Jennifer Taylor, clinical professor in the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Memphis in Tennessee, has received the 2026 Honors of the Council Award from the Council of Academic Programs in Communications Sciences and Disorders. Considered the council’s highest honor, the annual award recognizes individuals for their outstanding impact on the field of communication sciences and disorders through clinical practice, teaching, research, administration, service, or legislative activity.
Dr. Taylor began her career with the University of Memphis in 2003 as a clinical assistant professor. Over the past two decades, she has worked her way up to several leadership roles, including director of clinical education in audiology and associate dean of academic programs for the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
As a clinician, Dr. Taylor specializes in pediatric diagnostics and rehabilitation. Outside of her work at the University of Memphis, she provides audiological services and supervision at the University of Tennessee Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities.
“This recognition means a great deal because it reflects the confidence and generosity of those who took the time to nominate me,” said Dr. Taylor. “Knowing that colleagues believed my work was worthy of nomination and that they felt I made a meaningful impact on both the profession and the Council, is incredibly humbling. I am grateful for their support and proud to be part of a community that values service, collaboration and professional growth.”
Dr. Taylor received her bachelor’s degree in communicative disorders and her master’s degree in audiology from the University of Mississippi. She earned her doctor of audiology degree from the University of Florida.
Marna Hostetler was promoted to dean of the David L. Rice Library at the University of Southern Indiana. Prior to her new role, she was the library’s director of library services. Before joining the Southern Indiana faculty in 2012, she spent 13 years at the University of South Carolina, where she was head of inter-library loan, head of access services, and associate dean of libraries. Earlier in her career, she was a public services librarian at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.
Delana Schartner is the founding dean of Georgia Southern University’s newly established University College, which will serve as the academic home for students in associate degree programs, interdisciplinary bachelor’s degrees, dual enrollment, ROTC, continuing and professional education, and a variety of other academic programs. A faculty member since 2000, Dr. Schartner most recently served as assistant provost and vice president for academic policy and initiatives. She also teaches as a professor of chemistry.
Christina Edholm, associate professor of mathematics at Scripps College in Claremont, California, has been named the 2026 Etta Z. Falconer Lecturer by the Association for Women in Mathematics and the Mathematical Association of America.
Leslie D. Rose has been promoted to associate vice president for university communications at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. Earlier, she served as the university’s director of advancement communication. In addition to her higher education career, Rose also works as a freelance journalist.
Carrie Jackson was named director of the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas. She first joined the center in January 2025 as a business consultant. With over two decades of business experience, Jackson has worked in various accounting, finance, and compliance roles at the University of Arkansas for the past 14 years.
Audreé Montero is assistant director for graduate student outreach, recruitment, and engagement for the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School at Pennsylvania State University. Earlier, she served as a graduate assistant in the school’s Office of Graduate Educational Engagement Programs and co-director for Penn State’s Summer Research Opportunities Program.
Britt Cruz is executive director of the Melrose and The Toro Company Center for Principled Leadership in the Opus College of Business at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. Prior to her new role, Cruz was a deputy director at HealthPartners, where she focused on advancing health equity and affordability through partnerships with communities, governments, and private-sector leaders.
Katie Nash has been named the inaugural vice president for external relations at Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts institution in Pennsylvania. She comes to her new role from the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, where she has served as senior director for external affairs since 2018. Earlier in her career, she was director of public engagement for the Pennsylvania Treasury Department.
Trazanna Moreno was appointed associate vice president for marketing and communications at Prairie View A&M University in Texas. For the past seven years, Moreno has been the senior vice president of marketing, communications, and technology at the Houston Zoo. She previously served as chief marketing officer for the Houston Symphony and as associate superintendent for community relations at Klein Independent School District.
Danni Piccolo was promoted to vice chancellor for individual giving, schools, and centers at the University of Pittsburgh. A Pitt administrator for nearly a decade, she most recently served as associate vice chancellor for individual giving, schools, and centers. Earlier, she held development positions with Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and Chatham University in Pittsburgh.
