Gesele Durham has been named interim vice provost for faculty affairs and development at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Durham has been serving as vice provost for institutional effectiveness and planning. She previously held leadership roles with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Dr. Durham earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science from Illinois State University. She holds a doctorate in political science from Binghamton University in New York.
Lisa Cook was named executive vice president of student learning and success at Merritt and Laney Colleges in California. With 27 years of experience in higher education, Cook previously served as acting vice president of instruction at Merritt College. Earlier, she was dean of liberal arts and social sciences at Berkeley City College in California.
Cook holds a bachelor’s degree in writing and poetics from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and a master’s degree in applied linguistics and English language studies from the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Jan’a Gill Prater was named program director of academic support at Savannah State University in Georgia. Prater has nearly a decade of higher education experience. During her tenure at Savannah State, she has served as a transition coach and professional advisor, and she has overseen the university’s dual enrollment program.
A graduate of the National College of Business and Technology, Prater holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology with an emphasis in women and religious studies from Georgetown College in Kentucky and a master of social work degree in children and family services from Asbury University in Kentucky.
Shoua Ferris is the new vice president of human resources at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Ferris comes to her new role with more than 15 years of leadership experience in human resources. Most recently, she served as human resources director at First Children’s Finance. Earlier, she was head of human resources for Back to Nature Foods.
Ferris received her bachelor’s degree in human resources management and project management from Metropolitan State University in St. Paul and her MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management.
Shirley Mitchell was appointed director of the University of Kentucky’s Commonwealth AI Transdisciplinary Strategy initiative. Mitchell has extensive experience leading digital and technology initiatives at Valvoline Global and Lexmark. She also served as an officer in the U.S. Navy, where she led construction and infrastructure projects in the U.S. and abroad.
Mitchell is a graduate of the University of Kentucky.
Jessica Vodden was named vice president for communications and marketing at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Most recently, she served as the inaugural vice president for marketing and communications at East Tennessee State University. Earlier, she was chief marketing officer at Savage Grant, a social impact investment firm. Vodden has also held a senior role with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission.
Vodden received her bachelor’s degree in public relations with minors in Spanish and graphic design from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. She holds a master of public administration degree in nonprofit management from the University of Colorado Denver.
Jacquese “Jai” Starling is director of research and sponsored programs at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Starling most recently served as finance administrator for the Office of Sponsored Programs at Belmont University in Nashville. Before that role, she oversaw programmatic budgets at the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. She also supports other higher education institutions through her consulting firm, J. Starling Strategy & Financial Consulting.
A U.S. Navy veteran, Starling holds an MBA from Trevecca Nazarene University and a master’s degree in data science from Meharry Medical College, both in Nashville. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership.
Traci McGill was promoted to assistant vice president of internal audit and chief audit executive at Auburn University in Alabama. For the past three years, McGill has served as Auburn’s director of internal audit. Her background also includes senior auditing positions with Aflac and Deloitte.
McGill holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and accounting and a master of accountancy degree from Auburn University.
Vini Bhargava was appointed vice president for facilities management and planning at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. She comes to her new role from Northeastern University’s Oakland campus, where she was associate vice president for planning, real estate, and facilities. Prior to Northeastern, Bhargava held leadership roles at Google, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California System.
Bhargava earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Birla Institute of Technology in India and her master’s degree in construction engineering and management from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Corey Pashea has been named vice president for development, health affairs, and health system at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Pashea has more than two decades of experience in healthcare philanthropy and higher education. She most recently served as assistant vice chancellor for medical advancement at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Pashea earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and her master’s degree from Washington University.