Ten Women Professors Taking on New Roles in Academia

Phokeng M. Dailey has been named vice president for marketing and communications at Ohio Wesleyan University. In addition to her new administration appointment, she will retain her faculty position as the Warren C. Fairbanks Endowed Chair in Communication. Prior to her career in academia, she worked in visual merchandising and marketing with Limited Brands and Victoria’s Secret.

Dr. Dailey is a graduate of Ohio Dominican University, where she majored in education. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in communication from Ohio State University.

Catherine Gavin Loss has been promoted to associate provost for academic affairs at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. A faculty member since 2008, she is an associate professor of practice in the department of leadership, policy, and organizations. She previously served as senior associate dean for academic affairs and professional education at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College.

Dr. Gavin Loss holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D from the University of Virginia.

Jennifer Barker has been named director of the School of Film, Media, and Theatre at Georgia State University. She is an associate professor of film and media studies who specializes in moving image aesthetics, cinema and the senses, film phenomenology, and theories of spectatorship. She is the author of The Tactile Eye: Touch and the Cinematic Experience (University of California Press, 2009).

Dr. Barker received her master’s degree and Ph.D. in cinema and media studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Annie Childers has been appointed chair of the department of mathematics and statistics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. A faculty member since 2014, she recently served as interim associate dean of the Donaghey College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Earlier in her tenure, she was the graduate coordinator for all applied mathematics and statistics programs.

Dr. Childers holds a master’s degree in mathematical sciences from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Ph.D in mathematics and statistics from Georgia State University.

Janet Wilmoth has been named a distinguished professor at Syracuse University. The title is the one of the university’s highest faculty honors. A professor of sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, she currently directs the Aging Studies Institute. She has held several leadership roles at the university, including director of the Gerontology Center and chair of the department of sociology.

Dr. Wilmoth is a graduate of Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory, North Carolina, where she double-majored in sociology and psychology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology and demography from Pennsylvania State University.

Dolores Delgado Bernal has been granted the title of president’s professor in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. The title is bestowed upon distinguished full professors who are acknowledged as leaders in the fields. Dr. Delgado, a professor of educational leadership, focuses her academic work on bridging the fields of education and Chicanx studies.

A first-generation college student, Dr. Delgado Bernal holds a bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University, a master of public administration degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Margarita Kaprielyan has been appointed associate dean for faculty development and student success in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business at Elon University in North Carolina. She is an associate professor of finance who specializes in real estate finance.

A three-time graduate of Florida Atlantic University, Dr. Kaprielyan holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and real estate, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in finance.

Marisa C. Kozlowski has been named associate dean for the natural sciences in the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. A Penn faculty member since 1997, she currently holds the title of Ponzy Lu Endowed Professor of Chemistry. Her research focuses on the rational design of new methods and catalysts for use in organic synthesis.

A graduate of Cornell University, Dr. Kozlowski received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ralina Joseph has been named vice provost for inclusive excellence at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has been a faculty member in communications, American ethnic studies, and gender, women, and sexuality studies at the University of Washington since 2005. She has been serving as associate dean for equity and justice for graduate schools across the University of Washington’s three campuses. Also, Dr. Joseph was the founding director of the Center for Communication, Difference, and Equity.

Dr. Joseph earned her bachelor’s degree in American civilization from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in ethnic studies from the University of California, San Diego.

Melissa Smith has been appointed director of the Kossen Center for Teaching and Learning at the Mississippi University for Women. She has served as the Gibbons Chair of Journalism at the university since 2011. She also serves as faculty advisor for the campus newspaper, The Spectator.

Dr. Smith is a graduate of Auburn University in Alabama, where she majored in journalism with minors in English and psychology. She holds a master’s degree in telecommunications and film and a Ph.D. in mass communication with a concentration in political communication from the University of Alabama.

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