Seven Women Scholars Appointed to New Dean Positions

Pearl Sandick has been selected to serve as interim dean of the College of Science at the University of Utah. A full professor in the department of physics and astronomy, she has served as the college’s associate dean for faculty and research for the past three years. She is a theoretical particle physicist who studies physics beyond the standard model, including possible explanations for dark matter.

Dr. Sandick holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from New York University and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Minnesota.

Mo Zell has been named dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She comes to her new role after more than a decade with the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has served in several leadership roles with the university, including chair of the bachelor’s degree in architectural studies program, associate dean, department chair, and senior associate dean.

Professor Zell is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she majored in architecture and minored in mathematics. She holds a master of architecture degree from Yale University.

Rebecca Bott-Knutson has been named dean of the Honors College at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Currently, she serves as dean of the Van D. and Barbara B. Fishback Honors College at South Dakota State University. She first joined the university in 2009 as a faculty member in the department of animal science.

Dr. Bott-Knutson received her bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Missouri-Columbia, a master’s degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and a Ph.D. in biomedical science from Colorado State University.

Jessica Lang has been named the inaugural dean of Arts and Sciences at Fordham University in New York. Since 2020, she has served as dean of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College within the City University of New York System. Prior to her current dean appointment, she was chair of the English department and founding director of Baruch’s Wasserman Jewish Studies Center.

Dr. Lang holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University, a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a Ph.D. in English and American literature from Brandeis University in Massachusetts.

Kimberly R. Moffitt has been named dean of the Cathy Hughes School of Communications at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She comes to Howard from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she has served as a professor of language, literacy, and culture and dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. She has authored and co-edited several books, including Blackberries and Redbones: Critical Articulations of Black Hair/Body Politics in Africana Communications (Hampton Press, 2010).

Dr. Moffitt earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and government from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a master’s degree in communication from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in mass communication and media studies from Howard University.

Kate Murphy has been promoted from interim dean to permanent of the College of Liberal Arts at California Polytechnic State University. She has held several academic and administrative roles with the university over the past two decades, including professor of history, chair of the department of history, and director of the history department’s graduate program. Her academic work focuses on the history of science, slavery, and colonial America.

Dr. Murphy earned her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Virginia. She holds a master’s degree and doctorate in history from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

Sarah Clark has been named dean of the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University in Utah. With over three decades of experience in the field of education, she has been a faculty member with the university since 2017. She previously served as associate dean of the McKay School and chair of the department of teacher education.

Dr. Clark received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and her master’s degree in education with a specialization in language, reading, and culture from the University of Arizona. She holds a Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction with a specialization in teacher education and literacy instruction from Utah State University.