Dr. Chris Mallett has been appointed as the new President of Weber State University. He is slated to begin his duties on August 1. Dr. Mallett currently serves as chief administrative officer at Northeastern University’s Roux Institute. He previously spent nearly 14 years at Western Governors University as part of the institution’s founding team. Dr. Mallett earned his undergraduate degrees — associate and bachelor’s — from Weber State University, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Utah, and a doctorate in education from Pepperdine University. Read more.
Mr. Andrew Adle has been appointed as the new Executive Director of Budget at Bowie State University. He began his duties on May 27, 2026. An accomplished higher education finance and budget professional, Mr. Adle brings more than a decade of experience in financial strategy, budget administration, and organizational modernization across institutions within the University System of Maryland. Currently serving as Budget Officer at Prince George’s Community College, he provides executive leadership for campus-wide budgeting, position control, forecasting, capital planning, and financial governance while advising senior leadership and the Board of Trustees on long-range fiscal strategy and institutional decision-making. Prior to joining Prince George’s Community College, Mr. Adle served as an Analyst at the University of Maryland College Park, where he managed and forecasted components of the institution’s $3 billion annual budget, led enterprise financial reporting initiatives, and supported state and federal compliance reporting. Earlier, at University of Maryland Global Campus, Mr. Adle held several progressively responsible roles, including Budget Analyst, Adjunct Professor of Finance and Economics, Assistant Program Director, Senior Degree Auditor, and Academic Advisor. During this time, he managed large-scale personnel budgeting and position control operations across domestic and international regions, contributed to the implementation of Adaptive Insights forecasting systems, developed financial training and reporting frameworks, and taught undergraduate courses in corporate finance, risk management, and financial management. Mr. Adle earned a Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from the University of Maryland College Park and a Master of International Financial Management from University of Maryland Global Campus.
Dr. Chris Corcoran has been appointed as the new Provost at Utah State University. Dr. Corcoran has had a distinguished career at Utah State and currently serves as an Endowed Professor of Analytics and as the department head for data analytics and information systems in the School of Business. As noted in the press release, "He founded the Analytics Solutions Center to provide paid experiential learning and work experience opportunities to 150-plus students across USU and engage hundreds of others through extracurricular programming. Dr. Corcoran received his Ph.D. in biostatistics and genetic epidemiology from Harvard University and a B.S. in statistics and computer science from Utah State. He joined USU as an assistant professor in 1999 and became a full professor in 2011." Dr. Corcoran will assume his new position on July 1. Read more.
Dr. Alfred Watkins has been appointed as the new Senior Director of STEM-S and Data Science Initiatives at the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC). Prior to this appointment, Dr. Watkins served as Interim Senior Director of the Data Science Initiative at AUCC. He brings extensive experience in STEM education and workforce development, data science strategy and implementation, innovation ecosystems, emerging technologies, and public-private partnerships that support economic growth. Before joining AUCC, Dr. Watkins spent more than a decade at Morehouse College, where he served as a computer science professor, academic program director, and department chair. In his new role, Dr. Watkins will play a key part in advancing AUCC’s mission to expand access to high-quality STEM education and promote interdisciplinary collaboration across its member institutions. Dr. Watkins earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also holds an M.S. in Computer Science from Howard University and a B.A. in Computer Science from Morehouse College. Read more.
Ms. Jennifer Soyka has been appointed as the new General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary to the Board at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She will begin on June 1, 2026. Ms. Soyka currently serves as the Assistant Deputy General Counsel at Rutgers University. She joined Rutgers in January 2018 and focuses on providing legal advice, counsel and guidance related to procurement, international studies, finance, and other transactional matters, including general contract review. Prior to joining Rutgers, Jennifer served as Associate General Counsel at Kean University, where she had primary responsibility for all transactional legal matters. She joined Kean as Director of Purchasing. Before her employment at Kean, Ms. Soyka served as Director of Project Management at the New Jersey Educational Facilities Authority, the New Jersey State authority responsible for the issuance of debt on behalf of New Jersey Colleges and Universities. She began her career as a public finance attorney in New Jersey. Ms. Soyka received her B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis and her J.D. from Washington University School of Law.
