Kelli Shomaker has been appointed senior vice president for business and finance and chief financial officer at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Shomaker has spent the past 10 years with Auburn University in Alabama, most recently as senior vice president for business and administration and chief financial officer. Earlier in her career, she was chief financial officer and senior vice president for finance and administration at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas.
Shomaker is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where she earned a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting. She holds a master’s degree in higher education administration from Auburn University.
Lori Bruce was promoted to director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics at Yale University. Dr. Bruce first joined the center in 2011 as assistant director of its summer program. In 2016, she was promoted to director of the program and associate director of the center. Dr. Bruce, whose work specializes in ethical policymaking, also serves as a research scientist with Yale’s Institution for Social & Policy Studies.
Dr. Bruce holds master’s degrees from the Boston University School of Medicine and the Ichan School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She earned a doctorate in bioethics from the Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago.
Josephine Burri has been selected to serve as interim vice president for advancement at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. Burri has served as the college’s associate vice president for capital giving and campaigns for the past two years. Her experience in advancement includes service as director of philanthropy at the Shipley School in Pennsylvania, vice president for advancement at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and director of development at the Wistar Institute in Philadelphia.
A graduate of two Philadelphia-based universities, Burri holds a bachelor’s degree in flute performance from Temple University and a master’s degree in arts administration from Drexel University.
Kristi L. Smith has been named vice chancellor for institutional advancement at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Smith comes to her new role with nearly two decades of higher education experience, most recently serving as the associate vice chancellor for alumni and development at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Before assuming that role in 2022, Smith was the university’s senior director of alumni and development.
Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies and a master of public administration degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Grace Elton was named executive director of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Elton has served as chief executive officer of the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston, Massachusetts, for the past nine years. A leader in public horticulture, Elton previously held positions at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and Ambler Arboretum of Temple University.
Elton is a graduate of the University of Florida, where she majored in environmental horticulture. She holds a master’s degree in public horticulture and museum studies from the University of Delaware.
Abiodun Durojaye is the new executive director of the Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Most recently, Dr. Durojaye was chief executive officer of Urban Alliance, a national nonprofit focused on creating pathways from education to career for young people in urban communities. Her experience in higher education includes service as director of career services and employee engagement at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis and as executive director of career services and placement at National Louis University in Chicago.
Dr. Durojaye received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in African studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She holds a doctorate in interdisciplinary leadership with a concentration in higher education administration from Governors State University.
Kris Nolan-Parker is the new director of residential life at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. In this role, Nolan-Parker will oversee the college’s housing operations and support the development of residential life’s professional and student staff. Previously, Nolan-Parker was the assistant dean of student affairs for residential life and community standards at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire.
Nolan-Parker holds a bachelor’s degree from what is now Vermont State University’s Castleton campus and a master’s degree in higher education from Salem State University in Massachusetts. Nolan-Parker is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at Merrimack College in Massachusetts.
Alicia Williams has been named special assistant for government affairs at Grambling State University in Louisiana. Williams comes to the university with more than 35 years of experience in government and public service. For the past eight years, she has served as senior special assistant to former Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards. Earlier, she held roles supporting U.S. Senators J. Bennett Johnston and Mary Landrieu and former Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Melinda Schwegmann.
Williams is an alumna of Grambling State University.
Maura Donahue was appointed chief financial officer at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Donahue previously held financial leadership roles with Ohio Wesleyan University and the University of Dayton’s College of Arts and Sciences. More recently, she served as a financial and operational consultant for higher education institutions and nonprofits.
Dr. Donahue holds a master’s degree in theological studies from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Cincinnati.
Theresa Powell is the inaugural vice president for university relations and chief of staff at Langston University in Oklahoma. Powell previously served as the university’s vice president for operations. Before joining Langston University, she worked for Ohio University.
Powell holds a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Ohio University and a master’s degree in administrative leadership from the University of Oklahoma.
Heather Wagoner was appointed assistant vice president for student engagement in the division of student affairs at Virginia Tech. Dr. Wagoner has more than two decades of experience in higher education. Prior to her new role, she served as senior director of student engagement and community centers at Virginia Tech.
Dr. Wagoner is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she majored in communication studies. She holds a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in educational policy and evaluation from the University of Kentucky.
Meg Chester is the new vice provost for budget and business operations at North Carolina State University. She has been serving in the role on an interim basis. Before her interim appointment, Chester was director of business and human resources operations in the university’s Provost’s Office. She has been a North Carolina State University employee for more than a decade.
Chester holds a bachelor’s degree in interpersonal and public communication with a minor in business management from North Carolina State University.