Gladys McCormick, the Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations at Syracuse University in New York, has received the 2026 Howard F. Cline Book Prize in Mexican History from the Latin American Studies Association. She was honored for her book, 
Leveraging research from interviews and declassified documents, Dr. McCormick’s award-winning monograph examines how the Mexican government used torture to suppress dissent in the 1970s, providing insights into the abuse and systemic failures that have contributed to today’s security crisis in Mexico.
Suzanne Bart is the Edwin F. Peters, Class of 1942, Professor of Chemistry at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. A Purdue faculty member since 2008, Dr. Bart currently serves as director of graduate studies. Her research aims to advance the understanding of the fundamental chemistry of depleted uranium, thorium, and the transuranic elements.
Vida Praitis is the Rosenthal Professor of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Grinnell College in Iowa. Dr. Praitis, a full professor of biology, has taught at Grinnell College since 2001. Throughout her tenure, she has served as chair of both the department of biology and the department of biological chemistry. Her research focuses on understanding at a cellular and molecular level the mechanisms by which epithelial sheets change shape during their development.
Erica Edwards is the Lillian Chavenson Saden Professor of English and Black Studies at Yale University. Dr. Edwards joined the Yale faculty in 2022 and currently serves as chair of the department of Black studies. She studies the intersection of African American literature, politics, social movements, and popular culture, exploring how Black feminism creates generative insights about connections between these fields. Her most recent book is 
Christina Cipriano is the inaugural Joseph W. and Alma W. Keilty Endowed Chair and professor in education in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She comes to her new role from the Yale Child Study Center, where she currently serves as an associate professor and director of the Education Collaboratory. Dr. Cipriano’s scholarship centers on the science of learning, development, and open science practices. She is the author of 
Padma Gulur has been named head of the department of anesthesiology and the inaugural Alex S. Evers MD Distinguished Professor in Anesthesiology in the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. She comes to her new appointment from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where she is interim chair of the department of anesthesiology and a professor of anesthesiology and population health sciences. She is also the director of pain management strategy and opioid surveillance for Duke University Health System.
“Each of these faculty members is a dedicated and inspiring teacher, a scholar of influence in their discipline, and a generous contributor to the Colby community,” said Provost Denise Breueswitz, the Clara C. Piper Professor of Environmental Studies. “They each bring a distinctive approach to their work, but they all exemplify the best of our academic community. I am thrilled to welcome them to the senior faculty at Colby. We are fortunate to have such exceptional colleagues and wonderful people as members of our faculty.”
Alison Bates is an associate professor of environmental studies. She is interested in how local communities view and shape sustainability and renewable-energy practices. Her interdisciplinary scholarship explores the intersection of energy policy and sustainability transitions, with a specific focus on offshore wind. Dr. Bates earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. She holds a Ph.D. in marine policy from the University of Delaware.
Stacy Doore was promoted to associate professor of computer science. Her research focuses on spatial information systems and multimodal information access of spatial information, contributing to the development of emerging assistive technologies. Dr. Doore’s focus is on technology that solves real-world problems by increasing access to information and removing barriers for vulnerable and underserved communities. Dr. Doore holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, a master’s degree, and a Ph.D. in spatial information systems and engineering, all from the University of Maine.
Erin Giffin is an associate professor of economics who joined the college’s faculty in 2018. Her work focuses on how risks and incentives, identity, and individual beliefs shape human behavior and decision-making. Her work integrates psychological findings into formal economic models, specifically focusing on the causes and consequences of biased beliefs. Dr. Giffin is a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder, where she majored in economics and psychology. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California, San Diego.
Lindsey Madison joined the chemistry department faculty in 2018. She is a theoretical chemist interested in how intermolecular interactions manifest in vibrational spectroscopy. Using theoretical and computational chemistry, she also explores the properties of clathrate hydrates, semi-stable crystalline phases of water with structures that entrap greenhouse gas molecules. Dr. Madison received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. She earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Northwestern University and then conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Washington.
Fatma Mili is the new interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
Rose Marie Ward is provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville.
KerryAnn O’Meara was named provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York. She will begin her appointment on July 1.
