Rebecca “Becky” Simcik has been appointed senior director of university health services at Pennsylvania State University. She has served in the role on an interim basis for the past three months. She first joined Penn State’s university health services in 2018 as a staff physician. In 2022, she was promoted to medical director.
Dr. Simick holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with honors in human development and family studies from Penn State and a medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Angel E. R. Pointer has been named the inaugural director of customer service at South Carolina State University. She most recently served as the university’s director of alumni affairs and engagement. Before joining the university’s administration, she was an associate vice president for Wells Fargo.
Pointer is a graduate of South Carolina State University where she majored in mathematics with a minor in computer science. She holds an MBA from Strayer University.
Usha Lee McFarling has been appointed director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Knight Science Journalism Program, a mid-career fellowship program for science journalists to complete 10 months of study with MIT, Harvard, and other institutions in Boston. A science writer for over three decades, McFarling most recently worked for STAT News.
McFarling received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Brown University in Providence, Rhide Island, and her master’s degree in biological psychology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Stacy Jones has been promoted to vice president for public services and outreach at the University of Georgia. She has held a variety of leadership roles at the university for over a decade. Most recently, she was associate vice president and director of the UGA Center for Continuing Education and Hotel.
Dr. Jones received her bachelor’s degree in consumer journalism from the University of Georgia and her master of public administration degree from Troy State University in Alabama. She returned to the University of Georgia to complete her doctorate in higher education management.
Aimee Heeter has been named vice chancellor for finance at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. With over two decades of higher education experience, she currently serves has been serving as vice provost for finance and administration at Indiana University. Earlier in her tenure at Indiana, she served as associate vice provost for finance and budget and assistant vice president for budget.
Dr. Heeter is a three-time graduate of Indiana University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism, a master’s degree in education, and a doctorate in higher education finance.
Donna Blake has been selected to serve as interim associate vice president for Utah State University’s Blanding campus. An administrator at USU Blanding for 18 years, she currently serves as the campus’ director of operations. Earlier, she served as a business officer and a finance officer.
Blake received her bachelor’s degree in accounting and business management from the University of Phoenix.