Stacie Petter has been named dean of the Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond in Virginia. Dr. Petter comes to her new role from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she is acting dean of the School of Business, the Peter C. Brockway Chair of Strategic Management, and a professor of management information systems. Her scholarship focuses on information systems, specifically how individuals and organizations use and manage technology.
Dr. Petter is a graduate of Berry College in Georgia, where she majored in computer science. She holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in computer information systems from Georgia State University.
Kathleen Guzman has been selected to serve as interim dean of the School of Law at the University of Arkansas. Professor Guzman has been a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma College of Law since 1993 and served as the college’s dean from 2019 to 2024. She previously served as associate dean of academics, associate dean for research and scholarship, and associate director of the Law Center.
Professor Guzman received her bachelor’s degree and juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas. She holds a master of laws degree from Yale Law School.
Corrine Daprano was promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the School of Education and Health Sciences at the University of Dayton in Ohio. Dr. Daprano, a professor of sport management, focuses her scholarship on the management of sport, fitness, health, and recreation organizations; diversity and social justice in sport; and leadership and organizational change. She has taught courses on organizational behavior, leadership, sport law, and sport sociology.
Dr. Daprano earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree from Cleveland State University. She holds a doctorate in sport management from Ohio State University.
Jessica McArt is the incoming Austin O. Hooey Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. Dr. McArt currently serves as a professor of ambulatory and production medicine and chair of the college’s department of population medicine and diagnostic services. Before joining the Cornell faculty in 2014, she was an assistant professor of livestock medicine and population health at Colorado State University-Fort Collins.
A graduate of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, Dr. McArt earned both her doctor of veterinary medicine degree and her Ph.D. in comparative biomedical sciences from Cornell University.
Jaime Lester was named the Jules Zimmer Dean of the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Lester comes to her new role from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where she is a professor and vice dean of the School of Education. Earlier, she was a professor and associate dean of faculty affairs and strategic initiatives in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Dr. Lester received her bachelor’s degree in English and women’s studies from the University of Michigan. She holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Southern California.
Emily Ruth Rutter was appointed dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Most recently, Dr. Rutter was a professor of English and associate dean for academic affairs at Bloomfield College of Montclair State University in New Jersey. Previously, she was a professor of English, associate dean of the Honors College, and assistant director of African American studies at Ball State University in Indiana.
Dr. Rutter holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s degree in American literature from North Carolina State University, and a Ph.D. in multi-ethnic American literature with a concentration in women’s and gender studies from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Laura Gariepy has been named dean of university libraries at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Dr. Gariepy comes to her new role from Virginia Commonwealth University, where she has been serving as associate dean for research and learning at the James Branch Cabell Library. Previously at VCU Libraries, she served as undergraduate research librarian, assistant head for instructional services, and head of teaching, learning, and information.
Dr. Gariepy received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, her master’s degree in library sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her doctorate in education from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Sabrina Agarwal was named interim dean of the undergraduate studies division in the College of Letters & Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Agarwal has been a faculty member with the university for more than two decades. She became chair of the department of anthropology in 2023. As a biological anthropologist and bio-archaeologist, her research focuses on bioethics, and sex- and gender-related changes in bone quantity and quality, and the relationship of those changes to social identity and inequality, embodiment, developmental plasticity, disability, and health.
Originally from Canada, Dr. Agarwal earned her bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from the University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral research at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Elsa Fan has been selected to serve as interim dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Webster University in Missouri. Dr. Fan is an associate professor of anthropology and chair of Webster’s global languages, cultures, and societies department. As a scholar, she specializes in medical anthropology, critical global health, and health and humanitarianism.
Dr. Fan received bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. She holds a master’s degree in anthropology and development studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of California, Irvine.
Amber Laffin was named dean of public safety and transportation at Nicolet College in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Dr. Laffin comes to her new role from Bemidji State University in Minnesota, where she was an associate professor and program coordinator for the criminal justice program. Before her career in academia, she was a probation and parole officer in Minnesota and Wyoming.
Dr. Laffin holds three degrees in criminal justice: a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Dakota, a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, and a doctorate from National University.