Phyllis Trible, longtime professor and feminist scholar of biblical studies, passed away on October 17. She was 92 years old.
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Trible earned her bachelor’s degree in religion from Meredith College – a women’s liberal arts institution in Raleigh, North Carolina – and her doctorate in Old Testament studies through a joint program at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University in New York City.
In 1963, Dr. Trible began her career at Wake Forest College (now University) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where she was the first woman assistant professor of religion. In 1971, she transitioned to the faculty at Andover Newton Theological School (now part of Yale Divinity School), where she taught for eight years, before joining the faculty at her doctoral alma mater, Union Theological Seminary. There, she served as the Baldwin Professor of Sacred Literature. In 1999, Dr. Trible returned to Wake Forest as a professor of biblical studies and associate dean of the newly established School of Divinity, where she remained until her retirement in 2012.
As a scholar, Dr. Trible was known for challenging patriarchal interpretations of the Bible and the idea that only men were made in the image of God. For ten years, she led the annual Phyllis Trible Lecture Series, which brought leading scholars to the Wake Forest campus to discuss feminist thought and theology. Dr. Trible’s research led to numerous scholarly articles and books, including God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality (Fortress Press, 1978) and Texts of Terror: Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives (Fortress Press, 1984).
The College of Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has recently appointed three women to administrative leadership roles.
Suzanne Nuss is the assistant dean of the UNMC College of Nursing-Omaha Division. In addition to her new responsibilities, she will retain her current appointments as an assistant professor, assistant chancellor of clinical workforce development at UNMC, and clinical workforce development officer for Nebraska Medicine. Dr. Nuss began her career at Nebraska Medicine in 1996 as a clinical nurse specialist and case manager. In 2015, she was named chief nursing officer. From 2017 to 2024, Dr. Nuss was associate dean for Nebraska Medicine Nursing at UNMC.
Tracie Kirkland is the college’s new associate dean for transformational practice and partnerships. She is also an associate professor and a Kenneth E. Morehead Endowed Chair in Nursing. Before joining the UNMC faculty, she was an associate teaching professor of nursing at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. With over three decades of nursing experience, she has conducted extensive research on social determinants of health, with a particular emphasis on the health of Black women and food insecurity.
Kristi Lynch is the assistant dean for enrollment management and student success. Prior to her new role, she was the senior director of graduate, executive, and professional business programs for the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In this role, she frequently collaborated with the UNMC College of Nursing to introduce the university’s MBA program to nursing students, faculty, and staff.
Bette E. Landman, the first woman president of Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, passed away on October 16. She was 88 years old.
Tania Lopez-Silva has joined the Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty as an assistant professor in the department of materials science and engineering. As an engineer, she designs advanced biomaterials that mimic and interact with the immune system and other biological environments. Prior to her new role, she was a postdoctoral researcher with the National Cancer Institute.
Diana Hechavarria is the new faculty director of the Diana International Research Institute at Babson College, where she teaches as a professor of entrepreneurship. Her work examines the intricate dynamics people encounter during the early stages of launching new ventures, with a particular emphasis on gender, underrepresented, and social perspectives. Earlier in her career, she taught at Texas Tech University and the University of South Florida.
Michelle Heinan was recently appointed program director for the developing physician assistant graduate program at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. Her background includes nearly three decades of experience in physician assistant education, leadership, and accreditation. Most recently, she was assistant dean for accreditation and a professor at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee.
Vera Combs was recently appointed assistant provost for student support and SACSCOC accreditation liaison at Hampton University in Virginia. A faculty member with the university for the past two decades, she previously served as assistant dean of student affairs and assessment for the School of Pharmacy. As a scholar of pharmacology and toxicology, Dr. Combs focuses her research on drug abuse and addiction.
Santiba Campbell is the new chief strategy officer at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina. An associate professor of psychology, she recently had a stint as the college’s interim vice president for academic affairs. Her scholarship focuses on the psychological well-being and success of African Americans in the face of racial discrimination.
Carol Gilligan, a university professor at New York University, has received the 2025 Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy from the Inamori Foundation in Japan. Presented annually to three recipients, the international prize recognizes individuals whose scientific, technological, or cultural advancements have benefited humankind. Laureates of the Kyoto Prize receive 100 million yen – equivalent to some $679,000 based on current exchange rates.
