Four Women Scholars Who Have Been Appointed to New Roles at State Universities

Susan Goldberg, editor in chief of National Geographic and editorial director of National Geographic Partners, will join Arizona State University with a joint appointment in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory’s College of Global Futures. Goldberg will serve as vice dean and professor of practice and lead new programs and strategic partnerships in Washington, D.C.

Goldberg is a graduate of Michigan State University, where she majored in journalism.

Kristie Soares has accepted the position of co-director of LGBTQ Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Soares is an assistant professor of women and gender studies and has been on the university’s faculty since 2018.

Dr. Soares holds a bachelor’s degree in English and women’s studies from the University of Florida, a master’s degree in comparative literature from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a doctoral degree in comparative literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Jill Wieber Lens is the new associate dean for research and faculty development at the University of Arkansas School of Law. Prior to joining the faculty at the law school in 2018, Professor Lens was on the faculty at the Baylor University School of Law in Waco, Texas.

Professor Lens received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she majored in political science and the liberal arts. She earned a juris doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law.

Seretha Williams was appointed chair of the department of English and world languages at Augusta University in Georgia. Dr. Williams joined the faculty at the university in 1998. She has served as the interim director of the women’s studies program and is the editor of Third Stone Journal, an open-access digital journal that focuses on the theme of Afrofuturism.

Dr. Williams is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she majored in journalism. She earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in comparative literature from the University of Georgia. She also holds a master of library and information science degree from Valdosta State University in Georgia.