Three Women Named Distinguished Professors at the University of North Dakota

Rebecca Rozelle-Stone has been named a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of philosophy and ethics. A faculty member for nearly 15 years, Dr. Rozelle-Stone currently serves as associate dean of curriculum for the College of Arts and Sciences. She studies a wide range of topics within the field of philosophy, including compassion fatigue, feminist philosophies, the ethics of attention, the works of Simone Weil, and twentieth- and twenty-first-century European philosophy. She has authored numerous publications, including her recent book, Simone Weil: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2024).

Dr. Rozelle-Stone is magna cum laude graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, where she majored in philosophy. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in philosophy from Southern Illinois University.

Rachel Navarro has been named a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of counseling psychology in the department of education, health, and behavior studies. Since joining the university’s faculty in 2010, she has held several administrative appointments, including associate dean of research and faculty development for the College of Education and Human Development, director of the doctoral program in counseling psychology, and chair of the department of counseling psychology and community services. As a professor and researcher, she aims to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM.

Dr. Navarro holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in women’s studies from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis in college student development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Missouri.

Diane Darland has been named a Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of biology. She has taught biology at the university for the past two decades. Earlier, she served as an instructor with Harvard Medical School. Her research aims to address how changes in gene expression patterns regulate cell fate choices during central nervous system development. In addition to normal development, she also studies the cell, molecular, and epigenetic changes that occur in response to environmental toxins.

Dr. Darland holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of San Diego and a Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from Oregon Health Sciences University.