Fourteen Women Appointed to Administrative Positions at Colleges and Universities

Gigi Secuban was named the inaugural vice president for diversity and inclusion at Ohio University in Athens. She has been serving as associate vice chancellor and director of the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations at the University of Illinois.

Dr. Secuban holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in health science, and a doctorate in higher education administration, all from the University of Arkansas.

Erika Shubin is the inaugural director of strategic communications and public relations at Salt Lake Community College in Utah. For the past 10 years, she has been a public relations and marketing manager for the Utah Transit Authority.

Shubin is a graduate of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she majored in communications with an emphasis in public relations.

Stelfanie Williams was appointed vice president for Durham and regional affairs at Duke University in North Carolina. She has been serving as president of Vance-Granville Community College in Henderson, North Carolina. Dr. Williams has been president of the college since 2012.

Dr. Williams is a graduate of Duke University, where she double majored in Spanish and public policy. She holds a master’s degree from Western Carolina University and an educational doctorate from North Carolina State University.

Lauren Lessing was named director of the Stanley Museum of Art at the University of Iowa. She has been serving as the director of academic and public programs for the Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine.

Dr. Lessing is a graduate of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. She holds a master of library science degree, a master’s degree in art history, and a Ph.D. in history of art from Indiana University.

Amanda Bailey will be the next vice president of human resources at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. She has been serving as acting chief of staff and vice president for human resources at Morehouse College in Atlanta. She is the former chief human resources officer for the Broward County Public Schools in Florida.

Bailey is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree in labor relations and human resources management from the University of Rhode Island.

Ashley Bianchi was appointed director of financial aid at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She held the same position at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. Earlier, Bianchi worked at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, and the College of Charleston in South Carolina.

Bianchi is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where she majored in educational psychology. She holds a master’s degree in higher education student affairs from the University of South Carolina.

Amy Hass was promoted to vice president and general counsel at the University of Florida. She has served in the role on an interim basis since July 2017 and has worked in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel since 2006.

Hass is a graduate of Furman University in South Carolina and the Levin College of Law at the University of Florida.

Shonda Gibson was named associate vice chancellor for academic affairs for the Texas A&M University System. She has been serving as associate provost for institutional effectiveness and research at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Earlier, she was an executive for Sara Lee Corporation.

Dr. Gibson holds a bachelor’s degree, an MBA, a master’s degree in psychology, and a Ph.D. in educational psychology, all from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Saida Bonifield is the new director of the Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity at the University of Kansas. She has been serving in the role on an interim basis since September 2017. She joined the staff at the university in 2014.

Bonifield holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish literature from the University of Costa Rica and a second bachelor’s degree in the same subject and a master’s degree in higher education administration from the University of Kansas.

Kiersten Boyce was appointed chief compliance officer at the University of California, Riverside. She held a similar position at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Boyce is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She earned her law degree at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Christa Platt was promoted to director of diversity advocacy at Illinois State University. She was coordinator of targeted retention services at the university.

Dr. Platt is a graduate of Wichita State University in Kansas, where she majored in criminal justice. She holds a master’s degree in college student personnel and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Illinois State University.

Kimberly Betz was named executive director of career services at Princeton University in New Jersey. Since 2013, she has been the director of the Career Center at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.

Betz is a graduate of Carleton College, where she majored in German. She holds a master’s degree in German from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Lori Reesor will be the next vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has been serving as vice provost for student affairs and dean of students at Indiana University in Bloomington.

Dr. Reesor is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she majored in business. She holds a master’s degree from Iowa State University and a doctorate from the University of Kansas.

Kasia Gonnerman is the new director of the Central Library at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. For the past decade, she has been head of research and instruction for the St. Olaf College Libraries in Northfield, Minnesota.

Gonnerman holds a master’s degree in English linguistics from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. She earned a second master’s degree in library and information science from Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois.