As part of a $220,000 grant from Henry Luce Foundation, a team of archivists and librarians with the American Institute of Physics are working on a new initiative to identify the names of women scientists whose records only refer to them as someone’s spouse.
Led by archivist Elizabeth Wood and librarian Karina Cooper, the project seeks to update the captions of historical photos of physical scientists whose women subjects are listed as “Mrs. [Husband’s Name]” or “[Husband’s wife].” So far, the project team has identified 205 photos dated from the 1930s to the 1980s that contain women scientists with missing identification.
For their project, the researchers start by conducting a Google search of the husband’s name to find their Wikipedia page. If the scientist’s page does not have the name of their wife, or wives, the team then searches for obituaries or other historical articles that may list the scientist’s wife. If the team is able to properly identify the women subjects, they use that information to improve Wikipedia entries about physical scientists and their families.
“It’s critical that we represent a fuller and more accurate history of women’s participation in science,” said Trevor Owens, AIP’s chief research officer. “This initiative is a powerful example of how AIP’s research team is working to advance positive, lasting change across the scientific community.”
Judy Jean Chapman, professor emerita of nursing at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, passed away on September 8. She was 83 years old.
Cathy N. Davidson, distinguished professor of English at the City University of New York Graduate Center, is the 2025 recipient of the Harold W. McGraw Jr. Prize in Education in the higher education category. First established in 1988, the award recognizes outstanding individuals whose accomplishments in education are making a difference in the lives of students in three areas: pre-K-12, higher education, and lifelong learning. Recipients of the McGraw Prize are awarded $50,000 to support their efforts towards building a better future for students.
Susan Ely has joined the Yale School of Medicine faculty as an associate professor of pathology and director of the autopsy service. She previously served as director of the fellowship training program and senior medical examiner at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York. Most recently, she taught at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine.
Allegra Lilly recently joined the faculty at Rice University in Houston as an associate professor of harp in the Shepherd School of Music. Since 2023, she has performed as the principal harp of the Houston Symphony. Before moving to Houston, she held same position with the St. Louis Symphony for 10 seasons. Earlier in her career, she taught at Brevard Music Center in North Carolina.
Michelle McCay was recently named interim assistant dean for academic affairs for the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has been a clinical assistant professor with the university since 2022. Earlier, she spent more than a decade as a faculty member in health sciences at DePaul University in Chicago. Throughout her career, she has focused her work on improving public health and maternal and child health outcomes.
Haley Oliver has been selected to serve as interim vice provost for teaching and learning at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She has served as the university’s vice provost for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars since April 2024. A Purdue faculty member since 2010, she currently teaches as the 150th Anniversary Professor of food science and directs the USAID Feed the Future Food Safety Innovation Lab.
Lindsay Waechter-Mead was recently named director of the Beef Quality Assurance program in Nebraska. Housed at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the nationally coordinated, state-implemented program provides beef producers with science-based practices for raising cattle under optimum management and care. Dr. Waechter-Mead has been a member of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty since 2020.
Lyndsay Munro has received a secondary faculty appointment as a teaching professor in the department of biochemistry, molecular biology, & biotechnology at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has been a faculty member with the university’s department of chemistry for more than a decade. She is also involved with several AI-related initiatives and serves as a faculty liaison for academic standards through the provost’s office.
Beatrix Manning has been named chief medical officer for the Animal Cancer Care and Research Center in Roanoke, one of three veterinary teaching hospitals for Virginia Tech. She will also serve as a clinical assistant professor of radiation oncology in the university’s Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. For the past eight years, she has been the lead veterinary radiation oncologist at the Comprehensive Cancer Care Center at VCA West Coast in Orange County, California.
Lianne Kurina has been appointed to a three-year term as senior associate vice provost in the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stanford University in California. A teaching professor in both medicine and epidemiology, she has been serving as the Bing Director of the Program in Human Biology for the past six years. As a chronic disease epidemiologist, she studies how social and psychological experiences impact human health.
Lindsay DiStefano has been selected to serve as interim vice president for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the University of Connecticut. A faculty member since 2009, she has served as the associate vice president for research development for the past two years. She is a full professor of kinesiology with affiliate appointments in public health sciences and orthopedic surgery.
