Katrina Armstrong has been selected to launch the Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Research at Columbia University. In taking on this new responsibility, Dr. Armstrong will transition out of her current roles as the university’s executive vice president for health and biomedical sciences, CEO of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and dean of the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. A physician-scientist, she has dedicated her scholarship to advancing the understanding of cancer, genomics, and health inequities.
Dr. Armstrong received her bachelor’s degree in architecture at Yale University, where she also completed pre-med studies. She earned her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University, followed by a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania.
Melissa Schwartzberg is slated to join the Princeton University faculty as a full professor with the department of politics and the University Center for Human Values. Since 2013, Dr. Schwartzberg has taught at New York University. Earlier, she taught at Columbia University and George Washington University. As a scholar, she researches ancient and modern political thought, theory, and institutions with a focus on the historical origins of rules and decision-making in Athenian democracy, as well as constitutionalism and democratic theory.
Dr. Schwartzberg earned her bachelor’s degree in classics and political science from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and her Ph.D. in politics from New York University.
R.F. Kuang is the first-ever Millard Distinguished Writer in Residence at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Kuang is the award-winning author of the Poppy War trilogy, Babel: An Arcane History (Harper Voyager, 2022), Yellowface (William Morrow, 2023), and Katabasis (Harper Voyager, 2025). At the present time, Kuang is completing a doctorate in East Asian languages and literatures at Yale University, where her research focuses on Sinophone and Asian American literature.
Kuang holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., a master’s degree in Chinese studies from the University of Cambridge, and a master’s degree in contemporary Chinese studies from the University of Oxford.
Khadijah Ali-Coleman was promoted to full professor of humanities at Coppin State University in Baltimore. She is a playwright, poet, and singer/songwriter who has presented her work publicly in venues throughout the country. Dr. Ali-Coleman is author of several poetry collections including A Park Stands on All of Our Graves (Black Writers for Peace & Social Justice, 2025). She is co-editor of the book Homeschooling Black Children in the US: Theory, Practice and Popular Culture (Information Age Publishing, 2022). She has served as Poet Laureate of Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Dr. Ali-Coleman is a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County. She holds a master’s degree in mass communication from Towson University in Maryland and an educational doctorate from Morgan State University in Baltimore.
Stacey Saunders-Adams was named interim chair of the department of social work at Ohio University’s College of Health Sciences and Professions. Dr. Saunders-Adams is an associate professor of social work at the university’s Chillicothe campus and serves as co-director of the Consortium for Child and Adult Services. Her areas of expertise include substance abuse, research and evaluation, child welfare, and policy practice.
Dr. Saunders-Adams is an alumna of Ohio University, where she majored in social work. She holds a master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and a Ph.D. in social work from Ohio State University.
Noelani Goodyear-Kaʻōpua has been named interim director of the Hawaiʻi Papa O Ke Ao Native Hawaiian Place of Learning Advancement Office for the University of Hawaiʻi System and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. A professor with the university since 2007, Goodyear-Kaʻōpua previously served as chair of the department of political science and interim assistant vice provost for faculty excellence. She is also co-founder of the Hālau Kū Māna Public Charter School.
Dr. Goodyear-Kaʻōpua earned her bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies and political science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and her Ph.D. in the history of consciousness from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Jess Jones was named director of the chief learning officer program at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Designed for working professionals, the three-year doctoral program aims to prepare executives to lead learning and talent development at the highest levels of their firms. Dr. Jones, an alumna of and current instructor with the program, is co-founder of Back to Human Partners, a leadership training and consulting firm.
In addition to her doctorate from Penn, Dr. Jones holds bachelor’s degrees in business information systems and psychology and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary telecommunications from the University of Colorado.