Jill Blondin, vice provost for global initiatives at Virginia Commonwealth University, has been named president-elect of the Association of International Education Administrators, an organization dedicated exclusively to leaders in international higher education. Dr. Blondin will serve as president-elect for a one-year term, followed by a year as president and a third year as past-president.
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.
Following the implementation of a new system-wide 
Lorraine D. Lavallee, professor emerita of mathematics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, passed away on January 29. She was 94 years old.
Alison Gaudreau, former assistant vice president for advancement at Michigan State University, recently filed a lawsuit against the university and her former boss Kim Tobin, current vice president of university advancement, for retaliation after she reported another employee’s claims of sexual harassment.
Aimée Dorr, former dean at the University of California, Los Angeles and provost of the University of California System, passed away on January 25. She was 83 years old.
Kourtney Kawano is a Native Hawaiian from the village community of Nānākuli on the island of Oʻahu. She is an assistant professor in the Berkeley School of Education. Her research focuses on how race and indigeneity affect schooling. Dr. Kawano received a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where she double majored in religion and government and minored in education. She earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in education from the School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Charmaine Chua, a native of Singapore, is an acting associate professor of geography. Her work focuses on capitalism and trans-Pacific supply chains. She currently is working on two books The Logistics Counterrevolution: Fast Circulation, Slow Violence, and the Transpacific Empire of Capital and How to Beat Amazon:The Future of America’s New Working Class Struggle. Dr. Chua is graduate of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where she majored in English with a minor in political science. She earned a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Minnesota.
Ida Yalzadeh is an assistant professor of ethnic studies who specializes in the Iranian diaspora and Southwest Asia. Previously, she conducted postdoctoral research at Harvard University and was a visiting assistant professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Her research interests include the relationship between race and empire and the fields of diplomatic history. She is currently at work on a book project that focuses on the racialized experience of Iranian foreign nationals from 1953 to 2001. Dr. Yalzadeh is a graduate of the University of Chicago, where she majored in history. She holds a Ph.D. in American studies from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
Bonnie Cordon has announced she will step down from her role as president of Southern Virginia University at the end of the current academic year.
Kim Lewis is vice president for research and chief research officer at Howard University. A full professor of physics, Dr. Lewis most recently served as the university’s associate dean for research, graduate programs, and natural sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. In her new role, she will serve as a member of Howard’s executive leadership team, providing strategic leadership to all aspects of the university’s research enterprise.
April M. Kloxin has been named director of the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, a statewide hub for life science research and workforce development at the University of Delaware. A faculty member with the university since 2011, Dr. Kloxin teaches as a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of materials science and engineering. Her research centers on designing materials that mimic human tissues, aiming to advance new strategies for the treatment of injuries, wounds, and diseases.
Melissa Peterson has been selected to serve as acting associate vice chancellor for the Office of Sovereign Partnership & Indigenous Initiatives at the University of Kansas. She is an assistant research professor and lecturer in Indigenous studies. Since joining the university in 2015, she has served as director of tribal relations and associate director for KU TRIO Support Educational Services & STEM.
Leah Sheppard was named associate dean for strategic initiatives and college culture in the Carson College of Business at Washington State University. An associate professor of management, she previously served as the college’s associate dean for access and opportunity and faculty development. As a scholar, Dr. Sheppard studies the effect of gender on individuals’ workplace experiences and outcomes.
Rebecca C. Thurston is the associate dean for women’s health research for the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She currently serves the university as a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry, the Pittsburgh Foundation Professor of Women’s Health and Dementia, and director of the Center for Women’s Biobehavioral Health Research. As a scholar, Dr. Thurston has conducted extensive research on menopause and the behavioral health concerns of midlife women.
Karen Keaton Jackson, professor of English at North Carolina Central University, has been named president of the Southern Regional Honors Council. At NCCU, Dr. Jackson serves as interim associate provost for academic programs and undergraduate research, as well as director of the honors program. Earlier in her tenure, she was director of the writing studio and the university’s campus-wide writing intensive program.
