Four Women Professors Who Have Received New Appointments

Candice Batton has been appointed associate vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. She is an associate professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She previously served as the school’s director for eight years. Her research interests center around gender in crime and justice and historical trends in violence.

Dr. Batton holds a Ph.D. in sociology and criminology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Kristina Booth has been appointed assistant dean for program development, learner assessment, and wellness for the graduate medical education program in the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. An associate professor in the university’s department of surgery, she has spent the past six years as the associate program director for the general surgery residency.

Dr. Booth holds a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Baptist University and a medical degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Elizabeth Rink has been named co-leader of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative, an international science diplomacy and cross-cultural exchange program between Arctic Nations. A professor in the department of human development and community health at Montana State University, she has conducted research in arctic communities for nearly two decades. She specializes in sexual and reproductive health and community-based participatory research among indigenous populations.

Dr. Rink is a graduate of the University of Rochester in New York, where she double-majored in anthropology and Russian studies. She holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in public health from Oregon State University.

Ela Austin has been appointed associate dean for public health programs at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg, Virginia. She comes to her new role from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she was an associate dean, professor, and senior scientist in the School of Public Health.

Dr. Austin received her bachelor’s degree from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Virginia.