A Round-Up of News on Appointments of Women to Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Maria de Jesus Dixon is the new assistant director of the Academic Success and Career Development Center at Washington State University. She had been serving as a retention counselor in the Office of Multicultural Student Services at the university since 2015.

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Dixon holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and criminal justice and a master’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Courtney L. Young was named university librarian at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. She has been serving as head librarian and professor of women’s studies on the Allegheny campus of Pennsylvania State University in McKeesport.

Young is a graduate of the College of Wooster in Ohio. She earned a master’s degree at Simmons College in Boston. She is a past president of the American Library Association.

Laura Schoen Carbonneau was appointed executive director of the Prairie Family Business Association, an outreach program of the School of Business at the University of South Dakota. She has been serving as CEO of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce. She is the former communications director for the South Dakota Department of Transportation.

Carbonneau is a graduate of the University of South Dakota, where she majored in mass communications.

Margaret Emley is the new director of real estate at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She has been serving as interim director since September 2017. In 2016, she joined the staff at the university as assistant director of real estate.

Emley is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, where she majored in human and organizational development.

Debra Polak was named vice president for academic affairs at Mendocino-Lake Community College District in California. She has been serving as dean of centers for the district administration.

Polak holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education from the University of California, Berkeley.

Sheila Caldwell was appointed chief intercultural engagement officer at Wheaton College in Illinois. She has been serving as advisor to the president on diversity at the University of North Georgia.

Caldwell has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Argosy University.

Mary Ann Covey is the new director of the Division of Student Affairs’ Student Counseling Service at Texas A&M University. She has worked in student counseling at the university for the past 30 years.

Dr. Covey is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, New York, where she majored in sociology. She holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Loyola University and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from Texas A&M University.

Angela Alvarado Coleman was appointed vice chancellor for student affairs at North Carolina Central University in Durham. She has been serving as vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Florida A&M University.

Dr. Coleman holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports sciences and a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Florida. She earned a doctorate in higher education administration from Florida State University.

Kathleen Becker was named the next chief executive officer of the University of New Mexico Hospitals. She has been serving as president of SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital in Missouri.

Becker holds a bachelor’s degree and a master of public health degree from Saint Louis University. She earned a juris doctorate at Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Jennifer Blazek was appointed director of the Farm and Industry Short Course program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The 16-week Short Program prepares students for careers in agriculture and related fields. Since 2011, Blazek has worked for the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Wisconsin.

Blazek is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where she double majored in English and Spanish. She holds master’s degrees in Latin American studies and agro-ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Anita F. Allen was named chief of police at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. She has been serving as a captain in the police department at Albany State University in Georgia. Earlier, she was an officer for the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office.

Allen is a graduate of the North Carolina College of Theology in Sea Breeze.