Provost/Chief Academic Officers

The Community College of Philadelphia has announced the appointment of Dr. Alycia Marshall as Vice President for Academic and Student Success. Dr. Marshall previously served as the Associate Vice President for Learning and Academic Affairs at Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) among other roles during her 22-year tenure at the college.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney has announced the appointment of Dr. Kristen Majocha as Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs beginning July 1, 2022. Dr. Majocha currently serves as Dean of Education and Liberal Arts and the Dean of Social Sciences and Human Services at California University of Pennsylvania.  Previously, she served as the Assistant to the Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, as well as the Director of International Program Support and Services in Student Affairs. She is the current editor of the Iowa Journal of Communication. Dr. Majocha earned a Ph.D. in rhetoric and a Master’s in communication from Duquesne University and a Bachelor of Arts in communication from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.  She is a veteran of the US Navy.  Read more here.

Pratt Institute has announced the appointment of Dr. Donna Heiland as their new provost, effective April 18, 2022. Dr. Heiland has been serving as interim provost and prior to that post, served as Pratt’s vice provost for academic affairs. Dr. Heiland has served on the Board of the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), as vice president of the Teagle Foundation and as director of fellowship programs at the American Council of Learned Societies. She was for many years a tenured faculty member at Vassar College. Dr. Heiland received her Ph.D. in English from Yale University.  Read more here.

University of South Carolina has appointed Dr. Donna K. Arnett as its new Executive VPAA and Provost. Dr. Arnett currently serves as the University of Kentucky’s Dean of the College of Public Health. She will begin her new position at USC on Aug. 1, 2022. Prior to joining Kentucky, Arnett was associate dean and chair of the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and is a past president of the American Heart Association. Dr. Arnett earned a nursing degree from University of South Florida, a master’s in epidemiology and biostatistics from South Florida, and a doctorate in epidemiology from University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.  Read more here.

Gonzaga University has appointed Dr. Sacha E. Kopp as its new Provost. Dr. Kopp currently serves as the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). Previously, Dr. Kopp served in a number of administrative and faculty positions at Syracuse University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and a doctorate from the University of Chicago, and his research has been conducted at particle accelerator facilities nationally and internationally. Read More here.

Augsburg University has announced that Dr. Paula O’Loughlin will become the university’s new provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs effective July 1, 2022. Dr. O’Loughlin has served as provost and dean of the faculty at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, since 2016. Prior to Coe College, she served in leadership positions at Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Minnesota–Morris. Dr. O’Loughlin earned her PhD in political science from the University of Minnesota and her bachelor’s degree in government from Smith College in Northampton, MA. Read more here.

Wells College has announced the appointment of Dr. Susan Henking as Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs. Dr. Henking has a long and distinguished career in higher education having served for over 25 years in the Department of Religious Studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, serving as interim vice president of academic affairs and student affairs, and later president of Salem Academy and College, and president and CEO of Shimer College.  Dr. Henking earned a B.A. in religion and sociology from Duke University. She later earned her M.A. at the University of Chicago Divinity School, where she also obtained her Ph.D. in religion and psychological studies.  Read more here.

St. Anselm College has announced the appointment of Dr. Sheila Liotta as the next Vice President of Academic Affairs. Dr. Liotta was appointed the founding dean of the School of Arts & Sciences at Providence College in 2009. Prior to serving as dean, Dr. Liotta was chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry for eight years. She obtained her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Rutgers University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Cornell University. Read more here.

Dr. Kara Battle has been selected as the Chief Academic Officer for Durham Technical Community College. Dr. Battle has served as the interim CAO at Durham Tech since April 2021 and has a long history with the institution. She has 28 years of experience in higher education, including her time as Dean of Science and Math at Durham Tech. She served as Director of Education at the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical and Biotechnology Research Institute at North Carolina Central University, and worked at Guilford Technical Community College, North Carolina A&T University, and Wytheville Community College (VA). Read more here.

The University of Montana has announced the appointment of Dr. Pardis Mahdavi as its next Provost and Executive Vice President. Dr. Mahdavi currently serves as Dean of Social Sciences at Arizona State University. She earned her B.A. in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College; an M.A. in Anthropology and an M.I.A. in Human Rights from Columbia University; and a Ph.D. in Sociomedical Sciences and Anthropology from Columbia University. She will assume the Provost and EVP position at the University of Montana in early summer 2022. Read more here.