Eight Women Scholars Taking on New Duties at Major Universities

Stephanie Luster-Teasley, professor and chair of the department of civil, architectural, and environmental engineering at North Carolina A&T State University, has been chosen to serve as the university’s interim vice provost for undergraduate education. Dr. Luster-Teasley holds patents from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada for the development of a controlled-release chemical oxidation polymer system for remediation of water and wastewater.

Professor Luster-Teasley is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University, where she majored in chemical engineering. She holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Michigan State University.

Jennifer Howell is the inaugural director of the Theology, Ecology, and Food Justice Program at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Since 2017, she has taught courses as an adjunct professor in Christian theology at Truett Seminary and the Baylor Honors College.

Dr. Howell holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Texas A&M University. She earned a master of divinity degree from Duke Divinity School and a Ph.D. in theology from Baylor University.

Erin Shaughnessy has been named director of the division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Shaughnessy joins UAB from Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.

Dr. Shaughnessy earned her medical degree at Duke University and completed her residency at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Breea Willingham, an associate professor of criminal justice at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, was named managing editor of the new Journal of Higher Education in Prison. She joined the faculty in 2014 after teaching at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, New York, and the State University of New York at Oneonta.

Dr. Willingham is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, where she majored in communication. She holds a master’s degree in business management from Webster University in Missouri and a Ph.D. in American studies from the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System.

Nisha Fernando was appointed director of the interior architecture program at the University of Kansas. Dr. Fernando was previously a tenured professor of interior architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where she taught for over 19 years. For six of those years, she worked as the associate dean and division head.

Professor Fernando is a graduate of the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka. She holds a Ph.D. in architecture from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Kathy Gould, the Louise B. McGavock professor of cell and developmental biology in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, has been named senior associate dean for Biomedical Research, Education, and Career Development at the university.

Dr. Gould is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in biochemistry. She holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, San Diego.

C. Vanessa White is the new associate director of the master’s degree program in theology in the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University in New Orleans. Dr. White is an associate professor of spirituality and ministry at the university.

Dr. White holds a bachelor’s degree in child development and family services from Northern Illinois University. She earned a master’s degree in theological studies and a doctor of ministry degree from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Lori Guevara, an associate professor in the department of criminal justice at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina, was given the added duties of director of the Quality Enhancement Plan the regional accrediting agency. Dr. Guevara joined the faculty at the university in 2004.

Dr. Guevara earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in criminal justice all from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.