Sixteen Women Who Have Been Appointed to Administrative Roles in Higher Education

Iris Jenkins has been appointed director of the research integrity and consultation program in the division of scholarly integrity and research compliance at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She comes to Virginia Tech from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she worked with the human research protection program and the institutional animal care and use committee.

Dr. Jenkins received her master’s degree in plant pathology from the University of Arizona and her Ph.D. in neuroscience and behavior from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Jeanna McCullers has been appointed assistant vice president of student affairs, policy, and governance at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. She currently serves as senior associate dean of students and director of the Office of Student Conduct. Before joining the Duke staff in 2017, she served as the Title IX officer for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

McCullers holds a bachelor’s degree in policy and politics from North Carolina State University and a juris doctorate from the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston, Texas.

Julie Dussliere has been named president and chief executive officer of the Purdue for Life Foundation at Purdue University in Indiana. For over two decades, she has served as an executive leader with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Most recently, she served as the organization’s senior vice president and chief of paralympics and internally managed sport.

Dussliere holds a bachelor’s degree in Russian from Purdue University and a master’s degree in Slavic and East European studies from Ohio State University.

Kirstin Maanum has been named director of the Center for Student Access and Resources at the University of Utah. She has been with the university for several years, most recently serving as director of the Women’s Resource Center.

Maanum holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Concordia College in Minnesota and a master of public health degree from New Mexico State University.

Jessica Bell Brown has been appointed executive director of the Institute for Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been with the Baltimore Museum of Art for the past five years, most recently serving as curator and head of contemporary art.

Brown is a graduate of Northwestern University in Illinois, where she majored in art history. She holds a master’s degree in modern and contemporary art from Princeton University.

Jennifer Gunter King has been appointed associate university librarian for special collections at Boston University. Prior to her new role, she was the director of the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She has held various special collections appointments with Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Virginia Tech.

King is a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she majored in history. She holds a master’s degree in history and a masters of library science degree with an archives concentration from the University of Maryland.

Vanice L. Antrum has been appointed director of the Multicultural Student Services Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She comes to her new role from Salisbury University in Maryland, where she was the director of multicultural affairs in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Antrum is a two-time graduate of Salisbury University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in information systems and a master’s degree in education.

Shanita L. Pettaway has been named the inaugural associate dean of students for student rights and responsibilities at the University of West Florida. She previously served as a visiting assistant professor of political science and criminal justice at the University of South Alabama and as director of Title IX compliance and Title IX coordinator at the University of Arkansas.

Dr. Pettaway received her bachelor’s degree from Alabama A&M University. She holds a juris doctorate from the Southern University Law Center and a master of public administration degree from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She also holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in administration of higher education from Auburn University in Alabama.

Kristie DeJesus has been appointed as the inaugural director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Design Thinking at Bryant University in Rhode Island. Most recently, she served as the senior director of innovation and entrepreneurship at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.

DeJesus earned her bachelor’s degree in manufacturing engineering from Boston University and her master’s degree in operations and information technology from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where she is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in education.

Heather M. Owen has been named director of athletics at Santa Clara University in California. Since 2008, Owen has held several roles with Stanford University Athletics, most recently serving as deputy athletics director and senior woman administrator. Prior to her career in higher education, she played professional basketball for the WNBA and served as a practicing attorney for four years.

Owen holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a juris doctorate from Santa Clara University.

Eli Williams has been appointed assistant director of the LGBTQ+ Center at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. She most recently served as executive director of The LGBTQ Center in South Bend, Indiana. While completing her doctoral studies, she taught at the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Williams is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where she majored in the study of women and gender. She holds a master’s degree in leadership studies from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago and a doctorate in sociology and gender studies from the University of Notre Dame.

Jane Gatewood has been named vice provost for global engagement and services at Emory University in Atlanta. She comes to her new role from the University of Rochester in New York, where she has served as vice provost for global engagement for the past eight years.

Dr. Gatewood is an undergraduate alumna of Emory University. She holds a master’s degree from Montana State University and a Ph.D. in English language and literature from the University of Georgia.

Roxanne Caesar has been promoted to assistant vice president of corporate relations at Howard University in Washington, D.C. For the past three years, she has served as Howard’s director of corporate relations. Earlier in her career, she was a senior program manager with the Executive Leadership Council.

Caesar received her bachelor’s degree in economics with a minor in business from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.

Sonya Lockett has been selected to serve as interim director of the John Brown Watson Memorial Library at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. She currently holds several positions with the university, including coordinator of public services for the Watson Memorial Library and library representative for the Faculty/Staff Senate.

Lockett holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Arkansas Baptist College, an MBA with a concentration in hospitality management from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and a master’s degree in library science from Texas Woman’s University.

Sharon Martin has been named vice president of marketing and communications at Clemson University in South Carolina. She comes to her new role after a decade with West Virginia University, where she most recently served as vice president for university engagement and chief marketing officer.

Martin received her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Central Michigan University.

Jami Eubanks has been appointed assistant director of STEM careers and outreach services for the Donaghey College of STEM at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Prior to hew new role, she spent several years teaching science and computer science at the high school level. She previously served as the CTE STEM program advisor for the Arkansas Department of Education.

Eubanks holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Central Arkansas. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in information technology from Arkansas Tech University.