Annie Evans, director of education and outreach for New American History at the University of Richmond in Virginia, recently received the Sarah Drake Brown Leadership in History Award from the National Council for History Education. The honor is awarded to educators who demonstrate exemplary leadership in K-12 history education.
In her role at the University of Richmond, Evans leverages more than 30 years of classroom and leadership experience to design history curricula for both K-12 and college students. She collaborates with educators, museums, and cultural institutions to develop free teaching resources, emphasizing how local history connects to broader topics.
Evans received her bachelor’s degree in education from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University. She joined the University of Richmond staff in 2019, following a career teaching history, civics, and geography in Virginia public schools.
Breana M. Ware is the inaugural general counsel for Spelman College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Atlanta. Before her new role, she was a vice president and counsel for a national development and construction firm. Earlier in her career, she spent nearly six years on the legal affairs attorney team at Kennesaw State University in Georgia.
Dianne Pledger was named director of the Diggs Art Gallery at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina. Her background includes over three decades of leadership experience in arts management, fundraising, and cultural programming. She is the principal consultant of Pledger Consulting, a firm she founded that specializes in nonprofit administration, strategic planning, grant writing, board development, and organizational capacity building.
Shontel Grumhaus has been appointed senior vice president for development and external affairs at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She comes to her new role from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has been serving as senior associate vice chancellor for development and chief strategist for schools and units. Earlier, she was senior associate dean for advancement at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Janice E. Chambers, longtime professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University, is the recipient of this year’s Founders Award from the Society of Toxicology. The award honors members of the society for their exceptional leadership in advancing toxicological science and strenghtening the role of toxicology in safety decision-making.
Carmala Garzione is the inaugural Sarah Brown Smallhouse Endowed Dean of the University of Arizona College of Science, which she has led since 2021. Before her dean appointment, she was associate provost for faculty affairs at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. An earth scientist, Dr. Garizone studies the interaction between climate and tectonics, stable isotopes in terrestrial paleoclimate-paleoenvironmental studies, and sedimentary basin evolution and tectonic history of mountain belts.
Janet Currie is the David Swensen Professor of Economics and co-director of the Tobin-Cowles Health Economics and Policy Program at Yale University. Before joining the Yale faculty in 2025, Dr. Currie was the Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and co-director of the Center for Health and Well Being at Princeton University. She held previous appointments at Columbia University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, In addition to her current role at Yale, she directs the program on children and families at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Cecilia Diniz Behn is the inaugural Joe and Jane Gray University Chair at the Colorado School of Mines. The title is the university’s highest faculty honor. A professor in applied mathematics and statistics, Dr. Diniz Behn is an expert in the field of mathematical biology. Her research applies mathematical modeling to investigate key research questions in metabolism, sleep, and circadian rhythms. Dr. Diniz Behn teaches at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the University of Colorado Boulder.
Kimberly Noble is the Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child and Parent Development and Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Dr. Noble is a neuroscientist and pediatrician who specializes in how socioeconomic inequities relate to children’s cognitive, emotional, and brain development across infancy, childhood, and adolescence. In addition to teaching as a professor of neuroscience and education, she directs the Neurocognition, Early Experience and Development (NEED) lab, as well as the college’s program in developmental psychology.
Holly Harris is the inaugural Bus Family Endowed Chair at thr Fred Hutch Cancer Center, an independent organization that also serves as the cancer program for University of Washington Medicine. Dr. Harris, an associate professor of epidemiology in the center’s public health sciences division, studies the impact of lifestyle, nutrition, and genetic factors on women’s health. Her work has a particular focus on ovarian and breast cancer, as well as the hormonally related conditions that share reproductive risk factors with these diseases such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids.
Alicia Slater has been named vice president for academic affairs and provost at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. She will begin her new role on July 1.
Emelyn A. dela Peña has been named the next president and chief executive officer of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.
Eva Nodine is the new chief executive officer of Purdue Global, Purdue University’s online university for working adults.
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.
Emily M. Godfrey is a professor in the department of family medicine. She is also affiliated with the university’s Osher Center for Integrative Health. She previously taught at the University of Illinois Chicago and worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She joined the University of Washington faculty in 2012. Dr. Godfrey holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin, and a master of public health degree from the University of Rochester in New York.