Yael Bensoussan is director of the newly established University of South Florida Health Institute for Voice and Hearing Innovation. She currently serves as an assistant professor of otolaryngology in the university’s Morsani College of Medicine. In her new role, Dr. Bensoussan will lead a multidisciplinary patient care and clinical research facility centered on disorders of communication and swallowing.
Leslie Burger is the inaugural director of faculty recognition at Mississippi State University. She currently serves as an associate teaching professor in wildfire, fisheries, and aquaculture in the university’s College of Forest Resources. Earlier in her tenure, she served as the undergraduate coordinator for her department for over a decade. She has also held appointments with MSU Extension Service, developing educational materials and programs on natural science topics for adults and youth.
The American Stroke Association, based in Dallas, was founded in 1998 as a division of the American Heart Association. It recently announced the winners of 11 awards for excellence in stroke and brain health care research. Three of the winners are women with academic ties to universities in the United States.
Pooja Khatri was honored with the William M. Feinberg Award for Excellence in Clinical Stroke. The award recognizes significant contributions to the investigation and management of clinical research in stroke. An internationally recognized expert in stroke care and research, Dr. Khatri is a professor and chair of the department of neurology at Yale School of Medicine. She also serves as chief of neurology at Yale New Haven Hospital and the Yale New Haven Health System. Professor Khatri earned a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and a medical degree at the University of Chicago.
Soomin Jeong was the recipient of the Stroke Basic Science Award. She is a postdoctoral fellow at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The Stroke Basic Science Award recognizes outstanding laboratory-based basic or translational science. Dr. Jeong is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where she majored in cell and molecular biology. She holds a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from Seoul National University in South Korea and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Daniela Renedo received the Mordecai Y.T. Globus New Investigator Award. She is an endovascular neurosurgery fellow in the department of neurosurgery at Yale School of Medicine. Her research focuses on the socioeconomic and biological underpinnings of neurovascular disease, with an emphasis on multi-omics approaches, large-scale population cohorts, and precision medicine. She completed her medical degree at Austral University 
Beth Meyerand was named vice provost and dean of the Graduate School at the University of Rhode Island. She most recently served as associate dean of the Graduate School and the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the departments of medical physics and biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over her three decades at Wisconsin, she served in other leadership roles, including department chair and vice provost for faculty and staff affairs.
Carolyn Henry was named dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. She comes to her new role from the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, where she previously served as the first-ever woman dean. Dr. Henry has been serving as director of the college’s Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction. A veterinary oncologist, she specializes in general practice, emergency medicine, cancer care, and clinical trials.
Libby Metcalf has been appointed dean of the University of Montana’s W.A. College of Forestry and Conservation, making her the first woman to lead the college in its 112-year history. A full professor with the college, Dr. Metcalf will also serve as director of the Montana Forest and Conservation Experiment Station. Earlier in her tenure, she was the college’s senior associate dean and the Joel Meier Distinguished Professor of Wildland Management.
Carol Bradford was named interim executive vice president for health affairs and interim dean of the University of Minnesota Medical School. For the past five years, Dr. Bradford has served as dean of the Ohio State University College of Medicine and vice president for health sciences at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. A physician-scientist in the field of otolaryngology, she previously worked for the University of Michigan as executive vice dean of academic affairs and chief academic officer for Michigan Medicine.
Stephanie L. Kirschmann has been appointed vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. Most recently, Dr. Kirschmann was chief administrative officer for Trinity Medical Sciences University in Georgia. Earlier, she spent seven years as vice president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. She has also held leadership roles with LeTourneau University in Texas, Richmont Graduate University in Nashville, and Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tennessee.
Megan Johnson, associate professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and women’s health at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, has received the 2025 Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics (APGO) Humanism in Teaching Award. The national honor recognizes outstanding role models in the teaching of OB-GYN. Awardees are considered not only skilled clinicians but also outstanding educators who foster compassionate, respectful, and collaborative relationships with learners, healthcare teams, patients, and families.
Savita Sharma is the new assistant dean for finance and business operations for the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University. Since 2020, Sharma has served as assistant dean for finance, operations, and information technology for the university’s Graduate School. Earlier in her career, she was chief of staff to the vice president for finance at Virginia Tech.
