Six Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed Deans at Major Universities

Jennifer Tour Chayes has been named the inaugural associate provost for the Division of Data Science and information and dean of the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley. She currently serves as a technical fellow and managing director of Microsoft Research New England and Microsoft Research New York City. She has been with Microsoft Research since 1997.

Dr. Chayes is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where she majored in biology and physics. She holds a Ph.D. in mathematical physics from Princeton University.

Celia R. Hooper has been named interim dean of the School of Health Sciences at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. She is a dean emerita of the School of Health Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has been a clinical speech-language pathologist and gerontologist since 1974.

Dr. Hooper is a graduate of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she majored in classics and communication studies. She holds a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Ph.D. in speech and hearing sciences from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Maryam Alavi has been reappointed to a five-year term as dean of the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In addition to serving as dean, she also serves as the Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. Chair of IT Management. She is an expert in digital innovations and strategic business IT applications.

Dr. Alavi is a graduate of the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System, where she majored in math and computer science. She holds a master’s degree in computer information systems and a Ph.D. in information systems both from Ohio State University.

Amy Waer has been named interim dean of the College of Medicine at Texas A&M University. She has served as executive dean for education and academic programs at the college since 2018. Her research and clinical interests focus on surgery, surgical education, breast surgery, and breast cancer prevention and early detection.

Dr. Waer holds a bachelor’s degree and a medical doctorate both from the University of Arizona.

Elizabeth Dinkins has been named dean of the Annsley Frazier Thornton School of Education at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky. She has been serving in the role on an interim basis since 2017. Previously, she served as Bellarmine’s associate dean of education and chair of the doctoral program in education and social change. She has been with the university since 2012.

Dr. Dinkins is a graduate of the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she majored in liberal arts. She holds a master’s degree in education from Vanderbilt University in Nashville and a doctorate in English education from the University of Virginia.

Janice Pope has been named interim dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. She is a professor and chair of the department of communication. She has been a faculty member at the university since 1995.

Dr. Pope holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations, a master’s degree in journalism, and a Ph.D. in mass communications all from the University of Alabama.