Heather D. Hill is a professor and director of the Ph.D. program in public policy and management at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance. She joined the faculty in 2014 after teaching at the University of Illinois. Dr. Hill was promoted to full professor in 2020. Her research examines how public and workplace policies influence family economic circumstances and child well-being in low-income families. Professor Hill is a graduate of the University of Washington, where she majored in political science. She holds a master of public policy degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in human development and social policy from Northwestern University in Illinois.
Jisoo Kim is an assistant professor of communication. Her 
Belén Saldías is an assistant teaching professor in the university’s Information School. Her research focuses on the responsible, human-centered design and evaluation of machine learning systems, emphasizing human-AI collaboration. Dr. Saldías is committed to making the internet safer and more empowering, especially for children and marginalized communities. Dr. Saldías earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering information technology and a master’s degree in machine learning from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She holds a Ph.D. in media arts & sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“Period poverty places students in a vulnerable position where they must weigh the choice between buying period products or other basic essentials like clothing or food. This barrier disproportionately affects students of color, who already face greater inequities in higher education,” said Senator McKnight. “This initiative has seen success in other states and public universities nationwide, making it time for New Jersey to adopt a similar approach to improve health, safety, and the overall student experience.”
Rutgers School of Nursing in New Jersey has partnered with Axia Women’s Health to create new clinical training opportunities for students studying nurse-midwifery.
“This partnership is an exciting opportunity to expand our clinical site options for students,” said Julie Blumenfeld, a clinical associate professor and nurse-midwifery program director at Rutgers School of Nursing at Rutgers Health. “We’re thrilled to be working with the highly skilled providers at Axia Women’s Health to ensure our students graduate with the relevant skills needed to deliver exceptional patient care with confidence and compassion.”
W. Meredith Bacon, longtime professor of political science at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, passed away on February 8. She was 79 years old.
The University of Arkansas School of Law has appointed five scholars to endowed professorships.
Amanda Hurst was named to the Arkansas Bar Foundation Professorship. In this role, she will serve as an ambassador to the Arkansas bench and bar for the law school. She teaches legal research and writing courses at the law school. Prior to entering academia, Professor clerked for Judge Bobby E. Shepherd of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. A graduate of Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Professor Hurst holds a juris doctorate from the 
Annie Smith was named to the Wiley H. Davis Professorship. The endowed chair honors the legacy of Wiley H. Davis, a long-time member of the School of Law faculty and dean from 1973 to 1978. Professor Smith, who joined the faculty in 2012, focuses her advocacy and scholarship on labor exploitation and directs the Human Trafficking Clinic at the law school. Professor Smith earned a bachelor’s degree from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where she majored in organizational behavior and management. She holds a juris doctorate from the University of Wisconsin and a master of law degree from George Washington University.
Carol Goforth was appointed to the Wiley H. Davis Centennial Professorship. Professor Goforth, who has taught at the law school since 1993, is a nationally recognized scholar in business associations and securities regulation and one of the leading experts on cryptoasset regulation and transactions. She is a 1981 graduate of the University of Arkansas, where she majored in psychology. She holds a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas School of Law, where she graduated first in her class.
Charlotte Connop is a new assistant professor of earth and climate sciences at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. She is a metamorphic petrologist and geochronologist whose research focuses on investigating the processes that lead to changes in the distribution of elements throughout Earth’s crust. Prior to her new role, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Michigan.
Sarah Olsen has been named director of the Rice Center for Teaching at Williams College in Massachusetts. Dr. Olsen first joined the college’s faculty in 2016 and currently holds the title of associate professor of classics. Her areas of expertise include ancient Greek literature, art, and culture. She has authored numerous scholarly publications, including 
Danielle Howard is a new assistant professor of clinical sciences in the Harvey S. Peeler Jr. College of Veterinary Medicine at Clemson University. Previously, she was a faculty member in Long Island University’s Lewyt College of Veterinary Medicine, where she taught veterinary skills and principles of surgery courses. Her professional focus is clinical skills education and supporting students as they build confidence and independence in preparation for clinical training.
Karen Kopera-Frye is associate dean of the Graduate School at New Mexico State University. Dr. Kopera-Frye first joined the NMSU faculty in 2016 as associate dean for what is now the College of Health, Education, and Social Transformation. Her current research involves health promotion and healthy aging among diverse groups, particularly Indigenous and Latinx elders.