Brittany Palmer has been named dean of industrial technologies and professional services at Georgia Piedmont Technical College. She has been a criminal justice faculty member with the college since 2022, serving in leadership roles such as division chair and program chair for criminal justice and forensics. Earlier in her career, she taught criminal justice at Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.
Shannon B. Campbell is the new dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University. She comes to her new role from Columbus State University in Georgia, where she was executive vice president and provost. Her extensive experience in higher education also includes key academic leadership roles at Appalachian State University, Metropolitan State University of Denver, and High Point University.
Megan Brown has been named dean of Drake University’s John Dee Bright College, a two-year program college that awards associate’s degrees. A Drake faculty member for the past two decades, Dr. Brown has served as the college’s associate dean since 2022. She has previously held several other leadership roles with the university, including director of writing and chair of the English department.
Pinelopi “Penny” Koujianou Goldberg, the William Nordhaus Professor of Economics and Global Affairs at Yale University, has received the 2025 A.SK Social Science Award from the WZB Berlin Social Science Center. The biennial award recognizes social scientists who have made important contributions to the analysis of political and economic reforms.
Chelsea Bricker has been named director of communications at New River Community and Technical College in West Virginia. In her new role, she will leverage her prior experience in marketing and communications to oversee all internal and external communications for the college, including marketing, media relations, and brand management.
Amy Arbogast is the new associate dean for strategic initiatives, finance, and administration for the College of Arts and Sciences at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Most recently, she was vice president for finance and administration at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Earlier, she held senior financial roles at Vocational Guidance Services at Magnificat High School.
Kelly Chrisman Jacques has been promoted to director of the University Press of Kansas. She first joined the publisher in 2007 as a production assistant. Since then, she has served in several leadership capacities, including her most recent role as assistant director and managing editor. In 2023, she had a stint as interim director.
Rebekah Peeples has been appointed deputy dean of the college at Princeton University. A member of the university’s Office of the Dean of the College since 2016, she most recently served as the associate dean for curriculum and assessment. In her new position, she will supervise a broad portfolio of programs and offices that support undergraduate education.
Delaney Biester is the new assistant director of employee experience and success at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Prior to her new role, she worked in retail management and gained experience designing employee training programs. Earlier in her career, she spent three years with Teach for America.
Svetlana Mojsov, the Lulu Chow Wang and Robin Chemers Neustein Research Associate Professor at Rockefeller University in New York, has received the 2026 Kimberly Prize in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics.
Heather Parsons, associate professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, has been named the Maudslien Endowed Chair in Breast Cancer Precision Oncology Research at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center, an independent nonprofit that serves as the cancer program for UW Medicine. A medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer, Dr. Parsons has conducted extensive research on new ways to test a person’s blood for signs of cancer.
Esther Duflo is slated to join the faculty of the University of Zurich in Switzerland in 2026 as a Lemann Foundation Professor of Economics. As part of her new faculty position, she will co-lead the university’s Lemann Centre for Development, Education, and Public Policy. Currently, Dr. Duflo is the Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She will continue to hold a part-time appointment at MIT while working full-time at the University of Zurich.
JoAnna Leyenaar is the new Paul Batalden Chair for Clinical Improvement and Professional Development in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. A full professor of pediatrics, she currently serves as vice chair of research for the department of pediatrics at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Her work centers on improving the quality of healthcare provided to children, particularly those who are vulnerable and underserved.
Pam Taub is the inaugural holder of the Step Family Foundation Endowed Director’s Chair in Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Wellness at the University of California, San Diego. An expert in cardiometabolic disease, she currently serves the university as a professor of medicine, director of preventative cardiology, and founding director of the Step Family Foundation Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Wellness Center.
Liz Arnold has joined the Syracuse University faculty as the Cramer Family Foundation Professor of Practice in Community Impact in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She has extensive experience in leadership development, entrepreneurship, consulting, and community engagement, including past positions with Cornell University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard Kennedy School.
