Paula Termuhlen was named vice dean and chief operating officer of the School of Medicine & Health Sciences at the University of North Dakota. A professor of surgery, Dr. Termuhlen most recently served as president, chief executive officer, and the Hal B. Jenson Dean of the Western Michigan University School of Medicine. Earlier, she was the regional campus dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Duluth campus.
Dr. Termuhlen received her medical degree from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. She completed general surgery training at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and a surgical oncology fellowship at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Abbey Zink is the new associate provost for faculty affairs at Fairmont State University in West Virginia. Dr. Zink previously served as provost at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. She has also served as dean of the college of Humanities and Social Sciences at Sam Houston State University in Texas.
Dr. Zink earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and her master’s degree in English from Marshall University in West Virginia. She holds a Ph.D. in English from Northern Illinois University.
Colleen Hastings was promoted from interim chair to permanent chair of the department of physician assistant studies at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine in Memphis. Dr. Hastings serves as an associate professor of medicine and a dual board-certified physician in internal medicine, adult nephrology, and pediatric nephrology. She currently serves as director of the medicine nephrology program and previously led the pediatric nephrology program.
A graduate of Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. Hastings holds a medical degree and a master’s degree in epidemiology from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.
Jennifer Mize Nelson has been named vice chancellor for research and innovation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Nelson, a research faculty member in the department of psychology, previously served as the university’s associate vice chancellor and research integrity officer in the Office of Research and Innovation. Her scholarship focuses on executive control development from early childhood through adolescence and its implications for mental and physical health.
Dr. Nelson holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a doctorate in clinical child psychology from the University of Kansas.
Christy Swinson was promoted to associate dean of the School of Nursing at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Dr. Swinson has served in the role on an interim basis for the past five months. She first joined the university in 2014 as an adjunct lecturer and has since progressed to a tenured associate professor. Her scholarly and clinical interests include adult health and culturally competent care.
Dr. Swinson earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She holds a doctor of nursing practice degree in nursing leadership from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Rachel Roberts has been named the inaugural associate dean of strategy and operations for the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Dr. Roberts comes to her new role from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she served as an associate professor of music leadership, the Hamlin Family Director of the Institute for Music Leadership in Honor of James Doser, and director of strategic initiatives. Before her career in academia, Dr. Roberts worked in orchestra management, including roles with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the League of American Orchestras, and the Houston Symphony.
An alumna of the Eastman School of Music, Dr. Roberts holds a master of education degree in leadership and organizational development from Harvard University and a doctorate in higher education leadership from the University of Rochester.
Belinda Sturm was named head of the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Dr. Sturm has been serving as director of the Kansas National Science Foundation Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. She was the Ross McKinney Endowed Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of Kansas. Earlier in her tenure there, she had a stint as interim vice chancellor for research.
Dr. Sturm received her bachelor’s degree in environmental science and engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of Notre Dame.