Robin Decker is a new assistant professor of teaching in the department of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis. She recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin. As a scholar, she studies quantitative reasoning in ecology education and inclusive teaching methodologies in STEM, with a focus on improving student engagement, identity, and belonging, particularly for students from underrepresented groups.
The American Academy of Nursing recently named six nurse leaders and educators as 2025 Living Legends – the academy’s highest honor. The prestigious designation is granted to individuals who exemplify the resolve and ingenuity of the nursing profession and have made significant impacts on health systems and health policy. Five of this year’s six Living Legends are women professors.
Dyanne D. Affonso is a professor emerita and former dean of the faculty of nursing at the University of Toronto. She is also the honorary president of the OPI Centre of Excellence in Rome. Her nursing expertise centers on maternal health, mental health, and health equity. Her many accomplishments include her work on addressing health disparities among Native Hawaiians and other diverse populations, as well as her research on postpartum depression, which led to the condition’s inclusion as a women’s health priority at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Affonso earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Hawaii, a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Arizona.
Connie W. Delaney is a professor and dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota. Over the past five decades, she has shaped the integration of informatics into nursing education, research, and practice. She was among the first scholars to extract code and nursing data from electronic health records, leading to the development of the Nursing Minimum Data Set and the Nursing Management Minimum Data Set, which are both used by researchers around the world. At the University of Minnesota, she founded the country’s first informatics-focused doctor of nursing practice programs. She is also the co-founder of the Alliance for Nursing Informatics. Dr. Delaney is a graduate of Viterbo University in Wisconsin, where she double-majored in nursing and mathematics. She holds a master’s degree in nursing and a Ph.D. in education administration and computer applications from the University of Iowa.
Judith E. Haber is a professor emerita and executive director of the Oral Health Nursing Education and Practice program at New York University’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Throughout her career, she has worked to advance psychiatric-mental health nursing policy and standards, as well as evidence-based nursing practice. More recently, she has focused on integrating oral health into nursing and interprofessional education. She is the co-author of the widely used textbook, 
Christine A. Miaskowski is a professor emeritus of physiological nursing at the University of California, San Francisco School of Nursing. Her extensive research on pain management and symptom science has significantly influenced the field of oncology nursing and advanced the scientific understanding of patient experiences in chronic illness. Through her work in opioid pharmacology, she established foundational evidence for the field of sex-based differences in pain research. Additionally, she was among the first scientists to explore symptom clusters in oncology, highlighting how multiple symptoms co-occur and affect patients’ quality of life. Dr. Miaskowski received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Molloy College in New York and a master’s degree in nursing from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. She holds a second master’s degree in biology and a Ph.D. in physiology from St. John’s University in Queens, New York.
Phyllis Sharps is a professor emerita at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore. With a career spanning more than 40 years, Dr. Sharps has centered her work on supporting the health of women of color impacted by intimate partner violence (IPV). She is known for the development of DOVE (Domestic Violence Enhanced Home Visitation), a National Institutes of Health-funded program that addresses IPV during pregnancy through home visits and empowers women to make informed decisions in collaboration with prenatal providers and domestic violence advocates. In addition to her IPV research and interventions, she has mentored hundreds of students and faculty from underrepresented backgrounds. Dr. Sharp received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and her master’s degree from the University of Delaware. She later returned to the University of Maryland to complete her doctorate.
DeNeia B. Thomas is the inaugural vice provost at Winston-Salem State University. With extensive experience in academic leadership, she most recently served as dean of the College of Professional Studies at Lincoln University of Missouri. Earlier, she was chief of staff at West Virginia State University and associate provost at Kentucky State University.
Lakisha Sanders is the new assistant vice president of financial aid and student fiscal affairs at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. Her background includes over two decades of financial aid experience at both four-year and two-year institutions. She previously served as traveling financial aid consultant with Ellucian Banner.
Somiah Lattimore has been named executive director of the Apex Center for Entrepreneurs at Virginia Tech. Her appointment marks a return to the university, where she previously founded FourDesign, a student-run design studio. Most recently, she was the founding senior director of the Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Initiative at the University of Richmond.