Mary Rose Papandrea has been named the inaugural Burchfield Professor of First Amendment and Free Speech Law at George Washington University. Earlier in her career, she taught at Boston College Law School and the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she was associate dean for academic affairs. Her scholarly expertise centers on free speech and media law.
“We are especially thrilled to celebrate this group of esteemed scholars and teachers who augur a bright future for Lafayette as we mark 200 years of academic excellence,” says Provost Laura McGrane. “Published novelists and researchers, established scientists and social scientists engaging questions and problems with impacts on public policy, health, and culture, each of these faculty members is also an engaged and collaborative advisor who regularly brings their students into their areas of expertise.”
Lindsay Ceballos was promoted to associate professor of Russian and East European studies. Her research is focused on Russian literary history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She is the author of 
Dana Cuomo was named an associate professor of women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She calls herself a feminist geographer who is interested in the relationship between space, scale, and power. She is the co-director of the Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Research Lab at the college. Dr. Cuomo joined the faculty in 2019 after teaching at Western Kentucky University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in geography and women’s studies, all from Pennsylvania State University.
Jennifer Gilmore was appointed an associate professor of English. She studies fiction and is the author of five novels and two novels for teenagers. Her first novel, 
Heidi Hendrickson is an associate professor of chemistry. She focuses on physical and computational chemistry. Her research group concentrates on developing models of and explanations for the structure, properties, and dynamics of molecular systems. Dr. Hendrickson is a graduate of Hillsdale College in Michigan, where she majored in chemistry. She holds a master’s degree in postsecondary science education and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Michigan.
Caroline Séquin was promoted to associate professor of history. Her research focuses on the ways ideas and policies pertaining to gender, race, and sexuality shape France and the French Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. She is the author of 
Tamara Stawicki was appointed associate professor of neuroscience. She studies the sensory hair cells deep inside our ears that we use for hearing and balance. These are not traditional ‘hairs’ but rather sensory cells with small hair-like projections, known as stereocilia. Dr. Stawicki joined the faculty at the college in 2017 after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington. She is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Jersey, where she majored in cell biology and neuroscience. She earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego.
Following five months of interim service, Alycia Marshall has been officially named the seventh president of the Community College of Philadelphia. The college enrolls over 12,200 students, two-thirds of whom are women.
Staci Pollan Martin has been selected to serve as interim president of Kilgore College in Texas, effective November 1. The community college enrolls over 6,000 students, 60 percent of whom are women.
Michelle McEacharn has been appointed provost and vice president of academic affairs for the University of Louisiana Monroe. She has held the role on an interim basis since June.
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Alison Weber of Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts institution in Pennsylvania, has received a $400,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to continue her research on flight sensory systems. An assistant professor of biology, Dr. Weber teaches in the college’s neuroscience program and researches how animals gather the sensory information they need to move, make decisions, and survive in the world in the context of insect flight.
The Women’s Giving Circle at the University of Arkansas has awarded $125,000 in support of nine university projects that advance student success, health and wellness, the arts, civic engagement, and educational equity. Composed of University of Arkansas alumnae, the Women’s Giving Circle aims to advance scholarship and research, strengthen the well-being of women and children, and foster outreach across Arkansas.
A team of scholars from the department of materials science and engineering at the University of Central Florida received a $100,000 grant from the Florida Breast Cancer Foundation to study the microenvironment of triple negative breast cancer and investigate the role age may play in the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Successfully identifying age-related biomarkers associated with breast cancer progression could provide the groundwork for age-specific health screenings and treatment strategies, leading to better outcomes for patients of all ages.
Elizabeth Lucas, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurobiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was awarded a $3.5 million grant to study post-traumatic stress disorder in women. Dr. Lucas’ project will explore how brain cells in the amygdala – the part of the brain that processes emotions – differ between men and women and how they fluctuate throughout the female reproductive cycle.
