Nine Women Appointed to Administrative Roles at Colleges and Universities

Alonda Thomas has been appointed chief marketing and communications officer at Florida A&M University. She comes to hew new role from Jackson State University in Mississippi, where she served as chief communications officer and associate vice president of marketing and communications. Earlier in her career, she was the director of public relations for Howard University in Washington, D.C.

Thomas received her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Florida A&M University and a master’s degree in integrated marketing and management communication from Florida State University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in urban higher education from Jackson State University.

Sarah Grace Hall has been named alumni engagement coordinator at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She previously served as the program registrar and reservation management for the Massanetta Springs Camp and Conference Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Hall holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Arkansas and a master of divinity degree from Union Presbyterian Seminary.

Tiffany Bellafant Steward has been named vice president of student enrollment and success at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. She most recently served as assistant vice chancellor for student enrollment and retention services at the Tennessee Board of Regents.

Dr. Steward holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Memphis, as well as a master’s degree in education with a focus on enrollment management from Capella University.

Sarah McMahon has been named a special advisor to the president for sexual misconduct prevention and response at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. A member of the Rutgers community for more than two decades, she currently serves an associate professor of social work and director of the Center on Violence Against Women & Children.

Dr. McMahon is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in social work from Rutgers University.

Jessica Carr has been appointed assistant athletic director for communications at Louisiana State University Shreveport. She was the assistant athletic director for sports information at Alcorn State University in Mississippi. She previously served as a lecturer at Grambling State University in Louisiana.

Carr holds a bachelor’s degree in visual journalism and a master’s degree in sport administration from Grambling State University.

Rachel Kohman has been named assistant dean of entrepreneurship education for the Kummer College of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. She has been with the university for the past three years, serving as the director of the Kummer Student Programs. Previously, she was the senior director of the Center for Student Involvement at Emporia State University in Kansas.

Kohman received her bachelor’s degree in business and economics from Bethany College in Kentucky and a master’s degree in counseling and college student development from Kansas State University.

Lia Kampman has been appointed vice president for institutional advancement at Elmhurst University in Illinois. She currently serves as the interim vice president for college advancement at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, where she has worked for the past four years. Earlier in her career, she held advancement roles with Ohio State University, Wartburg College in Iowa, Loras College in Iowa, and St. Olaf College in Minnesota.

Kampman received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and community sociology from Wartburg College and a master’s degree in philanthropy and nonprofit development from the University of Northern Iowa.

Ansley Booker has been named the inaugural Penny and Coulter 1982 Executive Director of Dartmouth NEXT, an initiative dedicated to expanding STEM opportunities for students at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. She comes to her new role from Mercer University in Georgia, where she was the inaugural director of diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Dr. Booker is a graduate of Georgia Southern University, where she majored in biology with a minor in chemistry. She holds a master’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in educational leadership from Mercer University.

Gretchen Groggel Ralston has been appointed vice president and general counsel at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Prior to her new role, she spent over a decade with Simmons University in Boston, most recently serving as general counsel and vice president, as well as secretary to the board of trustees. Before her career in higher education, she practiced law in Boston.

Groggel Ralston is a graduate of Colby College in Maine, where she majored in biology. She holds a juris doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.