Melissa Allen was appointed director of the Center for Talent and Workforce Development at Schreiner University in Texas. She comes to her new role with 20 years of experience in education leadership, curriculum development, and workforce readiness. Her academic expertise centers on instructional technology, adult learning, faculty development, and program design.
Jaime Grillo has been promoted to associate vice president for career readiness at Mount Holyoke College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Massachusetts. She first joined the college in 2023 as executive director of the Jones Career Development Center. Earlier, she was director of career and professional development for the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in New York.
Marie Kane is the inaugural assistant vice president for national security research at the University of Florida. She comes to the university from Sandia National Laboratories, where she was program deputy for stockpile sustainment and production in the Nuclear Deterrence Program Management Office. Throughout her career, she has conducted extensive work with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Defense.
Leslie Burger, associate teaching professor in the department of wildlife, fisheries, and aquaculture at Mississippi State University, has received the Excellence in Wildlife Education Award from The Wildlife Society, an international organization dedicated to advancing wildlife science and supporting professionals who are committed to conserving wildlife and its habitats.
Lindsay Lally has been named the Pulte Homes Professor in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Tech. Currently holding the rank of associate professor of practice, she facilitates the senior construction engineering and management capstone experience, helping students apply their knowledge to real-world projects. Earlier in her career, Lally was a project manager for Draper Aden Associates, where she led a variety of land development projects.
Diana Robertson has been named the Bozza Family Penn First Plus Faculty Co-Director at the University of Pennsylvania. A Penn Wharton School faculty member since 2008, she currently holds the Samuel A. Blank Professorship of Legal Studies and Business Ethics. For the past six years, she has been Wharton’s vice dean and director of the undergraduate division. In her new role, Dr. Robertson will lead Penn First Plus, a program dedicated to supporting first-generation and low-income undergraduate students.
Kate Richmond is the inaugural Dr. Ronald F. Levant Endowed Professor in Psychology at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She has been a faculty member with the college for nearly two decades, currently serving as a full professor and director of the women and gender studies program. Her research centers on multicultural psychology, gender ideology, men and masculinity, transgender resiliency, feminist therapy, and trauma.
Joanne B. Freeman is the Alan Boles Class of 1929 Professor of History at Yale University. A Yale faculty member since 1997, she currently holds a joint appointment in American studies. As a scholar, she studies early American history and political culture, as well as the life and times of Alexander Hamilton. Her most recent book is 
Nina Rowe was recently named the John L. Marion Professor in Art History, Painting and Sculpture at Fordham University in New York. As a scholar, she specializes medieval art, illuminated manuscripts, medievalism, historiography, and Jewish-Christian relations in the Middle Ages. Her research has led to several publications, including 
Following several months of interim service, Carmen Simone has been named the permanent president of Lake Region State College in Devils Lake, North Dakota. The college enrolls about 1,800 students, 61 percent of whom are women.
Gina Rossetti is the new vice president for academic affairs at Alverno College, a liberal arts institution for women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Each week, Women in Academia Report will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. The links presented direct the reader to articles from many different points of view that deal with issues of women in higher education. The articles selected do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board of WIAReport.
Lauren Edgar earned a bachelor’s degree in Earth sciences from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and her master’s degree and a doctorate in geology from the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Edgar has served as the deputy principal investigator for the Artemis III Geology Team. In this role, she helped define lunar science goals, geology activities NASA astronauts will conduct, and science operations for NASA’s return to the Moon. She also spent more than 17 years supporting Mars exploration rovers.
Rebecca Lawler is a native of Little Elm, Texas, and a former lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. She is a former Navy experimental test pilot with more than 2,800 flight hours in more than 45 aircraft. Lawler holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and the National Test Pilot School. She is also a U.S. Naval Test Pilot School graduate. Lawler also flew as a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hurricane hunter.
Anna Menon is from Houston and earned her bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University with a double major in mathematics and Spanish. She also holds a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University in North Carolina. Menon previously worked in the Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center, supporting medical hardware and software aboard the International Space Station. In 2024, Menon flew to space as a mission specialist and medical officer aboard SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn.
