Seven Women Scholars Who Are Taking on New Assignments at Universities

Eva Chi has been selected to serve as the first associate dean for faculty affairs in the School of Engineering at the University of New Mexico. She is a professor in the department of chemical and biological engineering. She joined the faculty at the university in 2008.

Dr. Chi, who was born in China, moved to the San Francisco Bay area with her family when she was a child. She earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado.

Kellie Wilson Buford has been named chair for the department of history at Arkansas State University. A member of the faculty since 2014, Dr. Buford’s research focuses on the history of the U.S. military in the 20th century, the Cold War, and gender discrimination and sexual violence.

Dr. Buford is a graduate of North Carolina State University, where she majored in history and social science education. She earned a master’s degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Nebraska.

The City College of New York has appointed Jervette R. Ward as director of the Black Studies Program in the Division of Humanities and the Arts. Since 2018, Dr. Ward has been a tenured associate professor of English at Mississippi State University. Earlier, she was an associate professor of English at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Professor Ward holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Memphis.

Elizabeth C. Matto has been named director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. She was founding director of the Eagleton Institute’s Center for Youth Political Participation. She has been a faculty member at the institute for 15 years.

Dr. Matto is a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles. She earned a Ph.D. in American politics at George Washington University.

Desirée Plata, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named co-director of the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium.

Dr. Plata is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady, New York. She earned a Ph.D. in oceanography from the joint program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Danille Taylor was appointed director of the Clark Atlanta University Art Museum. Dr. Taylor is a professor of African American studies at the university and has served as interim museum director since August 2022.

Dr. Taylor earned a bachelor’s degree in English and African American studies and a master’s degree in African American studies from Boston University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. degree in American studies from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Elizabeth Dulemba was named director of graduate programs in children’s literature and Illustration at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. Previously, Dr. Dulemba was program director and associate professor of illustration at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. She is the author of more than 30 books including her debut novel, A Bird on Water Street (Little Pickle Press, 2019).

Dr. Dulemba is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where she majored in graphic design. She holds a master of fine arts degree in illustration from the University of Edinburgh and a Ph.D. in children’s literature from the University of Glasgow.