South Dakota State University in Brookings has announced a field of four candidates who are finalists for the presidency of the educational institution. All four candidates have visited the campus this week for interviews and public forums. One of the four finalists is a woman.
Zulma R. Toro is executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has held this post since 2013. Previously, Dr. Toro was dean of the College of Engineering at Wichita State University in Kansas. Earlier, she was dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of New Haven in Connecticut and chancellor of the Mayaguez campus of the University of Puerto Rico.
Dr. Toto is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico, where she majored in industrial engineering. She holds a master’s degree in industrial and operations engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in industrial and systems engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Update: Barry Dunn, the endowed dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, director of SDSU Extension, and professor of animal science at South Dakota State University was selected as the next president of the university.
Dr. Soufleris, a three-time alumna of the State University of New York System, has more than 35 years of higher education experience spanning student affairs, enrollment management, retention, and student success initiatives.
Most recently, Dr. Van Vlerah served as vice president for student success and institutional strategy at Manchester University in Indiana. She is slated to become the fifteenth president of Notre Dame of Maryland University on July 6.
Dr. Egan comes to her new role as president of Bennington College from Connecticut College, where she has been serving as the Fuller-Maathai Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectionality Studies, dean of the faculty, and chief academic officer.
Dr. Pfluger has spent the past year as Bakersfield College's interim president. She previously served as vice chancellor of educational services and student success at the Kern Community College District.
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.