Elise Wilson has been selected to serve as interim executive director of development and alumni at Mississippi University for Women. She will continue to serve in her current role as director of the Career Services and Professional Development Center. Before joining the university in 2023, she was a manager with Dutch Oil Company.
Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in women’s leadership from Mississippi University for Women. She is slated to begin a doctoral program in leadership studies at Louisiana State University-Shreveport in the upcoming fall semester.
Sydney Burt has been promoted to vice president of enrollment, career services, and student success at Martin University in Indianapolis. For the past year, she has served as the university’s executive director of student experience. Earlier in her tenure, she served as director of career development.
Burt holds an associate’s degree in liberal arts from Holy Cross College in Indiana, a bachelor’s degree in general studies from Indiana University, and a master’s degree in organizational leadership and talent development from Salem University in West Virginia.
ClarLynda Williams-DeVane has been named director of the Center for Health Disparities in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. While taking on her new role, she will continue to serve as chief deputy and deputy secretary for operational excellence at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Earlier in her career, she was the founding chair of data science and bioinformatics at Fisk University in Nashville.
Dr. Williams-DeVane received her bachelor’s degree from North Carolina Central University and her Ph.D. in bioinformatics from North Carolina State University.
Sandra Cano has been appointed director of industry relations for the University of Rhode Island Foundation and Alumni Engagement. She comes to her new role after serving as the New England regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration. From 2018 to 2024, she represented District 8 in the Rhode Island Senate.
Cano holds a bachelor’s degre in management from Bryant University in Rhode Island and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Rhode Island.
Christie Denniston has been named vice president of advancement and alumni engagement at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. With over three decades of professional experience, she most recently served as associate vice president of strategic engagement at Utah Valley State University. Earlier in her career, she held leadership roles in marketing at Simpson College in Iowa and Weber State University in Utah.
Denniston received her bachelor’s degree in public relations, sociology, and political science and her mater’s degree in public administration from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in educational leadership from the same institution.
Tracy Peery has been named division director of human resources for the advancement division at Virginia Tech. Prior to her new role, she was assistant vice president for risk management and human resources at Emory & Henry University in Virginia. Earlier in her tenure with Emory & Henry, she was director of human resources.
Peery holds an MBA from King College and a master’s degree in management and leadership from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.