Beginning in the fall 2026 semester, Yi Qun Xu will serve as a new assistant professor of cello in the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. Throughout her career, she has served on the faculties of The Juilliard School Pre-College and Music Advancement Program, The Perlman Music Program, the Heifetz International Music Institute, and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Xu is the cellist of the Cassatt Quartet.
Brandi Nicole Hinnant-Crawford, associate professor of educational leadership at Clemson University in South Carolina, has been awarded the 2026 Gloria J. Ladson-Billings Outstanding Book Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
Through her research, Dr. Hinnant-Crawford seeks to expose policies and practices related to exploitation, domination, and marginalization while simultaneously exploring remedies to alleviate the impact of those policies and practices. She studies equity, inclusion, and access in P-16 education, as well as organizational improvement. In addition to her latest award-winning book, Dr. Hinnant-Crawford is the author or editor of numerous publications, including 
Vanessa Vásquez has been named dean of students at Alverno College, a liberal arts institution for women in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She comes to her new role from Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, where she was director of the Burke Scholarship and Grace & Caroline Scholarship programs. Earlier in her career, she was director of career program and community partnerships at Carmen Schools of Science and Technology in Milwaukee.
Jessica Retrum has been selected to serve as interim dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, where she serves as a professor and chair of the department of social work. Her research and clinical background includes extensive experience addressing the social, health, and mental needs of older adults. Dr. Retrum teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in clinical social work practice.
Gwendolyn M. Lloyd, the Henry J. Hermanowicz Professor of Education, has been appointed to a two-year term as dean of the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University. A faculty member in the department of curriculum and instruction since 2009, she has led the college on an interim basis for the past four months. She previously served as the college’s senior associate dean for faculty affairs.
Katie Hartman has been named interim dean of the College of Business at Ohio University. She is a professor of marketing who has taught at the university for over a decade. In addition to her teaching appointment, Dr. Hartman serves as vice provost for faculty development. Earlier in her tenure, she spent four years as chair of the marketing department. Her research and teaching center on consumer-centric marketing strategy in retail sales environments.
Sarah Feldner is returning to her post as dean of the J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Dr. Feldner has served as the university’s acting provost since November 2024. Prior to her temporary provost appointment, she had led the Diederich College for over four years. A full professor of communication, Dr. Feldner studies corporate communication, corporate social responsibility, organizational advocacy, organizational mission and identity, and social innovation and entrepreneurship.
Jennifer Roberts was appointed executive dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at the University of Kansas. A full professor of geology, Dr. Roberts currently serves as the university’s senior vice provost of academic affairs. She has served in several other leadership roles throughout her tenure, including geology department chair and vice provost for graduate studies. Her research focuses on hydrochemistry and microbial geochemistry, bridging basic and applied science to better understand the role of microorganisms in mineral weathering.
Mala Murthy, director of the Princeton Neuroscience Institute and the Marnie Marcin ’96 Professor of Neuroscience at Princeton University, is a recipient of the 24th annual Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences from the Wiley Foundation. Dr. Murthy shares the award with Sebastian Seung of Princeton, John White of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Gerald Rubin of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Janelia Research Campus for their combined work in “reconstructing and interpreting connectomes, the anatomical wiring diagrams of neurons and synapses that underlie how the brain processes information and controls actions.”
Rebecca Haley was promoted to vice chancellor for governmental relations at the University of Arkansas. For the past two years, she has served as the university’s associate vice chancellor for state relations. Earlier in her tenure, she was director of state relations engagement. Before joining the university, Haley held various roles with the Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research.
Jodi Weisfield was promoted to vice chancellor for health sciences and clinical programs advancement at the University of Pittsburgh. She most recently served as the university’s senior executive director of development for individual giving, schools and centers. In her new role, she will oversee fundraising supporting the university’s six schools of health sciences, clinical departments, and affiliated hospital foundations.
Christian Murphy has been named acting vice president for institutional advancement at Spelman College, a liberal arts institution for women in Atlanta. She has over 15 years of experience in institutional advancement, campaign strategy, and organizational growth, including service in executive leadership roles at non-profits throughout the Atlanta area.
