Lanisa S. Kitchiner has been named the inaugural associate vice president for global and diaspora engagement at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her appointment marks a return to the university, where she previously was an associate director of the Ralph Bunche International Affairs Center. More recently, she served as director of the Center for African Studies at Harvard University.
Dr. Kitchiner is a two-time alumna of Howard University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and Ph.D. in African studies with an emphasis on art, history, and culture.
Christi Hopkins has been named vice president for enrollment management at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Her background includes extensive leadership experience in enrollment. Prior to her new role, she was vice president for enrollment management at McPherson College in Kansas for over a decade.
Hopkins holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Southwest Baptist University in Missouri and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Baker University in Kansas.
Katie Bell has been appointed vice president for communications and marketing at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. With over 25 years of marketing experience, she currently serves as senior director of marketing and events at Textron Systems. Her background in academia includes leadership roles with Bucknell University and Lycoming College, both in Pennsylvania.
Bell is a graduate of Lycoming College, where she majored in business administration with concentrations in marketing and finance. She holds an MBA from Strayer University’s Jack Welch Management Institute.
Nancy Chick has been named executive director of the Center for Faculty Success at Texas Woman’s University in Denton. A former professor of English, she has worked in faculty development for nearly two decades, including roles with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, the University of Calgary in Canada, and Rollins College in Florida. She has authored several scholarly publications, including her most recent book, Facilitating Mid-Career Faculty Programs (Routledge, 2024).
Dr. Chick is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in English from the University of Georgia.
Rosalynn Bliss has been appointed assistant dean and chief external relations officer for the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She previously served two terms as the first woman mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Earlier, she was director of residential services at D.A. Blodgett-St. John’s, a nonprofit organization dedicated to child welfare.
Bliss holds a master’s degree in social work from Michigan State University.
Nicole L. McDonald has been named assistant dean of Georgia State University’s Perimeter College, a two-year college within the university system. She comes to her new role from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, where was the senior vice president for transformation initiatives. Previously, she was assistant vice provost for student success strategies at the University of Houston.
Dr. McDonald earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Wright State University in Ohio. She holds a master’s degree in higher education administration and a Ph.D. in leadership and policy studies from Vanderbilt University.
Lerato Barney has been named vice president and chief audit and compliance officer at Princeton University. Her background includes over two decades of experience in operational, financial, and information technology audit programs. Currently, she serves as vice president and chief audit officer for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Barney received her bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Johannesburg in South Africa and her MBA from the University of Kentucky.
Jessica Grant has been promoted from interim director to permanent director of the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to her current role, she spent over a decade as a research scientist and administrative manager with the survey research division of RTI International in Durham, North Carolina.
Grant is an alumna of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she double-majored in sociology and women’s studies. She holds a master’s degree in sociology from Fayetteville State University in North Carolina.
Celeste A. Wallander has been named the inaugural executive director of Penn Washington, the home of University of Pennsylvania’s initiatives in the nation’s capitol. With significant experience in federal government and academic research, she most recently served as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs at the Department of Defense. She has previously held teaching positions with Harvard University, American University, and Georgetown University.
Dr. Wallander received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Northwestern University in Illinois. She earned her master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from Yale University.