Tomiko Brown-Nagin has been appointed dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Education in California. Dr. Brown-Nagin comes to Stanford University following eight years of service as dean of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. She has also served in leadership roles with Harvard Law School, including faculty director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute and co-director of the program of study in law and history. Her research examines the legal and politics struggles to expand educational opportunity and equity, with a focus on the civil rights era.
A first-generation college student, Dr. Brown-Nagin is a summa cum laude graduate of Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. She holds a law degree from Yale Law School and a doctorate in history from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Katherine Reeves has been named vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Reeves, who joined the university’s faculty in 2008, has been serving as associate dean for graduate and professional studies and professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. Her research on cancer epidemiology, women’s health, and aging addresses the impact of environmental chemicals on human health.
A graduate of Yale University, Dr. Reeves earned her master of public health degree from Ohio State University and her Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh.
Wendy N. Nembhard was named dean of the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. A faculty member for than a decade, Dr. Nembhard has served as chair of the college’s department of epidemiology since 2017. She is also a professor in the department of pediatrics in the College of Medicine. Dr. Nembhard currently directs the Arkansas Prevention Research Center for Women’s Health and the Arkansas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention. Her research centers on maternal and child health, health disparities, congenital conditions, and population health.
Dr. Nembhard is a graduate of Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, where she majored in biology. She holds a master of public health degree and a Ph.D. in epidemiology from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
MiSchelle A. Edwards is dean of students and director of resident life at Jarvis Christian University in Hawkins, Texas. With an extensive background in higher education, Dr. Edward has experience in student affairs, strategic enrollment management, residence life and housing, student success, and institutional advancement. In her new role, she will oversee student engagement initiatives, residence life operations, student success programs, and efforts that cultivate a welcoming and inclusive campus environment.
Dr. Edwards received her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and her master’s degree in sociology from Prairie View A&M University in Texas. She holds a Ph.D. in educational management from Hampton University in Virginia.
Marie Ripoll has been selected to serve as interim dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Ripoll, a professor of economics, previously served as chair of the department of economics and director of graduate studies. She holds faculty appointments with the university’s Center for Latin American studies and the global studies program. As a macroeconomist, Dr. Ripoll explores the determinants of cross-country differences in schooling and fertility, the economic value of life, the notion of intergenerational substitution, and financial transfers from parents to adult children.
Dr. Ripoll is a summa cum laude graduate of the National University of Colombia, where she majored in economics. She holds master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the University of Rochester in New York.
Erika C. Burt has been named dean of business and career and technical education at Oakton College in Illinois. Dr. Burt has more than two decades of experience in higher education, with expertise in academic affairs, institutional strategy, workforce development, grant acquisition and execution, and organizational leadership. Most recently, Dr. Burt was assistant dean of the College of Computing and director of online programs at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Dr. Burt is a graduate of Northern Illinois University, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree in teaching and secondary English from Chicago State University, a master’s degree in divinity and justice from North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, and a Ph.D. in leadership in higher education from Concordia University Chicago.