Aoife Houlihan Wiberg was named professor of architecture at the University of Florida’s College of Design, Construction and Planning. Since 2023, she has served as an associate professor of architecture and engineering at the University of Bath in England. Earlier, she was a professor of architecture, chair of research in architecture, and founding director of The Architectural Research Group at the Belfast School of Architecture and the Built Environment at Ulster University in Northern Ireland.
Dr. Wiberg holds two bachelor’s degrees, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in England.
Karen Cook Bell has been appointed chair of the department of history and government at Bowie State University in Maryland. Currently, she holds the title of Wilson H. Elkins Professor of History. She is the editor and author of several books, including Running From Bondage: Enslaved Women and Their Remarkable Fight for Freedom in Revolutionary America (Cambridge University Press, 2021).
Dr. Cook Bell is a magna cum laude graduate of Savannah State University in Georgia, where she majored in history. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in U.S. history from Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Hook, the Florence Everline Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California, has been named chair-elect of the Family Section of the American Sociological Association. Her research, which examines the intersection of gender, work and family, aligns closely with the section’s mission to support scholarship on how families are formed and function in broader social structures. She is the co-author of Gendered Tradeoffs: Family, Social Policy, and Economic Inequality in Twenty-One Countries (Russell Sage Foundation 2009).
Dr. Hook is a graduate of Western Michigan University, where she majored in sociology. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington.
Eleanor Frisch has joined the Mitchell Hamline School of Law faculty as an assistant professor of law. With a decade of experience in litigation and legal writing, Professor Frisch most recently served as a counsel with Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. Earlier, they worked for Apollo Law, Wilson Law Group, and Nichols Kaster.
Professor Frisch holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Spanish from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, and a juris doctorate from the University of Minnesota Law School.
Sarah Koval has joined the University of Mississippi faculty as an assistant professor of music. She was a visiting assistant professor during the 2024-2025 academic year, teaching courses in music literature, music history, and music research. Her research focuses on the everyday musical practices in early modern Europe.
Dr. Koval received a bachelor’s degrees in English from Queen’s University and a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in musicology from the University of Toronto. She earned her Ph.D. in music from Harvard University.
Kris McAbee has been promoted to director of the School of Literary and Performing Arts at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. An associate professor of English, she has served as the school’s interim co-director since its inception in 2022. She also holds an affiliate appointment in the gender studies program. Her scholarly expertise centers on Renaissance literature, digital humanities, and feminist cultural studies.
An honors graduate of Vanderbilt University, Dr. McAbee holds a master’s degree from New York University and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Pamela Abshire has been named chair of the department of engineering at Stony Brook University in New York. Since 2001, she has served on the faculty of the department of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Maryland. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on the design of integrated circuits informed by biology.
Dr. Abshire is a graduate of the California Institute of Technology, where she majored in physics. She holds a master’s degree and doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Katharine Baker has joined the University of Iowa College of Law faculty as a professor and the Aliber Family Chair in Law. She most recently served as an associate dean at the Chicago-Kent College of Law. Earlier, she held visiting teaching appointments at Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Northwestern University. An expert on family law, she studies how law structures family, sexuality, and power.
A Harvard graduate, Professor Baker holds a juris doctorate from the University of Chicago.
Jessika Trancik has been appointed director of the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. A professor in MIT’s Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Dr. Trancik conducts research on technology innovation and energy systems. Professor Trancik’s scholarship has focused on the development of numerous applications, including solar photovoltaics, batteries, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and other low-carbon technologies.
Dr. Trancik received her bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and her Ph.D. in materials science from the University of Oxford in England.
Keena Arbuthnot has been named executive vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In addition to her leadership position, she will teach as a distinguished professor. Dr. Arbuthnot comes to Rutgers University from Louisiana State University, where she vice president and chief data officer, dean of the Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School, and the Joan Pender McManus Distinguished Professor of Education.
Dr. Arbuthnot is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri, where she majored in mathematics. She holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Tyffani Monford, associate professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of two recipients of the 2025 Gail-Burns Smith Award.
