New Dean Appointments for Seven Women in Academia

Eunice Santos was named the inaugural dean of the College of Engineering and Computing at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She will also serve as the inaugural Thomas E. and Christine D. Berk Endowed Professor and Distinguished University Professor of Computer Science. Dr. Santos comes to her new appointment from the University of Illinois, where she spent six years as dean of the School of Information Sciences. Throughout her career, she has held key academic and administrative roles in engineering, science, and information sciences at Virginia Tech, Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, the University of Texas at El Paso, and the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Dr. Santos entered higher education at Youngstown State University in Ohio at the age of 13. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.

Cristina Goletti was appointed dean of the College of Fine Arts at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Currently, Goletti is a professor and dean of the College of Performing and Visual Arts at the University of Northern Colorado. Earlier, she was chair and associate professor of theatre and dance at the University of Texas at El Paso and chair and associate professor of the arts department at Universidad de las Américas Puebla in Mexico. Her scholarship focuses on dance pedagogy, interdisciplinary performance practices, and arts leadership.

Professor Goletti received her master of fine arts degree in dance from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Marika Peterson is the new dean of libraries and university librarian at Virginia State University. Peterson comes to her new position with nearly three decades of higher education experience. She has spent the past 18 years with Southside Virginia Community College, where she most recently served as the college-wide librarian.

Peterson is a two-time alumna of Virginia State, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English and mass communications and her master’s degree in educational technology. She holds a master of library science degree from North Carolina Central University and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in instructional design and technology from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Tara Lindahl was named dean of academic affairs at Allen Community College in Iola, Kansas. With extensive experience in higher education and secondary education leadership, Dr. Lindahl most recently served as director of pre-college pathways at Kansas State University. In that role, she worked with secondary school partners and academic departments to support college access initiatives and concurrent enrollment programs.

Dr. Lindahl received her bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Kansas State University, her master’s degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, and her doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies with an emphasis in higher education administration from the University of Kansas.

Evan Yionoulis was named the Elizabeth Parker Ware Dean of the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. She will also serve as artistic director of Yale Repertory Theatre. A former Geffen School faculty member, Yionoulis has been serving as dean and director of The Julliard School’s drama division. From 1998 to 2003, Yiounlis was the Lloyd Richards Chair of the Geffen School’s acting program. She has also been affiliated with Yale Summer Session for more than three decades, most recently offering a master class at the Yale Summer Conservatory for Actors.

Professor Yionoulis is an alumna of Yale University.

Cassidy Sugimoto has been appointed as the next Bess Family Dean of the Marianna Brown Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Dr. Sugimoto comes to Carnegie Mellon from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she has been serving as the Tom and Marie Patton Chair and Professor in the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter School of Public Policy. Earlier in her career, she taught at Indiana University Bloomington for nine years, holding appointments in the department of library and information science and the department of informatics.

A three-time graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dr. Sugimoto holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance, a master’s degree in library science, and a Ph.D. in information and library science.

Marie Moeller has been promoted to dean of the College of Arts, Social Sciences, & Humanities at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. A faculty member since 2010, she has served as the college’s associate dean for the past eight years. As an educator of technical communication, Dr. Moeller teaches courses in workplace writing, technical communication theory and practice, grant writing, feminist rhetorics, and risk communication.

Dr. Moeller earned her Ph.D. in English with an emphases in technical communication, online pedagogy, and disability and gender studies from Illinois State University.

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