Four Women Scholars Appointed to New Faculty Roles at Universities

Mansi Kasliwal has been named director of the Palomar Observatory at the California Institute of Technology. She will be the first woman to lead the observatory in its 77-year history. A Caltech faculty member since 2014, Dr. Kasliwal currently teaches as a full professor of astronomy. Her research focuses on supernovae and other cosmic “fireworks” that light up the sky.

Dr. Kasliwal received her bachelor’s degree in engineering physics from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. both in astrophysics from Caltech.

Haley Oliver has been promoted to senior vice provost for academic and student success at Purdue University. A Purdue faculty member since 2010, she currently teaches as the 150th Anniversary Professor of food science. Dr. Oliver has held several leadership roles throughout her tenure, including vice provost for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and interim vice provost for teaching and learning.

Dr. Oliver earned dual-bachelor’s degrees in molecular biology and microbiology from the University of Wyoming and a Ph.D. in food science from Cornell University.

Jan Eberth is the new head of the department of population health sciences at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia. She comes to her new role from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she was a professor and chair of health management and policy. Earlier, she spent nearly a decade on the faculty at the University of South Carolina and served as director of the Rural Health Research Center in Columbia, South Carolina.

Dr. Eberth holds a bachelor’s degree in health sciences from Clemson University in South Carolina, a master of public health degree in epidemiology from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Texas at Houston.

Aunpama Pasricha has been named the inaugural President’s Senior Fellow for Leadership Integration at St. Catherine University in Minnesota. In this new role, Dr. Pasricha will lead several university-wide initiatives related to leadership development. Currently, Dr. Pasricha serves as dean of the university’s School of Business, where she has taught for the past two decades. Earlier in her tenure, she was chair of the fashion design and merchandising department.

Dr. Pasricha holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Delhi University in India. She earned a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

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