A Trio of Women Who Have Been Appointed to Positions as Deans at Universities

Naomi E. Boyd has been named the next dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, effective July 1. Dr. Boyd currently serves as associate dean for innovation, outreach, and engagement and holds the Fred T. Tattersall Chair of Finance in the John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University. Professor Boyd’s research background has focused on structural shifts and innovation in capital markets. She serves as the associate editor of the journal Financial Statistics.

Dr. Boyd received a bachelor of fine arts degree in dance from the University of Texas at Austin. She holds an MBA in finance from Texas Tech University and a doctorate in finance and quantitative methods from George Washington University.

Cynthia Breazeal was named dean for digital learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Breazeal, professor of media arts and sciences and head of the personal robots group at the MIT Media Lab, has been serving as senior associate dean of MIT Open Learning.

Dr. Breazeal received her doctorate in 2000 in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT. She is the author of Designing Sociable Robots (MIT Press, 2002).

Kathy Fahl was appointed interim dean of students at Ohio University in Athens. Fahl, who has been serving as the interim associate dean of students, has been a part of the Division of Student Affairs since 2018. She previously worked for the University of Oklahoma from 2008 through 2018. There, she served as director of the Gender + Equity Center.

Fahl is a graduate of Michigan State University and holds a master of social work degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.