Catherine Hughes has been appointed executive director of the Brooks Center for Performing Arts at Clemson University in South Carolina. She comes to her new role from the Palm Beach Opera in Florida, where she was director of education and community engagement. Earlier, she taught music history, world music, and music theory at Saint Joseph’s University and West Chester University.
Dr. Hughes is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where she double-majored in music and French. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Kayla Noah was recently promoted to vice president of student affairs at Dickinson State University in North Dakota. She has held several roles at the university, including director of the SOAR Center, disability services specialist, and professional academic advisor. Most recently, she was the university’s dean of students.
Noah received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry education from the University of South Dakota. She holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of North Dakota, where she is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership.
Dominque Maynard has been appointed director of the Hudson Hub One Stop Student Services Center at Hudson County Community College in New Jersey. She most recently served as associate director of one stop operations at Union College of Union County in New Jersey. Earlier, she held a variety of student affairs positions at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Maynard holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in family and human services from Towson University in Maryland and a master’s degree in higher education with a concentration in student affairs administration from UNC Greensboro. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership with a concentration in community college leadership from Rowan University in New Jersey.
Lisa Fields has been named the inaugural dean of public safety at Brunswick Community College in North Carolina. She currently serves as the college’s department chair for the professional and technical division. Her background includes nearly two decades of experience in academia and 25 years of law enforcement service.
Fields holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from Indiana State University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky.
Tre’Shawn Hall-Baker has been promoted from dean of human resources to vice president of human resources at Santa Monica College in California. With over 25 years of experience in public education, human resources management, professional development, and employee relations, she has previously held a variety of roles with the Los Angeles Community College District, the California School Employees Association, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
A graduate of Los Angeles Southwest College, Dr. Hall-Baker earned her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and labor studies, as well as her master’s degree in negotiation, conflict resolution, and peace-building from California State University, Dominguez Hills. She holds a Ph.D. in human resources management from Walden University.
Nichole Fazio has been appointed senior associate dean for undergraduate education at Emory University’s Emory College of Arts and Sciences in Atlanta, Georgia. She comes to her new role from the University of Chicago, where she was associate dean of undergraduate research and scholars’ programs and executive director of the College Center for Research and Fellowships.
Dr. Fazio received her bachelor’s degree in art history from Seattle Pacific University and her master’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Marylhurst University in Oregon. She earned a second master’s degree and doctorate in the history of art from the University of Oxford in England.
Julie A. Lucas has been named vice chancellor for university development and alumni relations at the University of California, Berkeley. For the past decade, she has served as the vice president of resource development for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Earlier, she held senior roles in fundraising and development at the University of Southern California, New York University, and Fordham University in the Bronx, New York.
Lucas is a graduate of McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, where she double-majored in political science and Spanish. She holds a master’s degree in educational administration from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
Pamela Hopson has been appointed executive director of campus and community strategy at the University of Southern Indiana. A staff member with the university since 1979, she had been serving as interim vice president for student affairs since July 2024. Before that role, she was executive director of the Multicultural Center.
Dr. Hopson received her bachelor’s degree in public administration from Indiana University, her master’s degree in public administration from Indiana State University, and her doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Southern Indiana.
Karleen Gardner has joined the University of Mississippi as director of the University Museum and Historic Houses. Previously, she served as the Kathleen C. Sherrerd Director for Learning and Engagement at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She has also served as director of learning innovation and director of the Center for Empathy and Visual Arts at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Gardner earned both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in art history from the University of Mississippi.
Krista Raney has been promoted to president and CEO of the LSU Foundation at Louisiana State University. Her promotion is effective July 1, 2026, following the retirement of current president Robert Stuart. Raney has been an administrator with the foundation since 2010, most recently serving as executive vice president of development. Earlier, she was senior vice president of development.
Raney holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Louisiana State University.
Michelle Robinson is the new vice president of government relations at Florida A&M University. Robinson brings more than two decades of executive experience to the role, having spent most of this time with Verizon, where she held a series of business and leadership roles, including vice president of government affairs.
Robinson holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master’s degree in public policy analysis from the University of Southern California.
Jennifer Sandridge has been promoted from associate director to director of admissions for the Graduate School and international education at the University of Arkansas. With over a decade of experience in higher education, she previously served as an academic adviser and grant manager for the division of continuing studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sandridge received her bachelor’s degree in communication arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her master’s degree in organizational development, leadership, and change from Edgewood University in Madison, Wisconsin.