Nina Pavcnik was promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dr. Pavcnik, the Niehaus Family Professor in International Studies and a professor of economics, has been a Dartmouth faculty member since 1999. She is a leading scholar of how trade affects inequality and growth in lower-income countries.
Dr. Pavcnik is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in economics. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University.
Janet Simon is interim dean of the College of Health Sciences and Professions at Ohio University. A faculty member since 2016, Dr. Simon has served as the college’s associate dean for research for the past two years. She is also a principal investigator for the Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute. Her research has led to dozens of articles published in various sports medicine and orthopedic journals.
Dr. Simon is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, where she majored in athletic training. She holds a master’s degree in athletic training from Ohio University and both a master’s degree in applied statistics and a Ph.D. in biostatistics from Indiana University.
Magdalena Toda was appointed dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences at Missouri State University. Dr. Toda comes to her new role from Texas Tech University, where she has been a professor in the department of mathematics and statistics for the past 25 years. In addition to her work at Texas Tech, she has served as a program director in applied mathematics for the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Toda received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics from the University of Bucharest in Romania, master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University Politehnica of Bucharest. She also holds a masters’ degree in health and wellness from the American College of Healthcare Sciences.
Rena Hallam was promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware. Dr. Hallan, a professor of human development and family sciences and director of the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood, has been a faculty member at the university since 2010. Her scholarship focuses on strategies for supporting the early childhood workforce and improving the quality of early care and education environments.
A graduate of Transylvania University in Kentucky, Dr. Hallam holds a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. in family studies from the University of Delaware.
Ramona Ann Parker is the new dean of the College of Health Sciences at the University of Texas Permian Basin in Odessa. Most recently, Dr. Parker served as associate vice president and executive dean for the College of Health Sciences at Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. In addition to her background in education, she has extensive clinical experience in neonatal, pediatric, maternal-child, and intensive care settings.
Dr. Parker is a graduate of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing. She holds a master’s degree in nursing from the University of the Incarnate World in San Antonio, a master’s degree in education from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin.
Koren Bakkegard has been named vice president for student development and dean of students at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Bakkegard comes to her new appointment from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she has served as associate vice president for campus life and dean of students since 2019. Before Brown, she spent 15 years in various senior leadership roles at Stanford University in California.
Bakkegard earned her bachelor’s degree in literature and language from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and her master’s degree in English from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Dakota.
Elisabeth Ploran was named the inaugural dean of the College of Health Professions at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Most recently, Dr. Ploran served as a professor and associate dean for student success and belonging in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Earlier in her tenure at Hofstra, she was chair of the department of psychology.
Dr. Ploran earned dual-bachelor’s degrees in psychology and political science from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. She holds a doctorate in psychology with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh. Professor Ploran completed postdoctoral research in human factors and applied cognition at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.