As a scholar and clinician, Dr. Monford has conducted research on a wide-range of topics, including culturally-informed mental health services, treatment for survivors of sexual abuse, gender-responsive treatment, the school-to-prison pipeline and Black girls, educating Black girls in White spaces, intersectionality, and social justice work. She is the author of several books, including 
Sarah G. Whiteford has been named dean of academics and career and technical education at Oregon Coast Community College. With nearly two decades of teaching experience in criminology and sociology, she most recently served on the faculty of Oregon State University’s Ecampus. Earlier, she taught at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee.
Shaunda French-Collins has been named dean of the School of Business, Mathematics, and Science at Chadron State College in Nebraska. A faculty member since 2011, she had an earlier stint as interim dean of the school during the 2022-2023 academic year. She most recently served as department chair and professor of communication arts.
Candace Lewis has been appointed dean of academic affairs at the Community College of Vermont. Since joining the college in 2007, she has served in several academic leadership positions. Most recently, she was the college’s associate academic dean, contributing to program and curriculum development, educational partnerships, and workforce initiatives.
At Cornell, Dr. Kaltenegger is founding director of the Carl Sagan Institute, which provides extensive public outreach, including a YouTube channel showcasing technical and popular science talks. In addition to her work at Cornell, Dr. Kaltenegger frequently appears on media outlets and podcasts to disseminate her research to the public. She is also the author of the critically-acclaimed book, 
Sandra Guzmán has been appointed vice president of student affairs at Hartnell College in Salinas, California. With over 25 years of experience in higher education and community-based organizations, she most recently served as dean of student engagement and completion at American River College in Sacramento, California. Earlier, she held several leadership roles with Sacramento City College.
Kelly Ball has been appointed associate vice president for access and enrollment and director of admissions at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She comes to her new role from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where she was director of recruitment and strategic initiatives. Earlier, she held leadership roles with the University of Delaware and Pennsylvania State University.
Leigh N. Whitaker has been named vice president for government and community affairs at the University of Pennsylvania. Her appointment marks a return to the Ivy League university, where she previously served as director of city relations. More recently, she was principal at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, where she led the firm’s Philadelphia government relations practice.
Angie Zirschky has been named compliance director and ADA/504 coordinator at Boise State University. A staff member at Boise State for nearly two decades, she has served in various human resources positions throughout her long tenure. Most recently, she was the university’s policy director.
Brandi Tatum-Fedrick will serve as acting vice president of university advancement in addition to her role as director of alumni affairs at Florida A&M University. In her new role, Dr. Tatum-Fedrick he will be responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive fundraising strategy to secure financial support, including cultivating relationships with major donors, overseeing fundraising campaigns, and managing the development team.
Ayanna Tweedy has been selected to serve as interim athletic director at Bakersfield College in California. She most recently served as director of athletics at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. Before Rose-Hulman, she was associate director of athletics and campus wellness, as well as the senior woman administrator at Wabash College in Indiana.
Amy Owens is the new executive director of the Tennessee Education Research Alliance, a research-practice partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education and Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Before her new role, she led research studies regarding educational policy with the Tennessee State Board of Education and the Tennessee Department of Education.
Kimberly Lewis has been named executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. She comes to Rutgers from Louisiana State University, where she also served as chief administrative officer. Earlier, she was the chief executive officer for the state of Louisiana’s Department of Revenue, where she oversaw $10 billion in state tax revenue.
Melissa Range, associate professor of English at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, is the recipient of the 2025 Vanderbilt University Literary Prize for her poetry collection, Printer’s First.
Rashmi Adaval has been named the James S. Womack/Gemini Chair of Signage and Visual Marketing in the Carl H. Lindner College of Business at the University of Cincinnati. Her scholarship centers on the analysis of narratives and stories in the consumer domain. Before joining the University of Cincinnati faculty, she was taught at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology in China and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Sarah Lindley, professor of art, has been named the Robert W. and JoAnn Stewart Chair at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She has been with the college since 2001, teaching a variety of ceramics and sculpture courses. Earlier in her tenure, she received another endowed faculty appointment as the Arcus Social Justice Leadership Professor of Art.
Karolina Kołpak has been appointed to the Stanislaus A. Blejwas Endowed Chair in Polish and Polish American Studies at Central Connecticut State University. Her recent research has focused on grassroots civic engagement and intercommunal cooperation in late imperial Poland. Beyond academia, she works closely with migrant and refugee communities in Poland and has helped organize humanitarian initiatives supporting scholars at risk.