Bailey Flanigan is an assistant professor in the department of political science at MIT, while holding a shared position in the department of electrical engineering and computer science. She was a postdoctoral researcher at the Data Science Institute at Harvard University. Dr. Flanigan’s research combines tools from social choice theory, game theory, algorithms, statistics, and survey methods to advance political methodology and strengthen democratic participation. Dr. Flanigan is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she majored in bioengineering. She holds a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Yunha Hwang is an assistant professor in the department of biology, while holding a shared position in the department of electrical engineering and computer science. She also serves as the co-founder and chief scientist at Tatta Bio, a scientific nonprofit dedicated to advancing genomic AI for biological discovery. Her research interests span machine learning for sustainable biomanufacturing, microbial evolution, and open science. Dr. Hwang is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in computer science. She holds a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University.
Mariana Popescu is an assistant professor in the department of architecture, holding a joint appointment in the department of electrical engineering and computer science. She is also a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). A computational architect and structural designer, Dr. Popescu has a strong interest and experience in innovative ways of approaching the fabrication process and use of materials in construction. Dr. Popescu earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She holds a doctorate in architecture from ETH Zurich in Switzerland.
The Laura and Joe Street School of Nursing at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, has announced the appointment of five women to endowed professorships.
Paulette C. Walker, longtime faculty member at the University of South Florida and former national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., passed away on October 8. She was 77 years old.
Shelly Landreth is a new associate professor and chair of education in the College of Education at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas. She comes to her new position from the University of Texas at Permian Basin, where she was an associate professor and chair of teacher preparation. Before transitioning her career to higher education, Dr. Landreth spent two decades as a teacher, librarian, and administrator in Texas public schools.
Alicia Allen has been named the inaugural director of the National Center for Opioid Research and Clinical Efficacy at the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute and associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. A behavioral epidemiologist, she previously taught at the University of Arizona, the University of Minnesota, and the University of St. Thomas.
Renata Engel has accepted a three-year appointment as vice president for commonwealth campuses at Pennsylvania State University. She has served in the role on an interim basis since May. A Penn State faculty member since 1990, she currently teaches as a professor of engineering mechanics and engineering design. Prior to assuming her interim role, she was vice provost for online education.
Felicity Harley is slated to join the faculty full-time at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music in the 2026-2027 academic year. She currently teaches as a lecturer in the history of art at Yale Divinity School. As a scholar, her work centers on the origins and development of Christian iconography within the visual culture of Roman late antiquity.
Xie Chen has been named director of the Walter Burke Institute for Theoretical Physics at the California Institute of Technology. A Caltech faculty member since 2014, she currently holds the title of Eddleman Professor of Theoretical Physics. Her research centers on novel phases and phase transitions in quantum condensed matter systems.
Melinda Simon is a new associate professor in the department of biomedical engineering at the University of Cincinnati. She previously taught as an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at San José State University in California. Her scholarly interests include polymeric biomaterials, droplet microfluidics, composite bioinks, accessibility of microfabrication and microfluidic technology, and lab development.
Lauren Prather was recently named co-director of the Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections at the University of California, San Diego. She is an associate professor of political science in the university’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. Her work focuses on the domestic determinants of foreign policy, U.S. foreign policy, democracy promotion and democratization, Middle East politics, and experimental methods.
Anna Shusterman has been named a professor of psychology and the director of the Center for Toddler Development at Barnard College, a women’s college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. She previously taught as a tenured faculty member in the psychology department at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. A developmental psychologist, she studies cognitive development in children, exploring the relationship between language and conceptual development, particularly in the domains of spatial and numerical cognition.
Roxane Gay, the Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies at Rutgers University in New Jersey, is the 2025 recipient of the National Book Foundation’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.
Amy Hietapelto is the new dean of the College of Business at Eastern Michigan University. Most recently, she served as dean of the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where she previously had a stint as interim executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. As a scholar, she has published extensively on topics such as leadership, empowerment, and managing change.
Molly McGehee has been selected to serve as interim dean of Emory University’s Oxford College, an undergraduate residential college for first- and second-year students. A full professor of English and American studies, she currently serves as the college’s senior associate dean for academic affairs. Before joining the Emory faculty in 2014, she was an associate professor of English at Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina.
Taviare Hawkins is the new dean of the School of Science at Hampton University in Virginia. Her background includes more than three decades of research experience in experimental biophysics. Previously, she taught at Wagner College in New York, St. Catherine University in Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Colleen Lanzoni has been named associate director of graduate student wellness for the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Pennsylvania State University. She has 25 years of experience in mental health counseling and support. Most recently, she was a camp counselor at Penn State DuBois.