Imelda Muller was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and served as an undersea medical officer after training at the Naval Undersea Medical Institute 
Erin Overcash is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, is from Goshen, Kentucky. She holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s degree in bioastronautics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. A U.S. Naval Test Pilot School graduate, she has logged more than 1,300 flight hours in 20 aircraft, including 249 carrier arrested landings. Overcash was part of the Navy’s World Class Athlete Program and trained full-time at the Olympic Training Center with the USA Rugby Women’s National Team.
Katherine Spies is a native of San Diego and holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Southern California and a master’s degree in design engineering from Harvard University. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, she is a former Marine Corps AH-1 attack helicopter pilot and experimental test pilot, with more than 2,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. At the time of her selection, Spies was the director of flight test engineering at Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation.
Women in Academia Report regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. The books included are on a wide variety of subjects and present many different points of view. The opinions expressed in these books do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board of WIAReport. As an Amazon Associate, WIAReport will earn a fraction of revenue from qualifying purchases.
Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Pennsylvania, was recently awarded two grants to advance faculty professional development opportunities. The first grant, received from the Education Character Initiative, will provide a series of seminars that support faculty in developing ways to more intentionally embed virtues of respect, open-mindedness, and courage in their course curricula. The second grant, provided by the NetVUE Professional Development Grant program, will support a one-year seminar that asks faculty to reflect on their own vocational journeys and how they could encourage students to do the same.
The University of New Mexico has been awarded a $1.56 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute to develop a new x-ray system that could advance how breast cancer is detected. The digital breast tomosynthesis technology, also known as 3D mammography, promises clearer images, faster scans, and lower operating costs, making advanced screening more accessible to patients. This would be a major improvement from current commercial systems, which rely on one-dimensional mechanical motion of the x-ray source, limiting image quality and prolonging scan times.
The Women’s Sports Foundation has launched the Tara VanDerveer Fund to support women coaches in collegiate sports. The foundation has bestowed $15,000 grants to 11 institutions to be used specifically for the professional development of a woman coach. Funds were awarded to the swimming and diving team at American University, the ice hockey team at Bemidiji State University, the basketball team at Chicago State University, the strength and conditioning team at Gettysburg College, the cross country and track and field team at Johns Hopkins University, the soccer team at Oberlin College, the field hockey team at Smith College, the wrestling team at Texas Woman’s University, the basketball team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the cross country and track and field team at Washington and Lee University, and the basketball team at Whittier College.
Wellcome Leap has awarded $50 million to the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in support of research on abnormal uterine bleeding. Funded through Wellcome Leap’s Missed Vital Sign program, scholars at Penn will seek to develop a new type of mRNA therapy that can better quantify heavy menstrual bleeding, understand its causes, and develop new treatments.
Thanks to a recent grant from the Lower Connecticut Valley branch of the American Association of University Women, scholars at Trinity College were able to offer two summer courses at York Correctional Institute, Connecticut’s state prison for women. The college offered two half-credit courses taught by Trinity faculty, opening the door for incarcerated women to pursue higher education.
Indiana University recently announced a new research program dedicated to the health, performance, and well-being of women athletes.
Anne Rankin Mahoney, longtime professor of sociology at the University of Denver, passed away on September 19. She was 88 years old.
Mount Holyoke College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in South Hadley, Massachusetts, has announced a new 
“The Mount Holyoke Commitment expands the reach of a transformative liberal arts education,” said Mount Holyoke College President Danielle R. Holley. “We welcome bold leaders, ambitious learners, and all those who want to expand their knowledge, skills, and worldview. The Mount Holyoke Commitment is making it possible for more students and families to call Mount Holyoke home.”
“Approximately 75 percent of American families would qualify for free tuition with the Mount Holyoke Commitment,” said Robin Randall, vice president of enrollment management. “With this initiative, Mount Holyoke offers a clear, transparent message to families concerned about college costs: this won’t stand in the way of a boundless future at Mount Holyoke.”
