Eleven Women in New Administrative Roles at Colleges and Universities

Sarah Thomas was appointed vice president of the Harvard Library. She has been serving as the director of the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford. She was the first woman and the first foreign citizen in 400 years to hold that post at Oxford. Prior to her appointment in England, she was the Carl A. Kroch Librarian at Cornell University.

Dr. Thomas is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She holds a master of library science degree and a Ph.D. in German literature.

Pamela Besnard was named vice president for advancement at Pomona College in Claremont, California. She has been serving as vice president for development and alumni relation at The New School in New York City.

Besnard is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. After working in publishing, she returned to Williams and served there as director of major gifts.

Shannon Gurek was named vice president and treasurer of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She has been serving as associate treasurer at nearby Amherst College. She has been on the staff at Amherst College since 1996.

Gurek is a summa cum laude graduate of Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts. She earned an MBA at the University of Massachusetts.

Lhay Browning Thriffiley has been selected as the new director-liaison for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. She previously worked for the university as a special projects coordinator.

Thriffiley holds a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies and a master’s degree in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Katie Young was promoted to director of the office of admissions at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has been on the staff at the university since 1999 and most recently served as interim director of recruitment.

Previously, she was assistant dean for undergraduate affairs for the College of Engineering and Information Technology.

Katherine Karraker was appointed associate provost for graduate academic affairs at West Virginia University. She has been serving in the post on an interim basis since August 2012. She has served on the psychology department faculty at the university since 1985.

Professor Karraker is a graduate of the University of Colorado, where she majored in biology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in developmental psychology from Michigan State University.

Deborah Moon Shaffer was named senior associate vice president for finance and administration at Ohio University in Athens. She is the former vice president for finance and chief financial officer at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. She will begin her new role on July 15.

Shaffer is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in finance and accounting.

Debra S. Merchant was promoted to vice president for student affairs and services at the University of Cincinnati. She has been on the staff at the university for 15 years and has been serving as interim vice president since January. Previously she was associate vice president of student services.

Merchant is a graduate of Morehead State University in Kentucky and the holds a master’s degree and a law degree from the University of Kentucky.

Julie Weber was appointed director of housing and campus life at New Mexico State University. She was the interim director of the Corbett Center Student Union on the Las Cruces campus and previously was director of housing and residential life.

Prior to coming to New Mexico in 2007, Weber was the executive director of housing and dining programs at American University in Washington, D.C.

Anne Milkovich was appointed interim associate chief information officer at Montana State University. She has been serving as director for administration planning and program management for the Information Technology Center at the university. She has been on the staff of the university since 2006.

Milkovich holds an MBA from the University of Montana and is a doctoral candidate in higher education administration at Montana State.

Karen Stallman was named director of continuing education and outreach at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Since 2010, she has been director of sustainability at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville.

Stallman holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agricultural education from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.