New Leaders for Howard University and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System

CHIEF EXECUTIVES
Appointments
Tim Borchers, vice president for academic affairs at Peru State College, in Nebraska, has been named president of West Liberty University.

Jenifer Cushman, chancellor of Pennsylvania State University-Beaver, has been named president of the University of Maine at Augusta.

John Dozier, institute community and equity officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been named president of Columbia College, in South Carolina.

Erika Endrijonas, superintendent and president of Pasadena City College, has been named superintendent and president of the Santa Barbara Community College District.

Jeff Ettinger, chair of the Hormel Foundation Board of Directors, has been named interim president of the University of Minnesota after Joan Gabel’s departure.

Kristie Fisher, president of the Iowa Valley Community College District, has been named president of Kirkwood Community College, also in Iowa.

John Fuchko III, interim president of Columbus State University, has been named interim president of Dalton State College. He replaces Margaret H. Venable, who will step down at the end of the month.

Nerita Hughes, interim associate vice president for academic affairs and work-force innovation and dean of the School of Business, Careers, Education, and Workforce Innovation at North Hennepin Community College, in Minnesota, has been named president of Bay College, in Michigan.

Scott Olson, president of Winona State University, has been named chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

Ron K. Patterson, vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion and director of the Presidential Mentors Academy at the University of North Alabama, has been named president of Chadron State College.

Kelly Ryan, interim chancellor at Indiana University Southeast, has been named president of Eastern Oregon University. She replaces Lara Moore and Richard Chaves, who have served as co-interim presidents since Tom Insko stepped down to become president and chief executive of a wood-products company last year.

Heather Smith, vice president for ambulatory services and former vice president for pediatrics at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., has been named president of College of Saint Mary, in Omaha.

Ben Vinson III, provost at Case Western Reserve University, in Ohio, has been named president of Howard University, in Washington, D.C. He will succeed Wayne A.I. Frederick, who will step down this year.

William S. Wainwright, chancellor of Northshore Technical Community College, in Louisiana, has been named president of Southeastern Louisiana University.

Resignations
Kim Cassidy, president since 2013 of Bryn Mawr College, in Pennsylvania, will step down in June 2024.

Carlos Cortez, chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, has resigned in order to care for his parents.

Nick Ladany, president of Oglethorpe University, will step down in June. Kathryn McClymond, the Georgia university’s provost, has been named interim president.

Linda Oubré, president of Whittier College, in California, will step down at the end of June.

Stephen G. Wells, president of New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, will step down because of health issues.

CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS
Appointments
Charles Lee Isbell Jr., dean of the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has been named provost for the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Vini Nathan has been named provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Auburn University after serving as interim provost since March 2022.

Kelby Hochreither / Penn State

Justin Schwartz has been named executive vice president and provost at Pennsylvania State University at University Park after holding the role in an interim capacity since August 2022.

Resignations
Persis Drell, provost at Stanford University since 2017, will step down later this year.

OTHER TOP ADMINISTRATORS
Appointments
Terryl Brown, deputy commissioner of legal affairs and administration for the New York City Fire Department, has been named vice president and general counsel at Pace University.

Hernan Bucheli, vice president for enrollment at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, has been named interim vice president for strategic enrollment management and student success at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Katie Callow-Wright, executive vice president at the University of Chicago, has been named executive vice president at Princeton University.

Chrissy Downwind, executive director of the American Indian Resource Center at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College, has been named vice president for American Indian student success and campus diversity officer.

Jimmie Foster Jr., a former vice president for enrollment management at Franklin & Marshall College, has been named vice president for enrollment planning at the College of Charleston, in South Carolina.

Allyssa Joseph, director of development at Metropolitan State University of Denver, has been named vice president for advancement at Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College.

Alexis J. McLean, dean of students at the City University of New York Medgar Evers College, has been named vice president for student affairs at CUNY’s LaGuardia Community College.

Lauren S. Rivera has been named vice president for student life and dean of students at the University of Scranton after serving as interim vice president and dean.

Laura Rugless, associate vice president for the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX at Cornell University, has been named vice president for civil rights and Title IX education and compliance at Michigan State University.

DEANS
Appointments
Abimbola O. Asojo, associate dean of faculty at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs and a professor of interior design at the School of Architecture in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota, has been named dean of the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University.

Eva D. Badowska, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences at Fordham University, has been named dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Hofstra University.