Angie Abbott has been promoted to associate dean and director of Purdue Extension. She has held the role on an interim basis for the past two years. Dr. Abbott began her career with Purdue University as director and extension specialist for the nutrition education program. She was named assistant dean for Purdue Extension in 2017.
Ashley Conner was named vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics at Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Florida. She first joined the university’s athletics administration team in July 2023 as the associate athletic director for student services and senior woman administrator. Earlier, she was the university’s executive director of student success and retention.
Farah Kashlan has been appointed vice president for institutional advancement and alumni relations at the American University of Cairo in Egypt. For the past 12 years, Kashlan has served as director of development for the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Before Georgia Tech, she held advancement and development roles for Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia.
Erin Wiggins Gilliam has been named vice provost for student academic progression at Albany State University in Georgia. With over two decades of experience in higher education, Dr. Gilliam has held several key administrative positions with Kentucky State University, including associate provost for academic affairs, assistant vice president for student success, dean of graduate studies, and dean of the Honors College.
Amanda James is vice president for enrollment management and marketing at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Prior to her new role, she was the university’s associate vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions. Before joining the Winthrop administration in 2017, she was director of educational partnerships for Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California.
Amanda Izzo, associate professor of women and gender studies at Saint Louis University in Missouri, recently received the Jane Dempsey Douglass Prize from the American Society of Church History. The annual award recognizes the prior year’s best published essay on the role of women in the history of Christianity.
Megan Hershey is the Amy M. Ryan Endowed Professor at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington. A professor of political science, Dr. Hershey has taught at Whitworth since 2011. Her scholarship centers on civil society in East Africa. Through her new endowed appointment, Dr. Hershey plans to travel to Kenya to meet with leaders of recent Gen Z protests and explore the gender dynamics of the movement, as well as the ways faith threads through the protestors’ efforts.
Karla Erickson is the Rosenfield Professor of Social Studies at Grinnell College in Iowa, where she serves as chair of the sociology department. As a feminist ethnographer of labor, Dr. Erickson studies interaction and community in market exchanges. Her most recent monograph is 
Linda S. Wilson, president emerita of Radcliffe College, passed away on January 1. She was 89 years old.
Angela Garcia Falconetti, current president of Polk State College in Winter Park, Florida, has been named interim president of the University of North Florida. Dr. Falconetti, a two-time alumna of the university, confirmed she will not be applying for the permanent position of president, but will guide her alma mater as it searches for its next official leader.
As Dr. Falconetti steps into her new appointment, Anne B. Kerr, president emerita of Florida Southern College, has been named interim president of Polk State College.
Teresa Rich has been named the seventeenth president of Yakima Valley College in Yakima, Washington. She has led the college on an interim basis since August 2024.
Krista Stonerock has been named provost at Ohio Christian University in Circleville.
Alisa J. Rosenthal has been named provost and chief academic officer at Denison University in Granville. Her appointment is effective July 1.
Ghanshyam Heda, professor of biology at Mississippi University for Women, was awarded a $75,000 grant from the Mississippi Research Alliance to support research on cystic fibrosis. The grant will fund two undergraduate student research opportunities for the upcoming spring and summer semesters, as well as support for a full-time faculty presence during the summer semester.
Fengyuan Huang, a biomedical researcher at Tuskegee University in Alabama, received a $1.2 million grant from the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama to investigate the link between obesity and breast cancer. Along with other researchers from Tuskegee’s Genomic Research Center, Dr. Huang will investigate the genetic mechanisms that result in breast cancer growth, aiming to reveal more effective and personalized treatment interventions.
The University of Miami Health System received a major gift from Tony and Sandra Tamer to establish the Tamer Institute for Women’s Health within UHealth and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The new program will combine clinical excellence, research innovation, and education to deliver seamless, comprehensive patient care across the lifespan, from prevention to complex specialty treatments.
Talladega College in Alabama has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Women’s Foundation of Alabama to advance women’s economic opportunity through education, workforce preparation, and leadership development. The new funding will support initiatives relating to job skills training and credentialing, housing stability, savings and credit-building efforts, leadership development for women professionals, and business development for women entrepreneurs.