Six Women Faculty Members Who Taking on New Roles or Duties at Universities

Sarah Mollman, an assistant professor of nursing has been named the associate dean for research for South Dakota State University’s College of Nursing. She will be based at the college’s Rapid City site.

Dr. Mollman received her bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in nursing education from South Dakota State University. She earned her Ph.D. in nursing at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Laura Freeman has been named the inaugural deputy director of the Virginia Tech National Security Institute. In addition to her new position, Dr. Freeman maintains her current roles as assistant dean of research for the College of Science in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area and research associate professor in the department of statistics.

Dr. Freeman holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering with a minor in mathematics and a master’s degree and Ph.D., both in statistics, all from Virginia Tech.

Carol Loranger, a professor of English, has been appointed vice provost for faculty affairs at Wright State University in Dayton Ohio. She has served as vice provost on an interim basis since October 2021. Professor Loranger first joined the faculty in 1993.

Dr. Loranger is a graduate of the University of Nevada-Reno, where she majored n English. She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Robin R. Davis was appointed associate provost of academic affairs and professor of management at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia. She has been serving as dean of the Sydney Lewis School of Business at the university. Dr. Davis’ research interests are in the areas of entrepreneurship, business and economic development, cultural intelligence, and leadership.

Dr. Davis is a graduate of South Carolina State University where she majored in business administration. She holds an MBA from Alabama A&M University and a Ph.D. in organization management from Capella University.

Elizabeth Otto, a professor of art history and visual studies in the University at Buffalo’s College of Arts and Sciences, was appointed director of the university’s Humanities Institute, effective in the fall of 2023. Dr. Otto will be spending the coming academic year as a fellow at Germany’s Gerda Henkel Foundation, which supports research and scholarship in the humanities. Dr. Otto is the author of Haunted Bauhaus: Occult Spirituality, Gender Fluidity, Queer Identities, and Radical Politics (MIT Press, 2019).

Professor Otto is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio. She holds a master’s degree in art history from Queens University in Canada and a Ph.D. in the history of art from the University of Michigan.

Rachel Hess, a physician-scientist recognized for her work in patient-centered outcomes, mid-life women’s health, and clinical and translational science, has been named associate vice president for research at University of Utah Health. She holds the H.A. and Edna Benning Presidential Endowed Chair in Population Health Sciences at the University of Utah.

Dr. Hess received her undergraduate degree in mathematics at Washington University in St. Louis. She holds a master’s degree in clinical investigation from the University of Pittsburgh and a medical degree from the University of New Mexico.