Eleven Women Who Are Taking on New Administrative Responsibilities at Colleges and Universities

Maureen Deisinger was promoted to assistant director for partnerships and affiliations in the Global Education Office at Virginia Tech. She joined the staff at the university a decade ago as an academic adviser.

Originally from Kimberly, Wisconsin, Deisinger received a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Wisconsin-Steven’s Point. She holds a master’s degree in higher education and student services from Iowa State University.

Etienne Thomas was appointed director of athletics at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. Thomas will lead a program that includes 10 teams, approximately 275 student athletes, and 33 athletics staff. She has been serving as director of athletics at Kentucky State University.

Thomas is a 1996 graduate of North Carolina Central University. She has completed course work for a juris doctorate from the College of Law at the University of Iowa.

Lauren Wilson was promoted to assistant vice president for research and technology agreements at the University of Alabama. Wilson joined the university’s research administration in 2006 as senior associate director in the Office for Sponsored Programs. She recently served as interim director of the Office of Technology Transfer.

Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Alabama in 1986 and her law degree from Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in 1989.

Melissa Daly was named director of special initiatives and assistant vice provost in the Office of Academic Affairs at Emory University in Atlanta. She has been serving as chief of staff to the president of Ithaca College in New York. Daly joined the college as chief of staff in 2017. Previously, she was a senior executive assistant in the chancellor’s office at Rutgers University–Newark.

Daly is a graduate of Montclair State University in New Jersey, where she majored in sociology. She earned an MBA with a concentration in music from the combined program of Southern New Hampshire University and the Berklee College of Music.

Kimberly Gramm has been promoted to associate vice president of innovation & entrepreneurship at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. She joined the staff at the university in 2016 as senior managing director of the Innovation Hub at Research Park.

Gramm earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of South Florida and an MBA at the University of Tampa.

Meredith Fluke is the new director for the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. She is the former Kemper Curator of Academic Exhibitions and Affairs at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.

Dr. Fluke is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she majored in art history. She earned a Ph.D.in medieval art history at Columbia University in New York City.

Elizabeth Billington was named director of digital communications at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Most recently she served as director of marketing for Tigerpaw Software in Bellevue, Nebraska. Earlier she served on the marketing team of Nebraska Methodist College.

Billington holds a bachelor’s degree in digital marketing from Bellevue University in Nebraska.

Cynthia Sims was appointed associate vice president of academic partnerships and learning resources at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She was associate dean for academics and student affairs at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.

Dr. Sims holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in public service management from DePaul University in Chicago. She earned an educational doctorate at Northern Illinois University

Mary K. Grant was appointed senior administrative fellow for civics and social justice at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. Since January 2018 she has served as president and CEO of The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate. Earlier, Dr. Grant was chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Asheville and president of the Massachusetts College of the Liberal Arts.

Dr. Grant holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a Ph.D. in social policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Iika McCarter has been named interim director of the Office of Admissions at the Mississippi Unversity for Women. McCarter has served as assistant director of admissions since October 2006.

McCarter is a 1995 graduate of the Mississippi University for Women, where she majored in business administration.

Laura Johnson was named associate vice president for equity at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. She has been serving as the university’s Title IX coordinator and will continue to perform those duties. She is the former vice president for student life and dean of students at Georgetown College in Kentucky.

Dr. Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Maine. She earned a Ph.D. in educational policy studies from the University of Kentucky.