Jennifer L. Bellamy, the Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor and director of the Evaluation Center at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, was granted tenure. She joined the faculty at the university in June after teaching at the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver. Her expertise in the field of social work centers on fathering, child maltreatment prevention, and child welfare.
Professor Bellamy holds bachelor’s degrees in sociology and psychology and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin. She earned a Ph.D. in social work at Columbia University in New York City.
L’Issa L. Gates has joined the Xavier University of Louisiana faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics in the Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine. The college is currently in development and slated to become the country’s fifth historically Black medical school once the university secures accreditation. Dr. Gates currently practices as a senior pediatric physician at Oschner for Children.
Dr. Gates is an alumna of Xavier University of Louisiana, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and pre-medicine. She received her medical degree from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. After earning her doctorate, she remained at LSU to complete her residency in pediatrics.
Vivian Gadsden, the William T. Carter Professor of Child Development and Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, has been appointed vice president of the National Academy of Education. At Penn, Dr. Gadsden co-directs the Penn Early Childhood and Family Research Center. Her scholarship centers on learning and literacies across the life-course and addresses issues of equity, access, and change for young children and families in historically marginalized communities.
Dr. Gadsden is a graduate of Fisk University in Nashville, where she double-majored in psychology and English. She holds a doctorate in educational psychology and policy from the University of Michigan.
Melanie J. Bernitz has been named executive vice president for university life and wellbeing at Columbia University. She has held the role on an interim basis for the past year. Currently serving as an associate clinical professor of medicine in the Center for Family and Community Medicine, Dr. Bernitz has been a member of the Columbia community for over two decades. Throughout her tenure, she has held key leadership roles with Columbia Health and the Irving Medical Center.
Dr. Bernitz received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and medical degree from University College London. She holds a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University
Melanie George is the new producing director and chair of the dance program at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City. She currently serves as associate curator and scholar-in-residence at Jacob’s Pillow, a dance center and school in Massachusetts. Her experience in academia includes service as director of the dance program at American University, assistant professor at Rutgers University, and guest lecturer at Harvard University, the Yale School of Drama, and The Juilliard School.
George received her bachelor’s degree in dance from Western Michigan University and her master’s degree from American University.
Vilma Navarro-Daniels was promoted from interim director to permanent director of the School of Languages, Cultures, and Race in the College of Arts and Sciences at Washington State University. A full professor of Spanish and film studies, she currently holds the Marianna M. and Donald S. Matteson Distinguished Professorship. Her current research centers on literature and cinema made in Chile that deal with Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship, as well as the transition and consolidation of democracy afterwards.
Dr. Navarro-Daniels earned her undergraduate degree in philosophy from Universidad Católica de Valparaíso in Chile and her master’s degree in social sciences from a joint program with the Latin American Institute for Social Sciences in Chile and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. She earned a second master’s degree and a Ph.D., both in Spanish, from the University of Connecticut.
Kyla Terhune has been named senior vice president of the division of education at the American College of Surgeons. She has served as a faculty member with Vanderbilt University School of Medicine for the past 15 years. She also served as the senior vice president for education affairs and associate chief of staff for clinical education at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Alongside her new role, she will retain an adjunct appointment as a professor of surgery at Vanderbilt.
Dr. Terhune holds a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Princeton University, a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.
Yiming Wang has joined the faculty at Haverford College in Pennsylvania as an assistant professor of chemistry. Her scholarship spans the fields of nanoscience and materials chemistry. Before her new role, she held postdoctoral appointments at Harvard University and Boston University, where she gained teaching experience in analytical chemistry.
Dr. Wang earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois.
Regina Williams Davis has been appointed assistant vice provost for online and extended learning at North Carolina A&T State University. She has been a faculty member in the university’s department of English and communication studies for nearly two decades. Throughout her tenure, she has served in several key leadership roles, including associate vice provost for student success and university registrar; interim vice provost for strategic planning, operations, and institutional effectiveness; and director of the Center for Academic Excellence.
Dr. Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Hampton University and a master’s degree in communication and human relations from the University of Oklahoma. She earned her Ph.D. in education leadership and cultural foundations, as well as a certificate in women’s and gendered studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Shelby McDonald has been named director of the Human-Animal Bond in Colorado, a nonprofit center in the School of Social Work at Colorado State University. She currently serves as an associate professor and the inaugural Sarama Bliss Endowed Chair in Human-Animal Interaction. Her research how relationships with animals influence human health and wellbeing, and how social and structural inequities shape those relationships.
Dr. McDonald earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Virginia Tech. She holds a master of social work degree and a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Denver.