Fourteen Women Appointed to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Lorena Penaloza was named chief campus counsel at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been serving as university counsel for Sonoma State University and Humboldt State University in the Office of the General Counsel of the California State University System.

Penaloza is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in sociology and political economy, She earned a law degree at the University of California Hastings College of Law.

Elizabeth Halloran was named executive vice president and chief advancement officer at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Since 2014, Halloran has been senior vice president for advancement at the Minneapolis Foundation. She is the former vice president for development and alumni relations at Grinnell College in Iowa.

Halloran holds a degree in social work from the College of St. Teresa in Winona, Minnesota, an MBA from the University of St. Thomas, and a master’s degree in social welfare from the University of Wisconsin.

Carmen Robinson, was appointed director of undergraduate education at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has been serving as assistant dean for student services in the College of Arts, Letters and Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Dr. Robinson holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Central Arkansas. She earned a second master’s degree from the University of Memphis and an educational doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Julia Maddox was named director of the Barbara J. Burger iZone at the University of Rochester in New York. The facility will provide students with programs, services, and resources to develop innovative projects for social, cultural, community, and economic impact.

Maddox holds a bachelor’s degree in English from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Wake was appointed associate general counsel at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She was assistant provost and Title IX coordinator at the University of Chicago.

Wake is a graduate of Loyola University in Chicago and the University of Notre Dame School of Law.

Linda Favero is the new assistant dean of students and career services at the Portland campus of the University of Oregon. She has been serving as program director of Alumni Career Services at the university.

Favero is a graduate of the University of Oregon, where she majored in rhetoric and communication. She holds a master’s degree in management communication from the University of Portland.

Karen Pore is the new registrar at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. She was associate bursar for technology at Elon University in North Carolina.

Pore earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and an MBA from Elon University.

Christine Wilda was appointed associate vice chancellor for compliance at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has been serving as senior vice president for administration and finance and treasurer for the University of Massachusetts System.

From 2002 to 2012, Wilda served as comptroller at the University of Massachusetts.

Brenda Hatton-Ficklin is the new director of alumni relations at Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was the events director at St. Mark Baptist Church in Little Rock.

Hatton-Ficklin is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas, where she majored in business. She holds an MBA from Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri.

Sandra Genelius was appointed chief communications officer at Amherst College in Massachusetts. She will take office on March 1. She is the former vice president of corporate communications and public affairs at Sony Corporation and the former vice president of communications for CBS News.

Genelius is a graduate of New York University, where she majored in communications.

Belinda Smith was appointed program support coordinator in the Office of Graduate Studies at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. Her work will focus on helping international graduate students at the university.

Smith holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Alcorn State University.

Robin Thompson was named director of financial aid at Pomona College in Claremont, California, effective May 1. Since 2012 she has been director of financial aid at Pitzer College, also in Claremont. Earlier she served as associate director of financial aid at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Thompson is a 2002 graduate of Pomona College, where she majored in European history.

Idella Goodson Glenn was named special adviser on inclusivity and diversity at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. She was director of diversity education and retention initiatives at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Earlier, she was an administrator for 18 years at Furman University in South Carolina.

Dr. Glenn is a graduate of Furman University. She holds a master’s degree in higher educational administration from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Clemson University in South Carolina.

Asha Rajagopal was appointed executive director of the Office of Technology Transfer at Rice University in Houston, Texas. She is the former director of the Office of Technology Commercialization at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Dr. Rajagopal holds a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. She earned a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the Rockefeller University.