Eleven Women Who Have Been Assigned New Administrative Roles in American Higher Education

Ashley Pallie has been named director of undergraduate admissions at the California Institute of Technology. She has been serving as director of recruitment at Pomona College in Claremont, California. Earlier, she worked for six years in the admissions office at Scripps College in Claremont.

Pallie s a graduate of Scripps College. She earned an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management in Claremont.

Hollye Hunt has been given additional duties as executive director of governmental affairs for the University of Oklahoma. She will continue to serve as vice president of external affairs for University of Oklahoma Health, where she manages legislative advocacy efforts. Earlier, in her career, Hunt served as the vice president of legislative affairs for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association.

Hunt completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a juris doctorate from Oklahoma City University.

Veronica Creech is the inaugural vice president of economic development and external engagement at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was the director of the Office of Economic Development & Innovation for the City of Raleigh.

Creech holds a master of social work degree from the University of North Carolina and a master of public administration degree from Saint Louis University.

Cynthia Sides has been promoted to assistant vice chancellor and director of research advancement in the Division of Research and Innovation at the University of Arkansas. From 2014-17, Dr. Sides served as associate director of the Office of Entrepreneurship, and since then she has been the director of the Office of Innovation and Industry Partnerships at the university.

Dr. Sides earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a bachelor’s degree in English from Arkansas Tech University. She holds a Ph.D. in chemistry and biochemistry from the University of Arkansas.

Shannon Lucius has been named registrar at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus. She previously served as a degree auditor and international admissions specialist at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Mississippi. She had been on the staff there since 2003.

Lucius holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA from Franklin University in Columbus, Ohio.

Charlotte Fant Pegues has been named vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Pegues has served the university in a variety of roles for 28 years, with more than 10 of those in the Division of Student Affairs. During that time, she has been assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, assistant provost, director of admissions, and registrar.

Dr. Pegues holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in education, and a doctorate in leadership and counselor education from the University of Mississippi.

Mary Gresch has been named senior vice president for advancement at the University of Washington. She joined the staff at the university in 2013 and served as vice president for communications and marketing.

Gresch is a graduate of California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo, where she majored in journalism.

Valoree Vargo was appointed vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement at Kent State University in Ohio. She will also serve as the executive director of the Kent State University Foundation. She is the former executive director for advancement events and communications at George Washington University

Vargo is a graduate of Mount Aloysius College in Cresson, Pennsylvania.

Veronica Cohen is the new vice president of institutional advancement, development, marketing, and communications at Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida. She most recently served as vice president of institutional advancement and external affairs at Jackson State University in Mississippi.

Cohen earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina. She holds a master’s degree in community counseling psychology from Springfield College in Massachusetts.

Julie Gumm has been promoted to chief marketing and communications officer for John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. She has served as director of university marketing and communications for the last four years.

Gumm has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in design thinking and innovation from John Brown University.

Lindsay A. Wimmer has been appointed as director of development at Franklin College in Indiana. Most recently, she served at Indiana University School of Optometry in Bloomington as an associate director of development and alumni relations.

Wimmer earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Indiana University in Bloomington.