Sara Brown is an associate professor in the music and theater arts section. She develops stage designs for theater, opera, and dance. Her work is rooted in curiosity and interdisciplinary collaboration, and spans virtual environments, immersive performance installations, and evocative stage landscapes. Brown holds a master of fine arts degree in scenic design from the University of Virginia.
Rachel Fraser is an associate professor in the department of linguistics and philosophy. Before coming to MIT, Fraser taught at the University of Oxford in England. She has interests in epistemology, language, feminism, aesthetics, and political philosophy. At present, her main project is a book manuscript on the epistemology of narrative. Dr. Fraser holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and theology, a master’s degree in philosophical theology, and a Ph.D. in philosophy, all from the University of Oxford.
Viola Schmitt is an associate professor in the department of linguistics and philosophy. She is a linguist with a special interest in semantics. Her most recent position was as a junior professor at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Earlier in her career, she taught at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Schmitt earned a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Vienna in Austria.
The City University of New York’s Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy has announced a new concentration for the school’s master of public health degree program. Beginning in January 2026, students can choose to concentrate their graduate studies in sexual and reproductive justice and health (SRJH).
“Our goal was to design a program that reflects the vision of activists who built the reproductive justice movement and that challenges students to think beyond existing structures,” said Lynn Roberts, associate dean of student affairs and alumni relations. “The result is a curriculum that pushes students to think critically about health inequities and equips them with the tools to lead change in policy, practice, and research. Our graduates will be ready to carry forward the fight for sexual and reproductive justice in every sector of public health.”
Angi Bourgeois has been selected to serve as interim vice provost at Mississippi State University. A faculty member since 2002, she has served as dean of the university’s College of Architecture, Art, and Design since 2018. Earlier, she was head of the department of art. She is the author of 
Elaine Liu is a new faculty director at the Georgia Policy Labs in Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. In this role, she will lead the labs’ early childhood and whole child focus area. Currently, she serves as a professor and the Bernard B. and Eugenia A. Ramsey Chair in the department of economics. Her research in applied microeconomics explores topics at the intersection of health, behavioral, and development economics.
Natasha Johnson is the new chief human resources officer at Tennessee State University. Her background includes two decades of human resources leadership experience. While overseeing her own consulting firm, she has been teaching at Tennessee State as an assistant professor of human resources management.
Laura R. Peck has joined the Rutgers University faculty as an associate professor in the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. She will also serve as a principal faculty fellow in the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. Most recently, she was a principal scientist at MEF Associates, a social policy research firm. Previously, she taught as an associate professor of public affairs at Arizona State University.
Melissa Nicolas has been appointed director of the women’s, gender, and sexuality studies program at Washington State University. A faculty member in the university’s department of English since 2019, she focuses her work on the rhetoric of health and medicine, disability studies, composition studies, and feminist theory. Her most recent book is 
Stacy Hill was recently promoted from associate provost to vice provost of academic affairs at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. She first joined the faculty in 1998 and currently holds the rank of associate professor of English. She previously served as registrar and as director of the teacher certification program.
Grishma Shah is the new associate dean of the O’Malley School of Business at Manhattan University in New York. A faculty member since 2008, she currently serves as a full professor and director of global business studies. Her scholarship focuses on globalization, gender equity, and cultural change. She also recently published her debut novel 
Jannette Berkley-Patton has been named a Curators’ Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. The title is the University of Missouri System’s most prestigious faculty honor. She currently teaches as an associate professor of biomedical and health informatics and directs the UMKC Health Equity Institute. Her research focuses on health inequities, education, prevention, and screening in underserved communities.
Elizabeth Karcher has been appointed associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Pennsylvania State University. She comes to her new role from Purdue University’s College of Agriculture, where she was an undergraduate program coordinator and professor in the department of animal sciences. Currently, she is president of the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture organization.
Rebecca Giorno-McConnell has been promoted to associate dean for research and graduate studies in Louisiana Tech University’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences, where she teaches as a professor of biological sciences. Her past research projects include work in bioterrorism preparedness, microbial survival, antibiotic discovery and resistance, and space biology.
