Nine Women Taking on New Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Beverly Sandeen was named vice chancellor of resource and economic development for the Los Rios Community College District in California. The district includes four community colleges that together enroll more than 85,000 students. Her appointment is effective July 2.

Dr. Sandeen was chief regional and community engagement officer at the University of California at Davis. Previously, she was vice chancellor for university relations at the Davis campus. Dr. Sandeen holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in social ecology from the University of California at Irvine.

E. Janyce Dawkins was named director of the Equal Opportunity Office at the University of Georgia. She has been serving as interim director since last July. Dawkins joined the university administration in 2008 as assistant director of the EOO. Previously, she was an assistant district attorney.

Dawkins holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Louisiana Lafayette. She is also a graduate of the Florida State University School of Law.

Berenecea Johnson Eanes was appointed vice president for student affairs at California State University Fullerton. She has been serving as vice president for student affairs at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a division of the City University of New York.

Dr. Eanes is a graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans. She holds a master of social work degree from Boston University and a doctorate in social work from Clark Atlanta University.

Karen Kirkpatrick Osgood was named director of admission at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She has been serving as interim director since 2010. Osgood joined the admissions staff at Mount Holyoke in 2002 as associate dean. Previously, she was director of admissions operations and director of the Center for Inclusive Leadership and Social Responsibility at Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Osgood is a graduate of the State University of New York at Albany.

Nicole Fitzwater was appointed director of development for the Graduate School at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is the former director of development and graduate alumni engagement at the University of Virginia.

Fitzwater holds a bachelor’s degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

Carolyn Lukensmeyer is the inaugural executive director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona. She was the founder and served as president of AmericaSpeaks, a nonprofit organization that promotes nonpartisan civic engagement. She is the former chief of staff to then Ohio Governor Richard F. Celeste.

Dr. Lukensmeyer holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Meghan Ferguson is the new gallery director at the Tamarind Institute, a division of the College of Fine Arts at the University of New Mexico. She was the assistant director of Eight Modern, a gallery in Santa Fe.

Ferguson holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from the College of Santa Fe.

Deborah Gearhart was appointed vice provost for e-learning and strategic partnerships at Ohio University in Athens. She has been serving as director of eTROY at Troy University in Alabama.

Dr. Gearhart is a graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She holds two master’s degrees from Pennsylvania State University and a doctorate in education from Capella University.

Marian Levy was named assistant dean of students at the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis. She is an associate professor at the School of Public Health.

A registered dietician, Dr. Levy holds a doctorate in public health from the University of California at Los Angeles.