Tracy Kijewski-Correa is the Frank M. Friemann Professor of Structural Engineering and Hazard Resilience at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where she teaches as a professor of civil and environmental engineering and of earth sciences. A faculty member since 2003, Dr. Kijewski-Correa also serves as the William J. Pulte Director of the university’s Pulte Institute for Global Development. Her interdisciplinary research centers on recovery after major disasters and how communities can implement climate-adaptive measures when threatened or impacted by events such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and windstorms.
Jenifer Shafer is the inaugural Ben L. Fryrear Presidential Chair at Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Shafer joined the faculty in 2012 and currently teaches as a professor in the department of chemistry and the nuclear science and engineering program. Her research focuses on developing f-element separations to support advanced nuclear fuel cycles, national security, and critical mineral processing. In her new endowed position, Dr. Shafer will work at the intersection of energy and commercialization, working with the Colorado School of Mines’ community to bring new energy technologies to the market.
Wendy Berry Mendes was named the Chris Argyris Professor of Psychology at Yale University. Before joining the Yale faculty in 2023, Dr. Mendes was the Sarlo/Ekman Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco and the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard University. As a scholar, she examines how mental states alter physiological responses including autonomic nervous systems, hormones, and immune changes. Her work has provided insights into areas such as how stress affects cognition, racial health disparities, stereotyping and prejudice, emotion and decision-making, and dyadic and group physiological synchrony.
Emily Cherry Oliver has been named a 2026 Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor at the University of North Dakota. The title is the university’s highest faculty honor. Professor Cherry Oliver currently serves as chair of the theatre arts department. Her areas of scholarship include directing and performance. With experience directing and performing in both academic and professional settings, Professor Cherry Oliver also serves as co-chair of the Region 5 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.
Allison Gill was named an associate professor of biology. A faculty member since 2020, Dr. Gill is a biogeochemist who studies how plants and microorganisms influence the flow of carbon and nutrients through ecosystems, work that climate change and environmental pollution render increasingly vital. Dr. Gill is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She earned a Ph.D. in biology from Boston University and served as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota.
Cynthia K. Holland was promoted to associate professor of biology. She joined the faculty in 2020 after serving as a postodcotral fellow at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Dr. Holland’s research focuses on how plants synthesize small molecules to grow, develop, and defend themselves from predators. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, she graduated from the Honors College at Henderson State University, a public liberal arts college in Arkansas, where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry. Dr. Holland earned a Ph.D. in plant and microbial biosciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Munjulika R. Tarah was named an associate professor of dance. Her research focuses on dance and identity politics in Bangladesh and more broadly in South Asia. Dr. Tarah joined the Williams College faculty in 2018. Earlier she taught at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, and Northwestern University in Qatar. She is completing work on a book – Dancing Ritiniti: Aesthetic Morality and Femininity in Bangladesh – which is under contract with Oxford University Press. Dr. Tarah is a graduate of what is now Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in performance studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Elizabeth Upton was promoted to associate professor in the mathematics and statistics department. She joined the college’s faculty in 2019 and has served as the faculty affiliate for the women’s hockey team. Dr. Upton’s research involves the employment of network-indexed data analysis strategies to shed new light on important, real-world questions. Dr. Upton is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where she majored in mathematics and statistics and minored in business administration. She holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Ph.D. in statistics from Boston University.
M. Elizabeth “Liz” Magill has been named executive vice president and dean of the Georgetown University Law Center. She will begin her new role on August 1.
Sharon Oliver, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management at North Carolina Central University, has been elected national chair of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators for the 2027-2028 term. She will serve as the association’s national chair-elect during the 2026-2027 term.
Sony Group Corporation and the journal Nature have announced the 2026 recipients of the Sony Women in Technology Award with Nature. The award recognizes exceptional early- to mid-career women researchers in technology (including science, engineering, and mathematics), who through their research are driving a positive impact on society and the planet.
Xiwen Gong, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Michigan, was awarded this year’s early-career prize for her research on the molecular and interfacial design of solution-processed semiconductors enabling continuous health monitoring and therapeutic interventions, advancing precision, and personalized healthcare. Dr. Gong is a graduate of Fudan University in Shanghai, China. She holds a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Toronto.
