New Dean Appointments for Seven Women Scholars at Universities

Karen A. Thole has been named the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at the University of Michigan.  Currently, she serves as a University Distinguished Professor in the department of mechanical engineering and director of the START Lab at Pennsylvania State University where she has taught for nearly two decades.

Dr. Thole earned her bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois. She holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas.

Mary Gallagher has been named the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. She currently serves as the Amy and Alan Lowenstein Chair in Democracy, Democratization and Human Rights at the University of Michigan. She also directs the university’s International Institute.

Dr. Gallagher is a graduate of Smith College in Massachusetts where she studied government and East Asian studies. She holds a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University.

Bárbara Brizuela has been selected to serve as interim dean of the undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. She currently serves as dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and dean of academic affairs for the undergraduate school. Additionally, she teaches as a professor in the department of education.

Dr. Brizuela completed her undergraduate education at the Universidad de Belgrano in Argentina. She holds a master’s degree in general studies in education from Tufts University and an educational doctorate from Harvard University.

Jamie Payton has been appointed dean of the College of Computing at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She currently chairs the department of computer and information sciences at Temple University in Philadelphia. Earlier in her career, she taught at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Dr. Payton is a graduate of the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma, where she majored in computer science. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in computer science from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Kimberly Dodd has been named dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University. She has served as director of the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for the past three years. Prior to her current role, she served as director of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.

Dr. Dodd received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in population biology from the University of Virginia. She holds a doctor of veterinary medicine degree and a Ph.D. in comparative pathology from the University of California, Davis.

Amanda L. Krause has been appointed dean of the William L. Ridgway College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Evansville in Indiana. Currently, she serves as an associate professor of political science, director of international programs, and founder of the philosophy, politics, and economics program at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Dr. Krause is a graduate of Indiana University where she majored in journalism. She holds a master’s degree in political science from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Missouri.

Teresa Conner has been named dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at North Dakota State University. She most recently served as dean of the College of Health at Idaho State University. She previously served as the inaugural associate provost of health sciences at Radford University Carilion in Virginia.

Dr. Conner holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Queens College in New York and an MBA from Elon University in North Carolina. She earned a second bachelor’s degree in physical therapy and a Ph.D. in anatomy and cell biology from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.