Audie Klotz was named a distinguished professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York. Dr. Klotz, a professor of political science, has taught at the university since 2003. As a scholar of international relations, she specializes in global migration and human rights.
Dr. Klotz is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, where she double-majored in government and economics. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in government from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Lindsay Soh was promoted to full professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. She joined the college’s faculty in 2013. Her research is focused on sustainability and engineering with applications in biomass products and solvents.
Dr. Soh is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, where she majored in environmental engineering science. She holds a Ph.D. in chemical and environmental engineering from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
La’Tesha Sampson is the new director of the master of social work degree program at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. In addition to her new role, Dr. Sampson will continue to serve as director of the university’s master of public administration degree program. Her research and scholarly interests focus on the intersection of sexual abuse, religion and spirituality, and trauma-informed clinical practice, with particular attention to the ways faith, identity, and systemic inequities shape healing and resilience among survivors.
Dr. Sampson holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Syracuse University. She earned a master of public administration degree from the Metropolitan College of New York, a master of social work degree from Kean University in Union, New Jersey, and a Ph.D. in Christian counseling and psychology from Northwestern Theological Seminary.
Jannette McMenamy has been named associate provost at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. A faculty member since 2004, she most recently served as dean of the university’s School of Health and Natural Sciences. In addition to her leadership role, Dr. McMenamy teaches as a professor in the department of psychological sciences.
Dr. McMenamy is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross, where she majored in psychology. She earned a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Michal Engelman has been selected to lead the RISE-THRIVE Collaboration Headquarters in the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Engelman, a professor of sociology, currently directs the university’s Center for Demography of Health & Aging, the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, and the doctoral and postdoctoral programs in population, life course, and aging. In her new role, she will lead a team of researchers working at the intersection of immunology and healthspan.
Dr. Engelman is a graduate of Harvard University, where she majored in history. She holds a master’s degree in biostatistics and both a master’s degree and Ph.D. in population and health, all from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
Hang Lu was named a Regents’ Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The title is the highest faculty distinction in the University System of Georgia. Dr. Lu, the Cecil J. “Pete” Silas Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, currently serves as associate dean for research and innovation in the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. Working at the intersection of engineering and biology, she creates miniature lab-on-a-chip tools to study neuroscience, genetics, cancer, and more. These devices allow her team to study the unique properties and phenomena that occur at the micro and nano scales.
Dr. Lu holds three degrees in chemical engineering: a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and both a master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Qinna Shen was promoted to full professor of German studies at Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Pennsylvania. A faculty member since 2016, Dr. Shen has served as chair of the college’s department of German and German studies for the past eight years. As a scholar, she studies twentieth-century German culture, visual studies, and Asian German studies. She is the editor or author of numerous books, including Jiny Lan and the Art of Subversion: Chinese-German Culture and Politics Through a Feminist Lens (Camden House, 2025).
A graduate of the Beijing Foreign Studies University in China, Dr. Shen holds a master’s degree from the University of Illinois and two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in Germanic languages and literatures from Yale University.
Michelle M. Camacho was named assistant provost and senior advisor for strategic initiatives at the University of Utah. She has been serving as dean of the university’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences for the past four years. Before joining the university’s faculty, Dr. Camacho was a professor of sociology at the University of San Diego in California. She has also served in key leadership roles with the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Camacho holds a bachelor’s degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and a Ph.D. in sociology and cultural anthropology from the University of California, Irvine.
Marybeth Gasman, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair in Education and Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, was appointed co-editor of the American Educational Research Association’s journal, Educational Researcher. A historian of higher education, Dr. Gasman holds several leadership roles at Rutgers, including associate dean for research in the Graduate School of Education, executive director of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Institute for Leadership, Equity & Justice, and executive director of the Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions.
Dr. Gasman received her bachelor’s degree in political science from St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in higher education from Indiana University.
Courtney Kessel was named interim director of the Kennedy Museum of Art at Ohio University. She will serve in the role on a part-time basis while continuing her current position as director of experiential curriculum integration. In addition to her leadership appointments, Kessel teaches senior-level courses for students in the bachelor of fine arts program.
Kessel holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia and a master of fine arts degree in sculpture from Ohio University. She is currently studying for a Ph.D. in interdisciplinary art at Ohio University.