Five Women Professors Taking on New Roles in Academia

Jenny Thigpen has been named vice chancellor for academic affairs at Washington State University Global Campus. She has been a faculty member with the university’s department of history since 2008. Her academic interests center on nineteenth-century United States history, particularly women and gender history, the western United States, and colonialism.

Dr. Thigpen holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Irvine.

Shameka Shelby has been named deputy chief of staff and associate vice president for inclusive excellence at Florida Southern College. A faculty member with the college for over a decade, she serves as the Dr. John A. Leighty Endowed Chair in Chemistry and chair of the department of chemistry, biochemistry, and physics. Earlier in her tenure, she was associate director of the honors program.

Dr. Shelby received her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana and her Ph.D. in biological chemistry from the University of Michigan.

Gabriela C. Weaver has been appointed assistant vice president for academic affairs and research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She has been a professor of chemistry with the university for more than 10 years. For the past four years, she has served as assistant dean for student success in the College of Natural Sciences.

Dr. Weaver holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in chemical physics from the University of Colorado.

Stephanie Witt has been granted the title of distinguished professor at Boise State University. She has held several leadership roles over the course of 35-year tenure with the university, including department chair, director of the master’s degree program in public administration, director of the Public Policy Center, interim associate dean, and associate vice president.

Dr. Whitt holds a Ph.D. in political science from Washington State University.

Kendra Hall-Kenyon has been named associate vice president for faculty relations at Brigham Young University in Utah. She has been a faculty member with the university since 2002. For the past two years, she has served as dean of the David O. McKay School of Education.

Dr. Hall-Kenyon is an alumna of Brigham Young University, where she majored in family science. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in human development from Columbia University.