New Administrative Positions for 14 Women at Colleges and Universities

Lisa Ghidotti was named director of government relations at Radford University in Virginia. She has been serving as director of government relations and member services for the Council of Independent Colleges.

Ghidotti is a graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she majored in interdisciplinary social science. She holds a master’s degree in recreation, parks, and sport leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

Shai L. Butler was promoted to vice president for student success and engagement at the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. Since 2007, Dr. Rose has been the college’s chief diversity officer, and she will continue in that role.

Dr. Butler holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in educational administration and policy studies from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System. She earned a doctorate in law and policy from Northeastern University in Boston.

Karen Levin Coburn will serve as interim associate vice chancellor for student affairs at Washington University in St. Louis. She has been serving as a senior consultant in residence and is the former assistant vice chancellor for students at the university. She is the co-author of Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years (William Morrow, 2016, Sixth Edition).

Coburn is a graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. She holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Washington University.

Julie Sigmon was named director of the Omaha STEM Ecosystem, a project of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The organization seeks to maximize science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based learning initiatives in the Omaha metropolitan area.

Sigmon is a graduate of the University of Tulsa. She holds a master’s degree in school administration and supervision from Roosevelt University.

Siham Doughman was named registrar at Syracuse University in New York. She was registrar at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. Earlier in her career, she was an assistant professor and coordinator of management information systems at Amman University in Jordan.

Doughman is a graduate of Northeastern University, where she majored in business administration. She holds an MBA from Yarmouk University in Jordan.

Tara Evans was appointed general counsel at the University of Wyoming. Evans has been a member of the staff at the university since 2008. She has served as interim general counsel since August. Since 2013, Evans has served as deputy legal counsel.

Evans holds a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and a law degree from the University of Wyoming.

Kelly Oaks was named assistant vice president in the Office of Equity and Accessibility at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She was the associate vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Hawaii Hilo.

Dr. Oaks is a graduate of Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Nevada, Reno and a Ph.D. in counselor education from Virginia Tech.

Lisa Lewis Schaeffer was promoted to vice chancellor of student affairs at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She has been serving in the position on an interim basis since July 2015. Dr. Schaeffer came to the university in 1984 as an admissions counselor.

Dr. Schaeffer holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology, a master’s degree in counseling, and a doctorate in educational administration, all from Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

Tiffany Espinosa was appointed executive director of professional and graduate education programs at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She was assistant provost for the Welch Center for Graduate and Professional Studies at Goucher College in Maryland.

Dr. Espinosa is a graduate of University of Michigan. She holds an MBA and a master’s degree in education from the University of Colorado at Denver and a doctorate in human dimensions of natural resources from Colorado State University.

Ruth A. Evans was promoted to director of public safety at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. She is the first woman to hold the position. She has been serving as assistant director of public safety and police captain at the university.

Evans is a graduate of Ashworth College in Norcross, Georgia. She is currently studying for a master’s degree in public safety.

Jerusha Kasch was named director of crisis management at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Since 2014, she has been director of emergency management at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, Texas.

Kasch holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in criminology and criminal justice services from Portland State University in Oregon.

Miriam Merrill was named associate director of athletics and chief woman administrator at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. She is the former director of athletics at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago.

Merrill is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she majored in communication and was an All-American in track. She holds a master’s degree in sport administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati and is pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology of human movement from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Bridget Le Loup Collier was named interim associate provost and director of the Office of Equal Opportunity at the University of Chicago. She will also serve as Title IX coordinator. She has been serving as dean of students and director of student engagement at the university’s Graham School for Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies. She joined the staff at the University of Chicago in 2015, after serving as Title IX coordinator at Roosevelt University in Chicago.

Dr. Collier holds a master’s degree in counseling and student affairs from Northern Arizona University and a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Southern California.

Crystal Brown was appointed vice president of communications and chief communications officer at Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was the chief communications officer at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Brown is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she majored in rhetoric and communications.