Ten Women Leaders Appointed to Dean Positions

Kjerstin Thorson has been appointed dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University, where she will serve as a professor in the department of journalism and media communication. She comes to her new role from Michigan State University, where she served as the Brandt Endowed Professor of Political Communication and associate dean for strategic initiatives in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences.

Dr. Thorson is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a doctorate in mass communication with a minor in educational psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Casilde Isabelli has been named the permanent dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada Reno. She is a professor of Hispanic linguistics and has served as interim dean for the past two years. A faculty member since 2000, she has served in numerous academic roles including chair of the department of world languages and literatures and director of the basic Spanish-language program.

Dr. Isabelli received bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and Spanish from Illinois State University. She holds a master’s degree in Hispanic linguistics and literature from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. in Spanish applied linguistics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Joyce Inman has been officially named dean of the Honors College at the University of Southern Mississippi, after holding the position on an interim basis for the past year. She has been with the university since 2012, currently serving as an associate professor of English and director of the composition program. Prior to her interim dean appointment, she served as associate dean of the Honors College for two years.

Dr. Inman completed her undergraduate education at the University of Mobile in Alabama. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in composition and rhetoric from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Sarah Diem has been selected to serve as interim dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Missouri. She currently serves the university as professor and chair of the department of educational leadership and policy analysis. She holds faculty affiliations with the Harry S. Truman School of Government and Public Affairs and the qualitative inquiry program.

Dr. Diem received her bachelor’s degree and her Ph.D. in educational policy and planning from the University of Texas at Austin and her master of public affairs degree from the University of Oregon.

Maria Lane has been named the permanent dean of graduate studies at the University of New Mexico. She is a professor in the department of geography and environmental sciences and has served as interim dean since last summer. Since joining the University of New Mexico faculty in 2006, she has held positions such as chair of her department and director of the R.H. Mallory Center for Community Geography. She has authored multiple publications, including the forthcoming Fluid Geographies: Water, Science, and Settler Colonialism in New Mexico (University of Chicago Press, 2024).

Dr. Lane is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she majored in Latin American studies. She holds a master’s degree in community and regional planning and a Ph.D. in geography from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sarah Gordon has been appointed dean of the Jackson College of Graduate Studies at the University of Central Oklahoma. She comes to her new role from Arkansas Tech University, where she has served as dean of the Graduate College and associate professor of educational leadership.

Dr. Gordon holds a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. from Oklahoma State University.

Sarah Cole has been officially named dean of the School of Arts at Columbia University after holding the position in the interim for the past year. She most recently served as dean of humanities for Columbia University’s faculty of arts & sciences. She previously served as chair of the department of English and comparative literature. She has authored three books, most recently Inventing Tomorrow: H. G. Wells and the Twentieth Century (Columbia University Press, 2019).

Dr. Cole holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Williams College in Massachusetts and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Gabrielle Esperdy has been promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the College of Architecture and Design at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She has taught architecture at the college for more than two decades, serving on numerous advisory and search committees.

Dr. Esperdy is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusets, where she majored in art history. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in art and architectural history from the City University of New York.

Jennifer Kellner has been appointed dean of STEM, health, and education at Central Wyoming College. A member of the college community for more than two decades, she currently serves as a professor of mathematics. In this role, she helped to expand the mathematics curriculum, developing courses such as college algebra, calculus, and business calculus.

Kellner holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a concentration in mathematics and a master’s degree in secondary education curriculum and instruction from Chadron State College in Nebraska. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in mathematics education at the University of Wyoming.

Mary Frances Luce has been selected to serve as interim dean of the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. She currently serves as the Robert A. Ingram Professor of Business Administration. Over the course of her two-decades-long career with Duke University, she had stints as associate dean and senior associate dean of faculty.

Dr. Luce is a graduate of Ball State University in Indiana. She holds a Ph.D. in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Duke University.