Sarah L. Karalunas has joined the Syracuse University faculty as the Cobb-Jones Clinical Psychology Endowed Professor and chair of the department of psychology. She comes to Syracuse from Purdue University, where she was an associate professor and director of graduate studies for the department of psychological sciences. As a scholar, she has conducted extensive research on cognitive and emotional development in children.
Kathleen Poorman Dougherty has been named the twenty-first president of Marietta College in Ohio. The college enrolls nearly 1,100 undergraduate students and under 100 graduate students, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Education. Women make up 49 percent of the undergraduate student body.
Melanie Dodd, professor in the College of Pharmacy at the University of New Mexico, is the new president of the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists. She is the first person from New Mexico to lead the organization.
Vanessa Lovelace has been named executive director of the Louisville Institute. Based at the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky and funded by the Lilly Endowment, the institute awards grants and fellowships in support of leadership, education, and research on North American religion. Dr. Lovelace began her tenure on August 1.
Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, recently received a $1 million gift from alumna Sarah Herring to support the Furman Women’s Impact Network program. First established in 2019, the network aims to develop meaningful relationships with Furman alumnae and the university. Herring, a founding member of the network, has dedicated her gift to supporting the group’s endowed fund, which provides scholarships, experiential learning opportunities, and other student stipends.
St. Lawrence University has received a Mathematical Association of America’s Tensor Women and Mathematics Grant to support the university’s Math and Everything Program. The program will bring a cohort of local high school women to the St Lawrence campus to learn how math is integrated into other disciplines.
The Art Bridges Foundation has awarded its inaugural Bridgemaker Prize to the Museum of Fine Art at Spelman College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Atlanta, Georgia. The prize will support the museum’s future projects, including a new gallery space set to open this fall. Additionally, the award will allow Spelman College to spotlight their work on Art Bridges’ digital platforms.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale has received a $4.5 million gift from an anonymous donor to support the women’s softball team. The donation dedicates $4 million to support scholarships for women student-athletes and $500,000 to renovate the university’s softball stadium.
Evelyn Fields has been elected chair of the South Carolina Education Deans’ Alliance, an organization dedicated to uniting deans from public and private colleges of education throughout the state to tackle statewide challenges in teacher preparation. Dr. Fields currently serves as a full professor of early childhood education and dean of the College of Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences at South Carolina State University, where she has worked for the past 25 years.
Alexandra Meliou has been elected vice chair of the Special Interest Group on Management of Data for the Association for Computing Machinery. A faculty member with the University of Massachusetts Amherst since 2012, she currently serves as a full professor and associate chair of faculty development in the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences. Her research centers on data and information management, particularly the challenges of dealing with imperfect data.
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.
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.
Mississippi University for Women (The W) has announced a new automatic admission program that will allow its undergraduate students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in speech-language pathology to automatically enroll in the university’s master’s degree program in the same discipline.
“To my knowledge, no other undergraduate speech-language pathology program in the state or surrounding region offers this type of advantage,” said Dr. Brandy Larmon, dean of the Vandergriff College of Nursing and Health Sciences at The W. “It allows students to fully concentrate on their studies with the assurance of a secured place in our graduate program, saving them the stress and cost of the traditional application process.”
Four new faculty members have joined the faculty of the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mariana Popescu is an assistant professor in the department of architecture. She is a computational architect and structural designer with a strong interest and experience in innovative ways of approaching the fabrication process and use of materials in construction. Her area of expertise is computational and parametric design, with a focus on digital fabrication and sustainable design. Dr. Popescu earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. She holds a doctorate from ETH Zurich in Switzerland.
Holly Samuelson has joined the department of architecture as an associate professor in the building technology program. Her teaching and research focus on issues of building design that impact human and environmental health. She was 
M. Soledad Peresin has been named director of the Wood Utilization + Design Institute at Clemson University in South Carolina. She will also hold faculty appointments in the department of forestry and environmental conservation and the department of materials science and engineering. Prior to her new role, she was a professor in the College of Forestry, Wildlife, and Environment at Auburn University in Alabama.
Marina Zaloznaya has joined the faculty of Arizona State University’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions as an associate professor in School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She comes to her new role from the University of Iowa, where she was director of the European studies group in international programs.