Ellen Roche is a professor at the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science and the department of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She also directs the Therapeutic Technology Design and Development Lab. Dr. Roche was selected for her interdisciplinary research in applying innovative technologies to the development of implantable and wearable medical devices, as well as building robotic and computational simulators for enhanced testing of device/tissue interaction with the goal of improving cardiac care. Dr. Roche received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from what is now the University of Galway in Ireland. She holds a master’s degree in bioengineering from Trinity College Dublin and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.
Zhen Xu is the Li Ka Shing Endowed Professor of Biomedical Engineering and professor of radiology and neurosurgery at the University of Michigan. She was selected for her pioneering work as a co-inventor of the field of histotripsy, to allow non-invasive surgery using ultrasound without incision or injury. A native of Nanjing, China, Dr. Xu is a graduate of Southeast University in Nanjing, where she studied biomedical engineering. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Yeshiva University in New York City received a $10 million gift from Ann and Jeremy Pava to establish the Pava Center for Women’s Torah Scholarship. The new center will focus on advancing high-level Torah study for women across the Jewish world through conferences, public shiurim, mentorship initiatives, and academic programs. Additionally, the Pavas’ gift will create the Pava Scholars Program, a three-year immersive cohort that will combine rigorous Torah study, personal development, and community engagement.
Nancy Anderson, professor of literacy and language at Texas Woman’s University, was awarded a $60,000 grant from the Spencer Foundation to support her research on how children process sounds in literacy, specifically how they use sounds while they write. Through her project, Dr. Anderson aims to advance the understanding of how phonological processing develops during writing and to create a tool to help teachers notice and build on what children are already doing well.
The Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center at Indiana University has been awarded a $5 million grant from The Pfizer Foundation to expand access to timely breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and care in Kenya. The funding will support the work of the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) partnership, a collaborative between Moi University in Kenya and Indiana University. Over the next three years, AMPATH will work closely with the National Cancer Institute and the Ministry of Health to establish the Kenya Cancer Consortium.
Jacksonville State University in Alabama received a grant to expand sexual assault support services and establish a new 24/7 crisis hotline serving Calhoun, Celburne, and Talladega counties. The funding, sourced by the Alabama Coalition Against Rape and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, will be used to implement a comprehensive, trauma-informed sexual assault services program, offering medical and court advocacy, short-term counseling, safe and confidential transportation, language access, and assistance with Alabama Crimes Victims Compensation.
Professors Michele Staton and Carrie Oser of the University of Kentucky have received a $7.2 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to test an overdose prevention strategy for women transitioning from jail back into rural Kentucky communities. Over the next five-years, the project will enroll 300 women with opioid or stimulant use disorders from three jails in rural Kentucky and test the effectiveness of various combinations of three evidence-based interventions: recovery coaching, support person engagement, and contingency management.
Wanda Joyce Farwell, professor emerita of voice at Rice University in Houston, Texas, passed away on January 21. She was 91 years old.
“The awarding of tenure is perhaps the greatest milestone in a professor’s career — recognition that their teaching and their research, scholarship, and creative work have placed them among the best in their field,” said Courtney Coile, the college’s provost. “The five remarkable professors who earned tenure this year are contributing powerfully to the academic enterprise at Wellesley. They are mentoring the next generation of women who will make a difference in the world, while simultaneously advancing the frontiers of knowledge and discovery more broadly.”
Chipo Dendere was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor of Africana studies. She is a comparative political scientist with a focus on African politics. Dr. Dendere is the author of 
Kara Yacoubou Djima was promoted to associate professor of mathematics and granted tenure. She is an applied mathematician who studies problems at the intersection of harmonic analysis and machine learning, including analysis on graphs, diffusion geometry, and image processing. She earlier served on the faculty at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Dr. Djima, a native of Benin, holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the College of Staten Island of the City University of New York. She earned a master’s degree and Ph.D., both in applied mathematics and statistics and scientific computation, from the University of Maryland.
Sabriya Fisher was appointed a tenured associate professor of cognitive and linguistic sciences. She researches sociolinguistics, language variation and change, varieties of English, and the language varieties of the African diaspora. Dr. Fisher joined the faculty at Wellesley College in 2018. She is a graduate of Binghamton University of the State University of New York System, where she majored in English literature and rhetoric. Dr. Fisher earned a master’s degree in language sciences at the University of Lyon in France and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania.
