Breana M. Ware is the inaugural general counsel for Spelman College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Atlanta. Before her new role, she was a vice president and counsel for a national development and construction firm. Earlier in her career, she spent nearly six years on the legal affairs attorney team at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
Ware is a summa cum laude graduate of Boston College, where she majored in English literature. She holds a juris doctorate from Harvard Law School.
Dianne Pledger was named director of the Diggs Art Gallery at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. Her background includes over three decades of leadership experience in arts management, fundraising, and cultural programming. She is the principal consultant of Pledger Consulting, a firm she founded that specializes in nonprofit administration, strategic planning, grant writing, board development, and organizational capacity building.
Pledger is an alumna of North Carolina Central University.
Shontel Grumhaus has been appointed senior vice president for development and external affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She comes to her new role from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has been serving as senior associate vice chancellor for development and chief strategist for schools and units. Earlier, she was senior associate dean for advancement at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Grumhaus earned both her bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Geneco comes to her new role from Tufts University in Massachusetts, where she has served as provost for the past four years. She is slated become the University at Buffalo's first woman president on August 10.
The new presidents are Laurie A. Boeding at the Technical College of the Lowcountry and Melissa Frank-Alston at Northeastern Technical College. Both women are expected to begin their presidencies on July 1.
Dr. McEwen comes to her new appointment following four years as president and vice chancellor of Victoria University in the University of Toronto. Earlier, she served in several leadership roles at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She received some of her education in the United States.
The new provosts are Barbara Rodriguez at the University of New Mexico, Bridget Chalk at Manhattan University in New York, and Jaci Lederman at Vincennes University in Indiana. All three women had been serving as their university's interim provost.
Dr. Howard joins Spelman from Ohio State University, where she has been serving as dean of the College of Engineering. She is a nationally recognized expert in robotics, artificial intelligence, and human-centered technology.