Colleges and Universities Announce the Appointment of Three Women to Dean Posts

Jennifer Jones Cavenaugh will become dean of the University of Richmond’s School of Arts & Sciences on July 1.  She currently serves as the dean of the faculty and holds the Winifred M. Warden Endowed Chair of Theatre & Dance at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. Professor Cavenaugh is the author of Medea’s Daughters: Forming and Performing Women Who Kill (Ohio State University Press, 2003).

Dr. Cavenaugh earned a bachelor’s degree in policy studies at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. She holds a master of fine arts degree in dramaturgy from Brooklyn College in New York and a Ph.D. in theater history and dramatic criticism from the University of Washington.

Beronda L. Montgomery has been appointed vice president for academic affairs and dean of Grinnell College in Iowa. Dr. Montgomery currently serves as a professor in the departments of biochemistry and molecular biology and microbiology and molecular genetics, as well as assistant vice president for research and innovation at Michigan State University. She will begin her new job on July 1.

Dr. Montgomery joined the faculty at Michigan State in 2004 following a postdoctoral research fellowship at Indiana University. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Montgomery holds a master’s degree from the University of Central Arkansas and a Ph.D. in plant biology from the University of California, Davis.

Sharon Kuska has been named interim dean of the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has served as a faculty member in the college for 35 years and, since 2018, has been associate dean for faculty and academic programs. Professor Kuska is a registered civil engineer in the state of Nebraska and is a past president of the Nebraska Society of Professional Engineers.

Dr. Kuska holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree in civil engineering, and a Ph.D. in engineering, all from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.