda University in California. She has been with the university’s faculty since 2001 and currently serves as director of the department’s master’s degree program.

Dr. Mainess received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Loma Linda University and her Ph.D. in speech-language pathology from Columbia University.

Cynthia Cole has been appointed acting director of the Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment at the University of Kentucky. She most recently served as associate clinical professor and director of The Racing Laboratory at the University of Florida.

Dr. Cole holds a bachelor’s degree in zoology, a doctor of veterinary medicine degree, and a Ph.D. in veterinary medicine from the University of Florida.

Donica Hadley has been named the inaugural executive director of the Lab School for Innovation and Career Exploration in the College of Education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She is an assistant professor of early, elementary, and reading education with over two decades of experience in the education field.

Dr. Hadley is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego where she majored in elementary education. She holds a master’s degree in education administration from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.