Therese Doyle Tullis was recently promoted to deputy director of athletics at Kean University in Union, New Jersey. For the past three years, she has served as the university’s associate director of athletics. Prior to joining the Kean administration, she was assistant director of athletics at Rutgers University-Camden.
Sheriah Dixon is the new Title VI coordinator at Syracuse University, where she has served as associate vice president and dean of students since November 2022. She has nearly two decades of experience in higher education, including roles in student conduct, community standards, equal opportunity and Title IX, and residence life.
Guadalupe Valencia has been selected to serve as interim vice president for administration and finance and chief financial officer at the University of the Virgin Islands. She has extensive experience in financial administration in higher education, including past positions with the University of Texas at El Paso, the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center at El Paso, the University of Washington, the University of Arizona, and the University of Alaska at Anchorage.
Naomi Levine, assistant professor of English at Yale University, has won the 2024 Book Prize for Best First Book in the Field from the North American Victorian Studies Association for her debut monograph, 
A Yale faculty member since 2017, Dr. Levine is a scholar of poetry and poetics, aesthetics, and the history of criticism. She is currently working on her second book, Badness in Poetry, which discusses the entanglements of judgment, pleasure, and interpretation in the study of poetry. Before coming to Yale, she was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows.
Yiyun Li is the new Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University, where she has taught as a professor of creative writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts since 2017. She has also served as director of Princeton’s creative writing program. She is the author of a dozen books, including the recently published 
Verity Harte, the George A. Saden Professor of Philosophy and Classics at Yale University, has been named the George Eastman Professor at Oxford University for the 2025-2026 academic year. A specialist in ancient philosophy, she focuses her work on the philosophical thought and writings of Plato and Aristotle, as well as the history of philosophy throughout the period of Greco-Roman antiquity.
Pavithra Prabhakar has been named the Cleve Moler and MathWorks Endowed Chair in Mathematical and Engineering Software at the University of New Mexico. She comes to her new position from Kansas State University, where she currently holds the Peggy and Gary Edwards Chair in Engineering. She also serves as a program director in the Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation.
Sarah Bilston is the new Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of English at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. A scholar of Victorian literature, Dr. Bilston has been a faculty member at the college for the past two decades. She has published three books, most recently 
Linda Tropp was named the Endowed University Chair in Peace Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she has taught since 2006. She is a full professor of social psychology and a faculty associate in public policy. In her research, she examines how members of diverse groups interact with each other and how differences in status and power affect cross-group relations.
Christina Ramos has been named a Georgie W. Lewis Career Development Professor at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She currently serves as an associate professor of history and director of the medical humanities program. As a scholar, she studies the history of medicine and public health through the lens of empire, religion, and colonial institutions. She is the author of 
Terry Kind is the Frank N. Miller Distinguished Teaching Professor in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. A full professor of pediatrics, she currently serves as the school’s associate dean for clinical education and is a practicing pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital in Anacostia. She previously served as the university’s director of pediatrics medical student education.
Caroline Solomon was recently installed as the first woman president of the Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf. She will also serve as vice president of RIT and a faculty member with both NTID and RIT’s College of Science.
On November 1, Badia Ahad will begin a two-year term as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Susan R. Wente, the first woman president of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has announced she will step down from her position on June 30, 2026. Following a sabbatical, she plans to return to her faculty appointment as a Distinguished University Professor of Biochemistry.
Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Pennsylvania, has announced the launch of the Bryn Mawr Beacon initiative, a financial assistance program that will cover tuition for students from nearly 85 percent of U.S. households.
“We fundamentally believe in the transformative power of a Bryn Mawr College degree, and we are determined to make that value accessible to every qualified student,” said Wendy Cadge, Bryn Mawr College president. “This initiative is more than a financial aid package; it is a declaration that access to our top-tier education has never been more attainable.”
A group of 22 incarcerated women at the California Institution for Women have recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from California State University, Los Angeles. These graduates are the first women to earn a college degree through the ongoing partnership between the California Department of Corrections (CDCR) and the university.