Patricia Wittkopp is the inaugural associate dean for research in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan. Before her new appointment, she was the college’s associate dean for natural sciences. A faculty member since 2005, she currently holds the Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology.
Michele Elam is a new senior associate vice provost in the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stanford University in California. She currently serves as the William Robertson Coe Professor of English, director of undergraduate curriculum for the School of Humanities and Sciences, and senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. Her interdisciplinary research connects literature, social sciences, and STEM to examine changing cultural interpretations of gender and race. Dr. Elam is the author of several books including 
Lucy Shapiro, the Virginia and D. K. Ludwig Professor Emerita at the Stanford University School of Medicine, recently received the 2025 Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award from the Lasker Foundation. The award, known as the “American Nobel,” recognizes Dr. Shapiro’s outstanding 55-year career in biomedicine. She is the eighteenth recipient and the third woman to receive the prestigious honor since its launch in 1994.
Vonda M. Easterling has been named dean of students at Fort Valley State University in Georgia. With nearly three decades of higher education experience, she most recently worked in housing and residence life at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Earlier, she held senior positions with Elizabeth City State University, Shaw University, and North Carolina Central University.
Anne Mason has been selected to serve as interim dean of the College of Nursing at Washington State University. A faculty member since 2002, she has served as the college’s associate dean for academic affairs for the past five years. As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, she has cared for patients in a wide variety of settings, including corrections, private practice, and adolescent mental health.
Jessicca Fiore has been promoted to dean of enrollment management at Herkimer College in New York. She first joined the college in 2020 as a senior academic advisor and was promoted to registrar in 2022. She has also taught Spanish courses and first year seminars as an adjunct instructor. Earlier in her career, she served in a variety of positions at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
Cassandra Griggs is the new director of fundraising at Tennessee State University. Her appointment marks a return to the university, where she previously served as director of alumni relations and giving for eight years. Most recently, she was director of alumni engagement and special events at Meharry Medical College in Nashville.
Kathryn Lohre has been named chief of staff at St. Olaf College in Minnesota. She has over two decades of professional experience, including prior service as assistant director of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. She has also held leadership roles with the National Council of Churches and the Office of the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Emilee Langbehn Bosh has been appointed university registrar at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. She has worked for the liberal arts institution for the past 11 years, holding various roles in academic operations, alumni and parent relations, annual giving, and university events. Most recently, she was senior associate registrar and commencement director.
April Anderson is the inaugural chief marketing and communications officer for Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. She comes to her new role with over 25 years of experience in healthcare marketing, communications, and digital innovation. Most recently, she was chief marketing and digital experience officer for the Central Division of Providence St. Joseph Health in Washington.
Ala’Torya V. Cranford has been named vice president for student success at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. Her appointment marks a return to the college, where she previously served as director of alumni relations. More recently, she has served in student affairs leadership roles with Lane College in Tennessee, Alabama A&M University, and Fort Valley State University in Georgia.
Annette Roth has been appointed director of the Ridgewater College Foundation in Willmar, Minnesota. She has an extensive background in higher education fundraising and nonprofit leadership. Most recently, she served in various development leadership roles with the Minnesota State Colleges and University System.
Katie Patton has been promoted to director of football operations at Harvard University. She is the first woman to serve in this role at Harvard and the youngest woman to hold the position at the Division I level. She joined the team’s staff last season as the assistant recruiting and operations coordinator.
Rosalind Krauss, university professor of art history and archaeology at Columbia University, has been named one of four recipients of the 2025 Balzan Prize from the International Balzan Foundation. The award is presented annually in four subjects that change every year. For the 2025 cohort, prizes were awarded in the categories of democracy, art, time, and gene therapy. Each prize is valued at approximately $940,000, half of which must be allocated by the award-winner to support projects carried out by young researchers.
Shikha Nangia is the Milton and Ann Stevenson Endowed Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University in New York. A faculty member since 2009, she currently chairs the college’s department of biomedical and chemical engineering. Her research centers on developing computational methods for studying biological interfaces.
