New Faculty Appointments for Nine Women Scholars

Tara Fischer is a new assistant professor in the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology and the department of molecular biology and genetics at Cornell University in New York. Her research focuses on how cells detect and repair organelle damage, and how these processes influence inflammation and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Fischer previously served as a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Fischer received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Houston and her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Susan Ostermann has been named director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. A faculty member since 2017, she is an associate professor of global affairs and founder of the university’s summer study abroad program in India. She has conducted extensive fieldwork regarding state capacity, law, and regulatory compliance in regions throughout South Asia.

A graduate of Pomona College in California, Dr. Ostermann holds a juris doctorate from Stanford Law School and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Julie Croff was named principal investigator for the Center for Integrative Research on Childhood Adversity at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, where she teaches as a professor in the department of rural health. Throughout her tenure with the university, she has served in several leadership roles, including founding executive director of the National Center for Wellness and Recovery, associate director for research at the Center for Family Resilience, and founding director of the master of public health degree program.

Dr. Croff received her bachelor’s degree in biology from San Diego State University and her master of public health degree in social and behavioral sciences from Boston University. She earned a Ph.D. from the joint program in public health and health behavior at the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University.

Beth Thompson has joined the faculty of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine as an associate professor in the department of population health sciences and the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine. With a background in both law and veterinary medicine, Dr. Thompson previously served as the state veterinarian for South Dakota and director of the South Dakota Veterinary Licensing Board. Earlier, she was the state veterinarian for Minnesota.

Dr. Thompson is a graduate of Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. She holds a juris doctorate from what is now the Mitchell Hamline College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of Minnesota.

Melanie Logue was named director of graduate nursing programs at Midwestern University’s College of Health Sciences in Glendale, Arizona. Most recently, Dr. Logue was director of nursing operations at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in Florida. Earlier, she held a series of leadership roles at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, including service as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Her nursing background includes roles in intensive care units, emergency medicine, and pediatrics.

Dr. Logue earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Grand Canyon University and her master’s degree in nursing from Arizona State University. She received both a doctor of nursing practice degree and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Arizona.

Sieg Snapp has been appointed associate dean for research for the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University. She currently serves as global director of the sustainable agrifood systems program at CIMMYT, an international research organization based in Mexico that works to improve the sustainability and profitability of cropping systems. Previously, Dr. Snapp was a professor and associate director of the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations at Michigan State University.

Dr. Snapp received her bachelor’s degree in agronomy and soil science from Washington State University and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis.

Shanna Rose has been named associate director of the Rose Institute for State and Local Government at Claremont McKenna College in California. A faculty member since 2014, Dr. Rose currently serves as the Alice Tweed Tuohy Professor in Management and Government. She is also the founding director of the college’s public policy major. Her research focuses on the intersection of public policy, federalism, and American political economy.

Dr. Rose holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in political economy and government from Harvard University.

Linda Renzulli is senior associate vice provost for faculty affairs at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She first joined the university in 2016 and currently serves as a professor and head of the department of sociology. Her scholarship examines the intersection of organizations and stratification in the educational setting, including both K-12 schools and academia.

Dr. Renzulli received her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey and both her master’s degree and doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Maria Rosario Jackson has returned to the Arizona State University faculty as a University Professor of Creativity and Social Impact. In 2022, while teaching at The Design School at ASU, President Joe Biden appointed Dr. Jackson as head of the National Endowment for the Arts. Earlier in her career, she founded ASU’s Studio for Creativity, Place, and Equitable Communities.

Dr. Jackson holds a master of public administration degree from the University of Southern California and a doctorate in urban planning from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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