Tiffany A. Sippial has been named associate provost for undergraduate education at the University of Alabama. Alongside her new responsibilities, she will continue to serve in her current role as a professor of history and dean of the university’s Honors College. As a scholar, she studies the operation of power in Cuban and Latin American history. Her research has led to multiple publications, including her most recent book, 
Kristen Gibson has been appointed co-director of the online master’s degree program in food safety at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She currently holds the Donald “Buddy” Wray Endowed Chair in Food Safety and is director of the university’s Center for Food Safety. In her research, she studies the fate and transport of pathogens within food systems with a focus on human noroviruses and fresh produce as well as food safety.
Amber Stephenson has been appointed director of the School of Business Administration at Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg. She comes to Penn State Harrisburg from Clarkson University in Potsdam, New York, where she was a tenured professor of management and director of the healthcare management program in the David D. Reh School of Business.
Jessica West has joined the Mitchell Hamline School of Law faculty as an assistant professor. Most recently, she taught at the University of Washington Law School, where she was associate dean for academic success programs from 2019 to 2022. Earlier, she was an assistant professor with the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
Cathy Yang Liu has been appointed associate dean for strategic initiatives for the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Currently holding the rank of distinguished university professor and serving as the Michael and Enid Mescon Endowed Chair, she recently concluded a six-year stint as chair of the department of public management and policy. Her scholarship focuses on community and economic development, urban labor market and policy, migration and entrepreneurship, and international urban development.
Sinéad Ní Chadhain has been named chair of the department of biology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She comes to Little Rock from the University of South Alabama, where she was an associate professor of biology. Earlier, she conducted research with the Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Charleen McNeill has been named dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at the University of Southern Mississippi. She comes to her new role from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, where she currently serves as a professor and executive associate dean of academic affairs in the College of Nursing. In her research, she focuses on emergency shelter placement and community health issues.
Leah Z. FitzGerald has been appointed dean of the Mervyn M. Dymally College of Nursing at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles, California. She has extensive leadership experience in nursing education, previously serving as dean of nursing at the University of California, Los Angeles and as the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair in Community Partnerships at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles. More recently, she was director of the division of nursing and public health at the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Brianne Hobbs is the new dean of the Chicago College of Optometry at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, Illinois. She previously served as director of residencies and an associate professor at Midwestern University’s Arizona College of Optometry in Glendale, Arizona. Prior to her new deanship, she was associate dean of academics for the School of Optometry at High Point University in North Carolina.
Megan Adkins has been selected to serve as interim dean of graduate studies and academic innovation at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. A faculty member since 2008, she currently teaches as a professor of health and physical education. Her scholarship focuses on micro-credentials and workforce development, academic innovation and technology, integration higher education pedagogy, and faculty development.
Catherine Hughes has been appointed executive director of the Brooks Center for Performing Arts at Clemson University in South Carolina. She comes to her new role from the Palm Beach Opera in Florida, where she was director of education and community engagement. Earlier, she taught music history, world music, and music theory at Saint Joseph’s University and West Chester University.
Kayla Noah was recently promoted to vice president of student affairs at Dickinson State University in North Dakota. She has held several roles at the university, including director of the SOAR Center, disability services specialist, and professional academic advisor. Most recently, she was the university’s dean of students.
Dominque Maynard has been appointed director of the Hudson Hub One Stop Student Services Center at Hudson County Community College in New Jersey. She most recently served as associate director of one stop operations at Union College of Union County in New Jersey. Earlier, she held a variety of student affairs positions at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Lisa Fields has been named the inaugural dean of public safety at Brunswick Community College in North Carolina. She currently serves as the college’s department chair for the professional and technical division. Her background includes nearly two decades of experience in academia and 25 years of law enforcement service.
Tre’Shawn Hall-Baker has been promoted from dean of human resources to vice president of human resources at Santa Monica College in California. With over 25 years of experience in public education, human resources management, professional development, and employee relations, she has previously held a variety of roles with the Los Angeles Community College District, the California School Employees Association, and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Nichole Fazio has been appointed senior associate dean for undergraduate education at Emory University’s Emory College of Arts and Sciences in Atlanta, Georgia. She comes to her new role from the University of Chicago, where she was associate dean of undergraduate research and scholars’ programs and executive director of the College Center for Research and Fellowships.