Stacey Philbrick Yadav has been named the Joseph P. DiGangi Professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. She joined the liberal arts school in 2007 and currently teaches as a full professor of international relations. Her work specializes in comparative politics of the Middle East and North Africa. She is the author of numerous scholarly publications, including 
Connie Sung is the inaugural Annmarie Hawkins Research Professor in Disability Justice at the University of Michigan. Before joining the university’s School of Social Work in January, she was an associate professor, program director of the master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling, and co-director of the Center for Services, Training, and Research for Independence and Desired Employment at Michigan State University. Throughout her career, she has authored more than 100 publications in the areas of disability justice and rehabilitation.
Amanda Demmer was recently appointed to the Paul and Linda Austin Military History Professorship at Virginia Tech. A member of the Virginia Tech community since 2018, she works closely with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets and the Army ROTC program to develop courses that help cadets develop skills and knowledge of U.S. military history. Her own research focuses on war, diplomacy, and human rights.
Wendy V. Gilbert is the new Maxine F. Singer ’57 Ph.D. Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University. A former professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she holds appointments in Yale’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Yale School of Medicine. Her research focuses on regulatory elements in messenger RNA that control the cellular expression of the information stored in the genetic code.
D. Betsy McCoach was appointed to the Anne Anastasi Endowed Chair in Psychometrics and Quantitative Psychology at Fordham University in New York. For the past two decades, she taught in the educational psychology department at the University of Connecticut. She has a wide range of research interests, including applied measurement, affective instrument design, latent variable modeling, multilevel modeling, and gifted education.
Briana De Miranda was promoted to associate profesor and granted tenure. She joined the department of neurology in August 2020. Her research focuses on environmental risks for neurodegenerative diseases, integrating expertise in toxicology, pharmacology, and neuroscience. Dr. De Miranda earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a Ph.D. in toxicology from Colorado State University. She continued with postdoctoral training in neurology at the University of Pittsburgh.
Michelle Gray was promoted to full professor. She joined the department of neurology in September 2008 as an instructor and was promoted to assistant professor in 2010. Her research spans Huntington’s Disease and glial biology, with active roles in UAB’s Comprehensive Neuroscience Center and the Killion Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics. Dr. Gray is a graduate of Alabama State University, where she majored in biology. She holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Ohio State University and completed postdoctoral training at University of California Los Angeles’ Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.
Angela Hays Shapshak was promoted to full professor. She joined the department in July 2014. Her clinical and research interests span neurocritical care, stroke, and emergency neurology, with a strong focus on interdisciplinary collaboration. Dr. Shapshak’s research focuses on improving outcomes in neurocritical care and acute stroke management. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where she majored in biology and chemistry. Professor Shapshak earned her medical degree from Tulane University in New Orleans and completed residency training at Washington University in St. Louis.
Melinda Treadwell has been named the fourteenth president of the State University of New York at Geneseo. She is slated to assume her presidency on October 27.
Christian E. Hardigree has been named the sole finalist for president of Texas A&M University-Victoria, a newly acquired campus in the Texas A&M University System.
The magazine U.S. News and World Report recently issued its 
Elinor Light has been named associate dean for undergraduate affairs and student success for the Colorado State University College of Liberal Arts. A faculty member since 2015, she previously served as the college’s assistant dean for student success. As an assistant professor of teaching in the department of communication, she focuses her work on visual communication and rhetoric, aesthetics, and space.
Julia Schleck was promoted to chair of the department of English. Currently holding the rank of full professor, Dr. Shleck has conducted extensive research on both Renaissance literature and academic freedom. She is the author of several books, including 
Courtenay Daum is the new chair of the department of political science. A Colorado State faculty member since 2005, she holds affiliate appointments with the women’s studies and gender research program and the department of ethnic studies. In her research, she studies how legal, political, and criminal justice systems often negatively impact and even punish marginalized communities. Her most recent book is 
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has recently launched 
“For decades, clinicians have used the best available clinical evidence to provide care for their patient,” said Linda Brubaker, editor-in-chief of JAMA + Women’s Health. “A lot of those studies have used men as their participants, and they excluded women or women were very poorly represented in those studies. This limits the generalizability of information from those trials. And now, with rigorous studies that include women or focus exclusively on women, we have much better evidence.”