A Dozen Women Selected for Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Sarah Turner has been appointed as the director of alumni relations for the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She comes to Virginia Tech from Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, where she served as vice president for advancement. Earlier in her career, she worked for the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Turner is a graduate of Concord University, where she majored in business with a minor in communications. She holds a master’s degree in communication studies from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia.

Lynzie De Veres has been named assistant vice president for equity, equity investigations, and Title IX coordinator at the California Institute of Technology. Most recently, she was the assistant vice president for diversity and inclusion and Title IX administrator at Claremont McKenna College in California. Prior to joining the Claremont McKenna staff, she worked in the admissions department at Arizona State University.

De Veres holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Oberlin College in Ohio and a juris doctorate from Loyola Marymount University in California.

Lindsay Vahl Dean has been named assistant vice president of alumni engagement and executive director of the Northwestern Alumni Association at Northwestern University in Illinois. She has served as the alumni association’s interim director for the past year. Prior to joining the Northwestern University staff, she held several alumni engagement roles at Illinois State University.

Dr. Vahl Dean is a three-time graduate of Illinois State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science, a master’s degree in college student personnel administration, and a Ph.D. higher education administration.

Bridget Werner has been named the annual giving program manager at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She has seven years of experience in human services, most recently serving as the director of program development for the Family Abuse Services of Alamance County, North Carolina.

Werner holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a master’s degree in women’s and gender studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Sarah Phillips has been named the vice president of enrollment management and student affairs at Pacific University in Foret Grove, Oregon. She first joined the university in 1995 as a professor of sociology and has held several leadership roles over the past 30 years including director of the School of Social Sciences, associate dean of the College of Arts & Sciences and the College of Business, and dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Dr. Phillips holds a bachelor’s degree from Whitman College in Washington and a doctorate in sociology from the University of Minnesota.

Erin Hedlun has been promoted to chief marketing and communications officer at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. For the past six years, she has served as the university’s senior director of marketing and communications. Previously, she was the public information officer for the Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management in Missouri.

Hedlun holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic media from Evangel University.

Kellei Samuels has been named chief of staff at Tuskegee University in Alabama. In addition to her new responsibilities, she will retain her current position as the university’s vice president of institutional effectiveness. She also serves as Tuskegee’s liaison to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Dr. Samuels holds a bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. from Jackson State University in Mississippi. Prior to earning her doctorate, she received a master’s degree from Mississippi State University.

Katherine Dunn has been appointed senior director of the Georgia Policy Labs at Georgia State University, a research partnership between the university and local school districts, state agencies, and nonprofits. Prior to her new appointment, she served as program director and senior attorney for the Advancement Project’s Opportunity to Learn program.

Dunn holds a bachelor’s degree from Elon University in North Carolina and a juris doctorate from the University of North Carolina School of Law.

Kentrice S. Rush has been promoted from interim director to permanent director of marketing in the division of university communications at Jackson State University in Mississippi. She has been with the university for the past nine years, holding positions such as social media associate and digital media manager.

Rush received her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Jackson State University and her MBA from Clark Atlanta University.

Kaylee Spencer has been named director of the Museum of Fine Arts at Florida State University. She comes to her new role from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where she was a tenured professor, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, chair of the art department, and director of the university’s art gallery.

Dr. Spencer holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Sascha Owen has been appointed senior vice chancellor for strategy and policy implementation at the City University of New York. She has held several public service roles in New York City, including chief of staff for the New York City comptroller’s office and chief of staff for the Manhattan Borough President’s office. Most recently, she was a senior leader with Pursuit, a career services organization for low-income New Yorkers.

Owen is graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, where she double-majored in religion and Judaic and Near Eastern studies. She holds a juris doctorate from Brooklyn Law School.

Christal Cadenhead has been named executive director of enrollment management at Kansas State University-Salina. She has served as the university’s director of advising for the past year. Earlier in her career, she spent over a decade in student services positions with Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Nebraska.

Cadenhead holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and public relations from McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois and a master’s degree in academic advising from Kansas State University.