A Trio of Women Scholars Selected for Dean Positions at Colleges and Universities

Nita Ahuja has been named the first woman dean of the School of Medicine and Public Health and vice chancellor for medical affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Since 2018, she has served as chair of the department of surgery at Yale University. She was the first woman to serve in the position. She held several leadership appointments at the Ivy League university, including chair of the Yale Medicine Faculty Practice Plan, associate director of surgical services at Yale Cancer Center, chief of surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital, and surgeon-in-chief of the Yale New Haven Hospital System.

Dr. Ahuja earned her medical degree at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Malekah Salim-Morgan has been named dean of undergraduate studies at Reach University in Oakland, California. Her background includes over 25 years of service to public K-12 schools throughout Louisiana. Prior to joining the Reach University faculty, she was deputy assistant superintendent of school improvement for the Louisiana Department of Education. Earlier in her career, she was an adjunct instructor at Louisiana State University Shreveport.

Salim-Morgan holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Grambling State University in Louisiana and a master’s degree in school administration from Louisiana State University at Shreveport. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in learning and organizational change from Baylor University in Texas.

Rebecca Robertson has been named dean of culture, society, and communications at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California. She comes to her new role from California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, where she was director of interdisciplinary studies for the individualized degree program. Earlier, she was a faculty member in anthropology, graduate program coordinator for the master’s degree in applied anthropology, and director of the Applied Anthropology and Ethnographic Research Lab. She also served as faculty rights chair for the California Faculty Association.

Dr. Robertson holds a Ph.D. in education from Oregon State University.