New Dean Appointments for Eight Women in Higher Education

Katy Tangenberg has been named dean of the Cástulo de la Rocha College of Health and Community Well-Being at the University of La Verne in California. She comes to her new role from Seattle Pacific University, where she currently serves as dean of the School of Psychology, Family, and Community. Earlier, she was founding director and chair of the master of social work program and associate dean of the School of Behavioral and Applied Sciences at Azusa Pacific University in California.

Dr. Tangenberg received her bachelor’s degree and her master of social work degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a Ph.D. in social welfare from the University of Washington.

Kristin Lima has been appointed dean of the Del Norte Center and Pelican Bay program at the College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California. She has held several leadership appointments at community colleges in California and Oregon, most recently serving as dean of applied technology, business, and information systems at Mt. Hood Community College. She has extensive experience in instruction, accreditation, curriculum development, workforce partnerships, and community collaboration.

Dr. Lima holds a master’s degree in international business management from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, and a doctorate in organizational leadership from the University of Massachusetts Global.

Karry Kiste-Toner has been promoted to dean of student success at Delta College in Michigan. She has served as the college’s dean of retention for the past four years. Earlier, she was assistant vice president of student success at Mid Michigan College. In addition to her work as a college administrator, she is also a licensed professional counselor.

Kiste-Toner received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Central Michigan University.

Rebecca Zietlow has been promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the College of Law at the University of Toledo in Ohio. A faculty member with the university since 1995, she currently serves as a Distinguished University Professor and the Charles W. Fornoff Professor of Law and Values. She is an expert on constitutional law who specializes in the the study of the Reconstruction Era.

Professor Zietlow received her bachelor’s degree from Barnard College in New York City and her juris doctorate from Yale Law School.

Tanya Walker has been selected to serve as interim dean of the University College at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She will retain her current position as director of academic advancement programs. Earlier in her tenure with the university, she was assistant director of student success and retention coordinator for the division of enrollment management and student success.

Dr. Walker is an alumna of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, where she majored in business administration and marketing. She holds a master’s degree in counseling and a master’s degree in educational administration from Prairie View A&M University in Texas, as well as a Ph.D. in urban higher education from Jackson State University in Mississippi.

Nicole Hall has been promoted to senior associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Virginia. For the past two years, she has served as the university’s associate vice president for career and professional development. Before her tenure with UVA, she was director of career and professional development at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Dr. Hall holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Indiana University, an MBA from Pepperdine University in California, and a doctorate in educational leadership and cultural foundations from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Miki Kittilson has been promoted to dean of the College of Global Futures at Arizona State University. She has previously served as the college’s associate dean and vice dean. She has conducted extensive research as a social scientist, leading to her co-authored book, Reimagining the Judiciary: Women’s Representation on High Courts Worldwide (Oxford University Press, 2022).

Dr. Kittilson is a summa cum laude graduate of Arizona State University, where she majored in Spanish and minored in political science. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Irvine.

Celine Parreñas Shimizu has been appointed dean of the School of Theater, Film, and Television at the University of California, Los Angeles. Currently, she is dean of the arts and distinguished professor of film and digital media at the University of California, Santa Cruz. In her scholarly work, she focuses on Asian American sexuality in representation. Her latest book is The Movies of Racial Childhoods: Screening Self-Sovereignty in Asian/America (Duke University Press, 2024).

Dr. Shimizu earned her bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies from the University of California, Berkeley, her master of fine arts degree in film directing from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her Ph.D. in modern thought and literature from Stanford University.