Julie A. Lucas has been named vice chancellor for university development and alumni relations at the University of California, Berkeley. For the past decade, she has served as the vice president of resource development for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Earlier, she held senior roles in fundraising and development at the University of Southern California, New York University, and Fordham University in the Bronx, New York.
Pamela Hopson has been appointed executive director of campus and community strategy at the University of Southern Indiana. A staff member with the university since 1979, she had been serving as interim vice president for student affairs since July 2024. Before that role, she was executive director of the Multicultural Center.
Karleen Gardner has joined the University of Mississippi as director of the University Museum and Historic Houses. Previously, she served as the Kathleen C. Sherrerd Director for Learning and Engagement at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She has also served as director of learning innovation and director of the Center for Empathy and Visual Arts at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Krista Raney has been promoted to president and CEO of the LSU Foundation at Louisiana State University. Her promotion is effective July 1, 2026, following the retirement of current president Robert Stuart. Raney has been an administrator with the foundation since 2010, most recently serving as executive vice president of development. Earlier, she was senior vice president of development.
Michelle Robinson is the new vice president of government relations at Florida A&M University. Robinson brings more than two decades of executive experience to the role, having spent most of this time with Verizon, where she held a series of business and leadership roles, including vice president of government affairs.
Jennifer Sandridge has been promoted from associate director to director of admissions for the Graduate School and international education at the University of Arkansas. With over a decade of experience in higher education, she previously served as an academic adviser and grant manager for the division of continuing studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sarah Mathias, assistant vice president for federal government relations at the University of Florida, was recently awarded the Betty Colden Memorial Lectureship Award by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Council on Governmental Affairs. The honor recognizes Mathias’ outstanding contributions to the association and the overall field of congressional and governmental relations in higher education. Mathias accepted the award and delivered the annual lecture during the council’s summer meeting in July.
Michelle Marincel Payne has been named to the Dr. Roland E. Hutchins Endowed Chair in Civil Engineering at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana. A faculty member since 2013, she specializes in environmental engineering, including biomimetic membranes for desalination, drinking water and wastewater treatment, and environmental remediation. Currently, she is leading a student research project investigating the ability of constructed treatment wetlands to remove stormwater pollutants.
Heather K. Gerken has been named the Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Slated to assume the 
Line Roald has been named the Grainger Institute for Engineering Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She teaches in the electrical and computer engineering department and the Electric Power Systems Research Group. In her work, she focuses on facilitating the transition to a more sustainable and resilient energy system, while ensuring that electricity can be provided in an efficient and secure manner.
Christina Royal has been named interim president of Connecticut State Community College. With a dozen campuses throughout the state, the school is the largest community college in New England, enrolling a student body of nearly 35,000 students. About 60 percent of students attending Connecticut State Community College are women. Dr. Royal will serve as the college’s top executive through June 30, 2026.
Zeynep Hansen has been appointed interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Boise State University in Idaho. For the past six years, she has served as the university’s vice provost for academic planning and institutional effectiveness. A faculty member in economics since 2007, she has previously served as an associate dean in the College of Business and Economics and chair of the department of economics.
Mahpiua Deas has been named provost and dean of the faculty at Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. She first joined the university in 2010 and currently teaches as a full professor in the department of language and literature. Additionally, she is director of the university’s Mellon III Black Freedom Studies Grant and the Horace Mann Bond Honors Program. Earlier in her tenure, she was associate dean of faculty.
Piyusha Singh has been named interim provost of Lincoln University of Missouri. Her background includes experience in both higher education and the private sector. Previously, she spent seven years with Columbia College in Missouri, serving in various leadership roles such as vice president for online education, chief of staff, and provost and senior vice president. More recently, she was an executive with Big Tree Medical Corporation.
Nell Jessup Newton has been appointed interim provost at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. With over 40 years of experience in academia, she currently holds the title of professor emerita of law at the University of Notre Dame Law School. She served as the school’s tenth dean from 2009 to 2019. During the 2022-2023 academic year, she served as interim dean of Wake Forest’s law school.
Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, has recently announced an academic realignment, establishing four new schools that integrate the university’s graduate professional programs into its liberal arts curriculum. All four schools will be led by women.