Dr. George Wesley Hitt has been appointed as the new Inaugural Chair of the Department of Engineering at the College of Charleston. He will begin on July 20, 2026. Dr. Hitt comes to the College of Charleston with a wealth of experience initiating and growing engineering programs at Coastal Carolina University and Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. He is dedicated to student success, and he has experience collaborating across many disciplines including the humanities, fine arts, business, and STEM. He brings a strong background in interdisciplinary engineering, having contributed to program development and accreditation efforts both in the United States and internationally. As the Inaugural Chair of Engineering at the College of Charleston, Hitt will focus on supporting faculty excellence, growing innovative academic programs, and strengthening the College’s distinctive model of undergraduate engineering education. Dr. Hitt received a B.Sc. in Physics from Virginia Commonwealth University and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. degree in experimental nuclear physics from Michigan State University. He was previously a Postdoctoral Scholar with the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory, then an Associate Professor with the Department of Nuclear Engineering, Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Following his time at Khalifa University, he served as an Associate Professor with the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University. Most recently, he was Professor and Chair of the Department of Physics and Engineering Science at Coastal Carolina University, where he achieved ABET accreditation and led significant growth in engineering enrollment, degree productivity, and student success. Under his leadership, engineering enrollment more than doubled, degree production nearly tripled, and retention of Pell-eligible and underrepresented students improved substantially through targeted mentoring and supportive program development.
Dr. Ramana Chintalapalle has been appointed as the new Director of the Ion Beam Laboratory and Professor in the Department of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University of Albany. He will begin on September 1, 2026. Dr. Chintalapalle currently serves a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and the Director of the Center for Advanced Materials Research at the University of Texas, El Paso. His research expertise is towards developing and/or engineering advanced structural materials for application in the energy production, storage and conversion, utilization and management. Dr. Chintalapalle’s is extensive contributions are towards a deeper understanding of multifunctional materials physical/chemical/electronic behavior, manufacturing and associate mechanics at the reduced (micro/nano) dimensionality, with materials/device fabrication, characterization and performance evaluation playing a significant role in his research. His research also focuses on a thin-film/surfaces/interfaces growth and plasma-based advanced manufacturing of next generation materials, which will have direct application in power generation system, batteries, fuel cells, and photovoltaics. He has been involved with various research projects related to nanomaterials, ceramic coatings, and surface/interface engineering of advanced materials. Dr. Chintalapalle earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Applied Physics and his M.S. in Physics and Electronics Engineering from Sri Venkateswara University, and his B.S. in Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry from Sri Krishnadevaray University.
Sarah Westberg, PharmD, has been appointed as the new Dean of the Anderson Family College of Health Sciences at Bethel University. Dr. Westberg joins Bethel from the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy, where she has served as professor and associate dean for professional affairs. In that role, she led initiatives connecting academic programs with professional practice, strengthened partnerships across healthcare systems, and supported continuing professional development for faculty. Dr. Westberg earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Drake University and completed a pharmaceutical care leadership residency at the University of Minnesota. She is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist and licensed pharmacist, served as co-associate dean of clinical affairs, and directed a large ambulatory care residency program. Read more.
Dr. Veronique V. Tran has been appointed as the new President and CEO at Gateway Technical College effective July 1, 2026. Dr. Tran comes to Gateway from Dallas College, where she served as the institution’s Founding Vice Provost for the School of Manufacturing & Industrial Technology. She is recognized for building high-impact academic, career, and technical education programs; strengthening student success outcomes; and aligning education systems with workforce demand and regional economic priorities. Her leadership is grounded in a student-centered approach and a commitment to collaborative innovation—bringing together faculty, staff, industry, and community partners to design programs and systems that expand opportunity, strengthen career pathways, and deliver results aligned with evolving workforce and regional needs. Dr. Tran earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston, and a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Texas at Arlington. Read more.