Kathya Landeros was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of art. She is a visual artist whose work over the past decade focuses on Latinx communities and the exploration of history, migration, representation, and belonging. Before joining the faculty at Wellesley College, she taught at public institutions of higher education in Northern California and Massachusetts. Professor Landeros is a graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where she majored in English literature and Hispanic studies. She holds a master of fine arts degree in photography from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
Becca Selden was promoted to associate professor of biological sciences and granted tenure. Her research focuses on the effect of a warming climate on ocean ecosystems, with a specific focus on fisheries and aquatic farming. Dr. Selden joined the faculty at Wellesley College in 2019 after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Dr. Seiden is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where she majored in biology. She holds a Ph.D. in ecology, evolution, and marine biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Marilyn Stuber, long-time professor at Meredith College, passed away on January 26. She was 95 years old.
The women’s, gender, and sexuality department at the University of Texas at Austin will merge with the university’s departments of African and African diaspora studies, American studies, and Mexican American and Latino studies, according to a report from The Texas Tribune. 
“This is a sad day for UT students. Rather than bringing the state’s next generation into the future, our leaders are taking a giant leap backwards,” Julie Minich, professor of Mexican American and Latino studies and of English, told The Texas Tribune. “UT is reversing roughly 50 years of intellectual progress and innovation. If the goal is to make sure UT is no longer a global leader in higher education this is a great move.”
Ione Vargus, the first African American and first woman academic dean at Temple University in Philadelphia, passed away on December 20. She was 95 years old.
Janet Simon Schreck is vice provost for academic affairs and innovation at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. An associate professor in the School of Education, Dr. Schreck has held administrative roles in the provost’s office since 2015. Prior to her new position, she was senior associate vice provost for academic affairs. Her current scholarly work centers on innovation in higher education, including curriculum development, learning assessment, advising, and credentialing.
Tessa Warren was named a provost faculty fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, where she teaches as a professor in the department of psychology with affiliate appointments in the departments of linguistics and communication science and disorders. Dr. Warren also serves as a senior scientist at Pitt’s Learning Research & Development Center. Drawing from insights in linguistics and cognitive psychology, her research examines how readers and listeners construct meaning from language in context.
Hala Nassar, professor of landscape architecture at Clemson University in South Carolina, was appointed chair-elect of the Council of Educators in Landscape Architecture’s Academy of Fellows. At Clemson, Dr. Nassar serves as director of the master’s degree program in landscape architecture. In her new role, she will serve a three-year term working with national colleagues to advance the landscape architecture profession.
Lindsay Shea has been appointed director of the Center for State Health Policy at Rutgers University’s Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research. She comes to Rutgers from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she is an associate professor and director of the Policy Analytics Center at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute. Her research focuses on informing physical and mental health improvements and addressing disabilities across the lifespan among people with complex needs. In addition to her leadership role at Rutgers, Dr. Shea will hold a faculty appointment in the department of psychiatry in the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Julia Laskin has been named a distinguished professor of chemistry at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She first joined the Purdue faculty in 2017 as the William F. and Patty J. Miller Professor of Analytic Chemistry. Her research focuses on the development of unique mass spectrometry instrumentation and on advancing the fundamental understanding of the physical and chemical phenomena underlying chemical analysis of complex molecules in complex mixtures. Before coming to Purdue, Dr. Laskin conducted research with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Felicity Newell is a new assistant professor with Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the department of ecology and conservation biology in the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She previously held research appointments at Louisiana State University, the Florida Museum of Natural History, and the University of Bern in Switzerland. As an ecologist, Dr. Newell studies how ecological communities respond to variability in rainfall, hydrology, habitat structure, and land-use history.
Maria Yang has been named vice provost for faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Yang joined the MIT faculty in 2007 and currently holds the title of William E. Leonhard Professor in the department of mechanical engineering. Throughout her tenure, she has served in several leadership roles within the School of Engineering, including associate dean, deputy dean, and interim dean. An internationally recognized leader in design theory and methodology, Dr. Yang studies the early-stage processes used to create successful designs for everything from consumer products to large-scale engineering systems.