Dr. Fincher has served as Emory & Henry University's interim president since August 2024. She has been an administrator with the university for over a decade, serving as senior vice president and founding dean of the School of Health Sciences.
Hee Lee, Robin Boylorn, and Catherine Roach have been named Distinguished Research Professors at the University of Alabama. Claire Howell Major has been named a Distinguished Teaching Professor.
Professor Campbell was honored for her article, "Critical Legal Research, Artificial Intelligence, and Systemic Racism: Teaching with Jim Crow Text-Mining," which discusses a UNC initiative to use artificial intelligence to identify racially based laws passed in North Carolina between 1865 and 1967.
Dr. Johnston was president of the College of Coastal Georgia. Previously, she served as president of the University of Rio Grande in Ohio and held administrative and faculty positions with the University of Montevallo in Alabama, the University of Louisiana Monroe, and Mississippi State University.
Dr. Evan's appointment as president of St. Catherine University is the second time she has been named the first African American president of a higher education institution. She previously served as the first woman and first Black president of Bloomfield College in New Jersey.
In 1970, Dr. Prewitt joined the faculty at the University of Alabama as its first-ever Black woman professor. She served the university as an associate professor of business for over two decades prior to taking on academic and administrative leadership positions with Stillman College.
“As a servant leader, I am confident I will be an effective President for the University of the Virgin Islands and will remain humble and grounded with a sincere desire to improve outcomes and the lives of students, faculty, staff, and the community," says Safiya George, who will assume the role of president of the University of the Virgin Islands this summer.
The new deans are Miko Rose at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Tracy Cole at Arkansas Tech University, Marcy Kelly at Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York, and Joyce Alexander at the University of Alabama.
Dr. Acoff became dean of the School of Engineering at the University of Mississippi on July 1. She is the first woman and first African American to hold the position. From 2014 to 2023, she was the associate dean for undergraduate and graduate programs at the University of Alabama.
Dr. Messer comes to Texas Wesleyan from Jacksonville State University in Alabama where she served as vice president for advancement and enrollment management. Earlier, Dr. Messer was the vice president of enrollment management, assistant dean of students, and director of student life at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia.
The new deans are Ruma Chopra at the University of Utah, Deborah L. Nelson at the University of Chicago, Sheryl Long at Meredith College in North Carolina, Abimbola O. Asojo at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Jill Swisher at Northwestern College in Iowa, Julie Sanford at the University of Alabama, M. Evelyn Fields at South Carolina State University, and Laura Curran at the University of Connecticut.
