New Dean Appointments for Eight Women in Academia

Mei Zhao has been promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the Brooks College of Health at the University of North Florida. She has held several academic leadership roles at the university, including chair of the department of health administration and director of the master of health administration degree program.

Dr. Zhao holds a master’s degree in biostatistics and health services research and policy from Shandong Medical University in Jinan, China, and a Ph.D. in health services organizations and research from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Emily Roper-Doten has been named dean of admissions for undergraduate programs at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She has held several admissions and financial aid leadership roles at various institutions throughout Massachusetts. Most recently, she was vice president for undergraduate admissions and financial assistance at Clark University in Worcester.

Roper-Doten is a graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, where she double-majored in educational studies and theatre. She holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from Boston College.

Melissa Craft has been promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing at the University of Oklahoma. She currently serves as the Robert and Doris Klabzuba Professor of Nursing Science. Prior to her interim appointment, she was the college’s associate dean for clinical affairs, outreach, and practice innovation.

Dr. Craft received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in nursing from the University of Oklahoma and her Ph.D. in nursing from Texas Women’s University.

Stephani Etheridge Woodson has been appointed vice president for enrollment services and dean of undergraduate studies at the University of Northern Colorado. She has spent the past nine years on the faculty at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. While there, she served in various leadership roles, most recently as senior associate dean of students and academic programs.

Dr. Woodson earned her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in theatre from the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a Ph.D. in theatre from Arizona State University.

Sandra Smith has been promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the School of Professional Studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Before joining the Ivy League institution in 2015, she gained significant experience in strategic consulting, focusing primarily on technology and services companies.

Smith received her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and master’s degree in applied science from the University of Toronto in Canada. She holds an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Keisha M. Pollack Porter has been named dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. A Johns Hopkins faulty member since 2006, she currently serves as the Bloomberg Centennial Chair and Professor in the department of health policy and management. She also directs the university’s Institute for Health and Social Policy.

Dr. Pollack Porter is a graduate of Tufts University in Massachusetts, where she majored in sociology. She holds a master of public health degree in chronic disease epidemiology from Yale University and a Ph.D. in health and public public from Johns Hopkins University.

Lisa Saltzman has been selected to serve as interim dean of graduate studies at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She first joined the college’s faculty in 1997 and currently serves as the Emily Rauh Pulitzer ’55 Chair in Modern and Contemporary Art and director of graduate studies for the department of the history of art. Earlier in her tenure, she served as department chair and director of the Center for Visual Culture.

Dr. Saltzman is a summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University, where she double-majored in art and archaeology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in fine arts from Harvard University.

Saskia L. van de Gevel has been named dean of the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech. She comes to her new role from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where she has been serving as a professor and chair of the department of geography and planning. She previously served as the National Geographic Society’s geography steward for the state of North Carolina and as coordinator of the North Carolina Geographic Alliance.

Dr. van de Gevel received her bachelor’s degree in forest science from Pennsylvania State University, a master’s degree in forestry from Southern Illinois University, and Ph.D. in geography from the University of Tennessee.

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