New Administrative Appointments for Ten Women in Higher Education

Kate C. Lemay has been named director of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center at the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. She is the first civilian woman to hold this position. Currently, she serves as a historian and curator at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. She previously held teaching roles with Auburn University in Alabama and Brigham Young University in Utah.

Dr. Lemay is a magna cum laude graduate of Syracuse University, where she double-majored in French and art history. She earned a dual Ph.D. degree in American art history and American studies from Indiana University.

Denise Sherman has been named director of the Center for Management Development and Executive Education at the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University in Kansas. For the past six years, she has served as executive director of the Kansas African American Museum. She previously held leadership roles at Southwestern College and what is now WSU Tech.

Sherman is an alumna of Wichita State University, where she majored in business administration. She holds an MBA and a master’s degree in business management from Webster University in St. Louis and a master’s degree in organizational development from Friends University in Wichita.

Rachel Jefferson has been appointed deputy chief of support services for the Johns Hopkins University Police Department. She recently served as deputy chief for the City of Bowie Police Department in Maryland, where she was the department’s first woman to be promoted from officer to commander. Her career in law enforcement began with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C.

Jefferson received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Pennsylvania State University and her master’s degree in human services with a concentration in counseling from the University of Maryland.

Sheila Gamero has been appointed director of the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative at Arkansas Tech University. She has served as a teacher with the Russellville School District for over a decade. In her new role, she will assist local high school students prepare for college.

Gamero received her bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in management and marketing and her master’s degree in teaching from Arkansas Tech University.

Amy Alcocer has been named vice president for institutional advancement at Mid-Atlantic Christian University in North Carolina. She has a robust background in higher education, including leadership roles with Elizabeth City State University, Norfolk State University, and the College of The Albemarie. She also has advancement experience in insurance and nonprofit sectors.

Alcocer holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Elizabeth City State Universiy and an MBA from Fayetteville State University.

Judi Brown Clarke has been appointed vice president for equity and inclusion, chief health equity officer, and chief diversity officer at Stony Brook University and Health System in New York. Her role will focus on integrating health equity principles into research, policy, and practice. She has nearly two decades of leadership experience in strategic planning and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Dr. Brown Clarke received her bachelor’s degree in audiology and speech science and her master’s degree in educational administration from Michigan State University. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from Western Michigan University.

Sandee Cheynet has been named associate vice president of human resources and chief human resources officer at Rice University in Houston, Texas. With over 20 years of experience in human resources, she most recently served as associate vice president of human resources and deputy chief human resources officer at Virginia Tech. She will begin her new role at Rice on March 24.

Cheynet holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and an MBA from Virginia Tech.

Khatmeh Osseiran-Hanna has been appointed senior vice president of institutional advancement at St. Catherine University in Minnesota. She comes to her new role from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she was vice president for university advancement. Earlier, she was vice president for institutional advancement and external affairs at the College of Staten Island within the City University of New York system.

Osseiran-Hanna received her bachelor’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Danielle Williams has been named Title IX coordinator at the University of Arkansas. She will continue to serve in her current role as the associate vice chancellor and executive director of equal opportunity, compliance, and Title IX. She served in the Air National Guard for 20 years and retired with the rank of Major in June 2018.

Dr. Williams is a three-time graduate of the University of Arkansas, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics, a master’s degree in vocational education and human resource development, and a doctorate in workforce development education.

Jennifer Davis has been named the director of college scholarships for the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. Prior to her new role, she was the associate director of financial aid at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Earlier, she was senior assistant director of needs analysis at the University of Southern California.

Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in postsecondary administration from the University of Southern California.