Monica L. Baskin has been named director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. She began her role on August 3, making her the first woman to lead the center and the first Black woman to serve as director of a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. In addition to her new director role, Dr. Baskin is associate dean for cancer innovation in the VCU School of Medicine, with appointments as a professor in the division of hematology, oncology, and palliative care, and as a professor in the division of social and behavioral sciences in the School of Public Health. Her work centers on how behavioral, social, and environmental factors influence cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship.
A native of Atlanta, Dr. Baskin received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Emory University. After earning her master’s and doctoral degrees in community counseling and counseling psychology from Georgia State University, she completed a pediatric psychology fellowship at Emory and two National Institutes of Health fellowships at the National Cancer Institute and Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.
Elizabeth “Libby” Richards was promoted from interim head to permanent head of the School of Nursing at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Before her interim appointment, Dr. Richard served as director of Purdue’s nursing Ph.D. program for five years. She first joined the university in 2006 as a clinical assistant professor and earned the rank of full professor in 2024. In her research, Dr. Richards studies population health, wellness, and physical activity interventions.
Dr. Richards is a graduate of the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she majored in nursing. She holds a master’s degree in nursing from the former Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and a Ph.D. in health promotion from Purdue University.
Denise Davis-Maye is the inaugural associate provost for faculty affairs at Albany State University in Georgia. Dr. Davis-Maye most recently served as a professor and chair of the department of social work at Alabama State University. She has more than 30 years of professional social work experience and over 25 years in social work education. Her scholarship focuses on the well-being of girls and women of African ancestry, with particular attention to cultural, community, and familial influences on adolescent development.
An alumna of Clark Atlanta University, Dr. Davis-Maye holds a master’s degree from Hunter College of the City University of New York and a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Alabama.
Maxie Hollingsworth is a new assistant professor in the College of Education at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Dr. Hollingsworth’s research examines how relationship-based guidance supports first-generation and underserved students while exploring how teacher self-efficacy and attitudes impact instructional practices. She also explores educational identity and cultural capital in the context of personal identity formation, and the impact of technology use on student engagement, achievement and self-efficacy.
Dr. Hollingsworth is a graduate of the University of Michigan. She received her master of social work degree from Howard University and her educational doctorate from the University of Houston.
Shana E. Harrington is the new chair of physical therapy at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. Dr. Harrington comes to her new role from the University of South Carolina, where she was a member of the physical therapy faculty for nearly a decade. She previously taught at the University of North Florida and Creighton University in Nebraska. A board-certified sports specialist, she has conducted research on cancer survivorship, sports medicine, and physical therapy doctoral education.
Dr. Harrington is an honors graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned her bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in human movement science. She holds a master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in Florida.
Linda R. Baker is interim director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where she has taught since 2003. She teaches internship courses in political science and social work as well as healthcare policy at the university’s School of Medicine. Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Baker held several senior roles in Illinois state government, including service as secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Dr. Baker is a three-time graduate of the University of Illinois Springfield, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in health care administration, master’s degree in gerontology, and doctorate in public administration.
Tara Richards is interim director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Dr. Richards, the David Scott Diamond Alumni Professor of Public Affairs and Community Service, is co-director of the university’s Victimology and Victim Services Research Lab. Her scholarship focuses on prevention, intervention, and system responses to sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and child abuse and neglect.
Dr. Richards received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and her master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. She holds a Ph.D. in criminology from the University of South Florida.