Fairleigh Dickinson University has announced that Dr. Benjamin Rifkin will become the university’s new Dean of the Maxwell Becton College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Rifkin is currently Professor of Russian and formerly Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science, Including the School of Education, at Hofstra University. He was previously the Provost at Ithaca College and before that the Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at The College of New Jersey. He has an impressive record of scholarship in Russian studies and language pedagogy. His service to his discipline have been widely recognized by his peers, as has his advocacy on behalf of students, women, and interfaith dialogue. He is currently much in demand as a speaker on the events in Eastern Europe and Russia. Dr. Rifkin received his BA and MA in Russian and East European Studies from Yale and his PhD in Slavic Language and Literature from the University of Michigan. This past year, he was awarded the degree Doctor of Letters honoris causa by Middlebury College. Read more here.
Dr. André Stephens has been selected as the next president of Fresno Pacific University. He will assume the presidency on July 1, 2022. Dr. Stephens has 30 years of experience in Christian higher education in California, most recently as vice president for student development at Biola University. Previous to the vice presidency, Stephens was associate vice president of university admissions. Under his leadership, Biola saw 12 consecutive years of enrollment growth. Dr. Stephens completed his B.A. in Communication with a public relations emphasis from Biola, his M.A. in Speech Communication with an emphasis in intercultural/interpersonal communication from California State University at Fullerton and his Ph.D. in Education with an emphasis in higher education administration/student affairs from Claremont Graduate University. Read more here.
The Cuyahoga Community College Board of Trustees has announced the appointment of Dr. Michael A. Baston as Tri-C's fifth President. Dr. Baston currently serves as President of Rockland Community College, where he has led numerous initiatives to spur growth and increase educational pathways. Among many other professional honors and activities, Dr. Baston is a member of the American Association of Community Colleges Board of Directors, chairing its Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from Iona College, a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, and an Ed.D. in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher College. Read more here.
The University of Nebraska Medical Center has appointed Ms. Anne Barnes as Vice Chancellor for Business, Finance and Business Development. She will begin her new role on June 1, 2022. Ms. Barnes is currently the Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Finance at the University of Oklahoma, College of Medicine, and has served as the principal business officer for the College of Medicine. More recently, she served as the chief administrative officer for OU Physicians, the physician faculty practice plan. Ms. Barnes established her career at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, joining in 1996 as an Assistant Dean for Finance before advancing to Associate Dean position and then, in 2012, into her current role. Ms. Barnes received her B.B.A. from Oklahoma Baptist University and M.B.A. from Oklahoma City University. A certified public accountant, she serves on the planning committee for the Association of Academic Health Centers Senior Administrators/Fiscal Offices and is a past national chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges Group on Business Affairs. Read more here.
Wheaton College has announced the appointment of Dr. Vanessa Wynder Quainoo as Chief Intercultural Engagement Officer. Dr. Quainoo will serve as a member of the Senior Administration Cabinet and provide leadership for defining and meeting campus-wide diversity and inclusion goals and play a central role in fostering and sustaining a vision for biblical diversity. Dr. Quainoo currently serves as an Associate Professor at the University of Rhode Island, with joint appointments in the Departments of Communications Studies and Africana Studies. Dr. Quainoo’s expertise includes social rhetoric and race discourse. In addition to earning a Bachelor’s in Speech Communication from Wheaton College, she holds a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and a Master's in Oral Performance from Western Illinois University. Read more here.
University of Portland (UP) has appointed its 21st president, Dr. Robert Kelly, most recently Vice President, Special Assistant, and Clinical Professor at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland. He becomes the first lay president and African American to lead UP in its 121-year history. Dr. Kelly has had an accomplished career in higher education, much of which at Catholic and other faith-based institutions. He holds a PhD in Philosophy, Education Policy, Planning and Administration from the University of Maryland; a master’s degree in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration from the University of Vermont; and a bachelor’s degree in Arts and Political Science from Loyola University Maryland. Dr. Kelly served as Vice President for Student Development and adjunct professor of Education at Seattle University; Chief of Staff to the President of Union College; Associate Dean of Students, and Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs at the University of Vermont; and Assistant Director of Residential Life at Colgate University. Read more here.
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.