Six Women Selected for Dean Roles at Colleges and Universities

Michelle Scherer has been named dean of the College of Engineering at Michigan Technological University. For the past 26 years, she has served on the faculty at the University of Iowa, where she was a distinguished chair and professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering. She also served as the founding co-chair of the College of Engineering’s diversity, equity, and inclusion council and director of the Hanson Center for Communication.

Dr. Scherer holds a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Connecticut, and a Ph.D. in environmental science and engineering from the Oregon Graduate Institute.

Carolyn Lawrence-Dill has been appointed dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University. She comes to her new role after more than two decades with Iowa State University, where she served as associate dean for research and discovery in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and associate director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station. Earlier in her career, she conducted research with the United States Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Lawrence-Dill is a graduate of Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, where she majored in biology. She holds a master’s degree in biology from Texas Tech University and a doctorate in botany from the University of Georgia.

Kelly Sims Gallagher has been promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University in Massachusetts. She has been with The Fletcher School for the past 15 years, currently serving as a professor of energy and environmental policy, founding director of the Climate Policy Lab, and co-director of the Center for International Environmental and Resource Policy. She has authored several books including Titans of the Climate: Explaining Policy Process in the United States and China (MIT Press, 2018).

Dr. Gallagher is a graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, where she double-majored in environmental studies and diplomacy and world affairs. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in international affairs from Tufts University.

Libby Thorson has been selected to serve as interim dean of students in the division of student affairs at the University of Wyoming. In her new role, she will oversee operations for the university’s residence life department. She currently serves as the university’s assistant dean of students and deputy Title IX coordinator

Thorson holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in student affairs administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse..

Ellia Sablan-Zebedy has been named dean of enrollment services and student success at Wenatchee Valley College in Washington. She comes to her new role from Lehigh Carbon Community College in Pennsylvania, where she spent seven years as executive director of enrollment management.

Sablan-Zebedy holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of the South Pacific in Fiji and an MBA from Australian National University.

Francine Staba has been promoted to dean for academic support and student success at Alfred State College in New York. She currently serves as the interim associate dean for the college’s Center for Academic Resource & Excellence and will continue to serve in that capacity alongside her new role. Earlier in her tenure with Alfred State, she served as director of the Center or Community Education and Training and associate professor in the business technology department.

Staba holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania and an MBA from Alfred University in New York.