Harleen Singh is dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Culture. An associate professor of South Asian literature and women’s studies, Dr. Singh has previously served as chair of the South Asian studies program and as faculty representative to the board of trustees. Her research centers on novels from India and Pakistan, Indian film, hip-hop music, sexuality, and feminism. She has authored several scholarly publications, including 
Linda Bui is dean of the School of Business and Economics. Dr. Bui is a full professor of economics who has taught at Brandeis since 2004. She has served in a wide-range of leadership positions throughout her tenure, including senior associate provost for assessment and accreditation, senior associate dean of academic programs for the business school, and director of the Ph.D. program in international economics and finance. A specialist in environmental economics, she focuses her research on the effectiveness of regulatory measures and their impact on wider economic outcomes.
Susan Birren is dean of the School of Science, Engineering, and Technology. She currently holds the title of Zalman Abraham Kekst Professor in Neuroscience. Prior to Brandeis’ new academic alignment, she was division head of sciences for the School of Arts and Sciences. In her lab, she leads research focused on the molecular and cellular interactions that direct the development and function of the peripheral sympathetic neurons that innervate peripheral organs and regulate cardiac function and blood pressure.
Sara Shostak is dean of the School of Social Sciences and Social Policy. A full professor in the department of sociology, she recently completed a three-year stint as the inaugural director of the Vic ’63 and Bobbie Samuels ’63 Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation. As a medical sociologist, she aims to advance the understanding of the social production of health and illness across diverse contexts. Her most recent book is 
ey Flanigan is an assistant professor in the department of political science, with a shared appointment in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing in the department of electrical engineering and computer science. Her research focuses on social choice theory, game theory, algorithms, statistics, and survey methods. Before joining MIT, Dr. Flanigan was a postdoc at Harvard University’s Data Science Initiative. She holds a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
Rachel Fraser is an associate professor in the department of linguistics and philosophy. Before coming to MIT, Dr. Fraser taught at the University of Oxford in England. She has research interests in epistemology, language, feminism, aesthetics, and political philosophy. Dr. Fraser holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in philosophical theology and a Ph.D. in philosophy, all from the University of Oxford.
Rebekah Larsen is an assistant professor in the comparative media studies/writing program. A media sociologist, her work uncovers and analyzes understudied media ecosystems, with special attention to sociotechnical change and power relations within these systems. Prior to MIT, Dr. Larsen held a Marie Curie grant at the University of Copenhagen, and was a visiting fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School. Dr. Larsen is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in technology and society studies. She holds a master’s degree in technology studies and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Cambridge in England.
Becca Lewis is an assistant professor in the comparative media studies/writing program. An interdisciplinary scholar, she examines the rise of right-wing politics in Silicon Valley and online. She previously worked as a researcher at the Data and Society Research Institute, where she published the organization’s flagship reports on media manipulation, disinformation, and right-wing digital media. Dr. Lewis holds a master’s degree in social science from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. in communication theory and research from Stanford University.
Bar Luzon is an assistant professor in the department of linguistics and philosophy. Before coming to MIT, she was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the philosophy department at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She works in the philosophy of mind and language, metaphysics, and epistemology. Dr. Luzon completed a bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 2017 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from New York University.
Angela Saini joins the comparative media studies/writing program as an assistant professor. A science journalist and author, she presents television and radio documentaries for the British Broadcasting Corporation. She has published four books including 
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 the Humboldt University Berlin. Earlier, she worked as a postdoc and/or lecturer at the Universities of Vienna, Graz, Göttingen, and at the University of California at Los Angeles. She earned her Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Vienna.
The National Endowment for the Humanities has recently bestowed $34.79 million in grant funding for 97 humanities projects throughout the country. The awards support founding era papers projects, exhibitions and media projects, professional development opportunities for teachers, and the preservation of important humanities collections. Five of these grants were awarded to higher education institutions leading projects related to prominent American women writers, poets, and activists.
Loyola University Chicago has received $299,669 for “
The trustees of Amherst College in Massachusetts have received $190,000 to support a teacher development project at the Emily Dickinson Museum, located just off the college’s campus. The grant will fund two week-long residential workshops for cohorts of 36 K-12 educators each on Emily Dickinson’s poetry. The workshop project will be led by co-directors Brook Steinhauser and Elias Bradley.
Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey, has been awarded $299,998 to fund the preparation for publication of an 
Ramapo College of New Jersey has received $300,000 with a $150,000 matching grant for the college’s “
The University at Buffalo in New York has received $300,000 for the preparation and publication of selections from 12 literary notebooks of American modernist poet Marianne Moore. The 
A team of scholars led by Andrea LaCroix, distinguished professor at the University of California, San Diego, has developed 
The Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, has announced the appointment of six faculty members to endowed professorships. Five of the new appointments have gone to women.
Laura Hermer was awarded the James E. Kelley Chair in Tort Law, which funds a full-time position to teach torts. Professor Hermer’s current research focuses on reproductive rights and access to health coverage and care in the United States, with a particular focus on underserved populations and population health. Earlier in her career, she was an assistant professor in the department of preventive medicine and community health and a member of the Institute for the Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Professor Hermer is a graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. She earned her juris doctorate at Northeastern University in Boston.
Nicole McConlogue was awarded the John H. Faricy Jr. Professorship for Empirical Research in the Law. Professor McConlogue has a strong public interest background, including practice experience in consumer protection and disability benefits law. Her scholarship focuses on concerns of economic mobility and fairness toward disadvantaged communities. She previously taught at the West Virginia University College of Law. Professor McConlogue is a graduate of Towson University in Maryland, where she majored in French literature. She earned her law degree at the University of Maryland.
Natalie Netzel was named to the John H. Faricy Jr. Professorship for Empirical Research in the Law. She is also the director of the Clinical Education Program at the law school. Her scholarly interests include trauma-informed lawyering, trauma-informed pedagogy, and law student and attorney mental health and well-being. Prior to joining the faculty, Professor Netzel was a judicial law clerk for the Minnesota Court of Appeals. She received a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctorate from Hamline University. She also holds a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Wisconsin-Superior.
Sharon Press was awarded the Robins Kaplan Distinguished Professorship of Litigation Skills and International Dispute Resolution. Professor Press teaches mediation and negotiation and is the director of the Dispute Resolution Institute at the law school. Prior to coming to Hamline, Professor Press served as director of the Florida Dispute Resolution Center. She holds a bachelor’s degree and a juris doctorate from George Washington University.
Kim Vu-Dinh was awarded the Louis L. Ainsworth Distinguished Professorship in Business and Law. She is the director of the Center for Law and Business at the law school. Professor Vu-Dinh came to Hamline in 2022 after five years as a professor and director of the Business Innovations Clinic at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in development studies. Professor Vu-Dinh earned a juris doctorate at the City University of New York.
Lakeisa Tucker has been promoted from acting dean to permanent dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies at South Carolina State University. A longtime faculty member at the university, she previously served as acting chair of the department of human services. Her background includes extensive professional experience in early intervention, child advocacy, education, and social work.
Michele Vancour has been selected to serve as interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Southern Connecticut State University. A faculty member since 1998, she most recently served as the college’s executive director of healthcare programs. Earlier in her tenure, she was founding director of the SCSU Wellness Center and director of faculty development.
Brooke A. Burks has been appointed dean of the School of Education at Tuskegee University in Alabama. With 25 years of experience in education, she most recently served as associate dean of the College of Education; chair of the department of curriculum, instruction, and technology; and chief diversity officer at Auburn University at Montgomery. Earlier in her career, she was a high school English teacher.
Kecia Williams Smith has been selected to serve as interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University. An associate professor of accounting, she has served as director of the university’s master of accountancy degree program since its inception in 2019. She also currently directs the Center for Accounting Opportunities.
Heather Hathaway has been appointed acting dean of the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has previously held several leadership roles with Klinger College, including associate dean for academic affairs, associate dean for faculty and graduate studies, and a prior stint as acting dean. A full professor of English, Dr. Hathaway studies African American and Japanese American literature and culture.
Pamella Ochoa has been promoted from interim dean to permanent dean of the Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Tyler. She has been a clinical professor with the college since 2018. Prior to her interim appointment, she was associate dean for experiential education. Outside of her faculty role, she has served in several capacities with the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
Sarah Radtke has been named dean of the College of Health Sciences at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, Illinois. She comes to hew new role after over two decades on the faculty at Aurora University in Illinois, where she most recently served as dean of the College of Health Sciences. As a scholar, she studies a wide range of topics, including emotional intelligence in healthcare, self-directed learning, and clinical education strategies.