Ruma Chopra, a professor of history and co-founder and director of the honors program at San Jose State University, has been named dean of the School for Cultural and Social Transformation at the University of Utah.

Michelle Clare has been named vice provost for continuing education and dean of the College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies at the University of Cincinnati after serving as interim dean since August 2022.

Nicole Dafoe, interim dean of the College of Engineering and Science at Slippery Rock University, has been named to the post permanently.

Victoria Vaughan Dickson, a professor and associate dean of research innovation in the Rory Meyers College of Nursing at New York University, has been named dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Connecticut.

Tom Dowd, associate dean in the School of Media Arts at Columbia College Chicago, has been named interim dean of the school.

Stephen Ferris, dean of the Miller College of Business at Ball State University, has been named dean of the Eberly College of Business at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Lisa A. Freeman, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has been named to the post permanently.

Vishal Gaur, a professor of manufacturing management and operations, technology, and information management at Cornell University, has been named dean of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management.

David Grewell, chair of the department of industrial and manufacturing engineering at North Dakota State University, has been named dean of the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology at Northern Illinois University.

Trisha Leann Horsley, a professor and dean of the College of Nursing at East Tennessee State University, has been named dean of the School of Nursing at Texas A&M University at College Station.

Eric Lau, dean of the Honors College and the University College at the University of New Mexico, has been named dean of the College of Music and Dramatic Arts at Louisiana State University at Baton Rouge.

Thomas A. Lewis, interim dean of the Graduate School at Brown University, has been named to the post permanently.

Rafael Lorente, associate dean of academic affairs and director of the master’s program in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland at College Park, has been named dean of the college.

Laura Lee McIntyre, interim dean of the College of Education at the University of Oregon, has been named to the post permanently.

Jennifer Mueller, dean of the College of Education and Learning Design at St. Cloud State University, has been named dean of the College of Education at DePaul University.

Timothy O’Keefe, former dean of the College of Business and Economics at Longwood University, has been named dean of the Beacom School of Business at the University of South Dakota.

Pamela J. Powell, associate dean of the College of Education at Northern Arizona University, has been named dean of the Beverley Taylor Sorenson College of Education and Human Development at Southern Utah University.

Hazem Rashed-Ali, associate dean of research and innovation in the Huckabee College of Architecture at Texas Tech University, has been named dean of the College of Architecture and Construction Management at Kennesaw State University, in Georgia.

Quilian Riano, interim dean of the the School of Architecture at Pratt Institute, has been named to the post permanently.

Leigh Ann Ross, associate dean of clinical affairs, director of the Center for Clinical and Translational Science, and a professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Mississippi, has been named dean of the Harrison College of Pharmacy at Auburn University.

Denise Schoenbachler, a professor and former dean of the College of Business at Northern Illinois University, has been named interim dean of the college.

Bridget Trogden, associate dean of engagement and general education in the division of undergraduate studies and a professor in the department of engineering and science education at Clemson University, has been named dean of undergraduate education and academic student services at American University.

Ann Vail, a professor in the department of family sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment at the University of Kentucky, has been named dean of the Graduate School at the University of South Carolina at Columbia.

Resignations
Kelli Klebe, dean of the Graduate School at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, will step down and return to the faculty this fall.

Retirements
Beth Rubin, dean of adult and online education at Campbell University, will retire at the end of July.

OTHER ADMINISTRATORS
Appointments
Eric Beerbohm, a professor of government and faculty affiliate in the department of philosophy at Harvard University, has been named director of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics.

Michael Hotchkiss, director of media relations at Princeton University, has been named assistant vice president in the Office of Communications.

Mark Liles, acting associate dean of research and graduate studies in the College of Sciences and Mathematics at Auburn University, has been named to the post permanently.

John Massena, director of admissions at the University of Montana, has been named associate vice president for enrollment at Webster University, in Missouri.

DEATHS
Bear F. Braumoeller, founder and director of the MESO (Modeling Emergent Social Order) Research Lab at Ohio State University, died on May 3. He was 55.

Stanley Deser, a professor emeritus of physics at Brandeis University, died on April 21. He was 92.

Alison J. Dray-Novey, a former chair of the history department at Notre Dame University of Maryland, died on March 28. She was 77.

Robert C. Gregg, a former dean of religious life at Stanford University, died on March 20. He was 84.

Fred Siegel, a professor emeritus at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, died on May 7. He was 78.

Ronald Steel, a biographer and former professor of international relations at the University of Southern California, died on May 7. He was 92.

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