Public Institution

Stony Brook University has successfully appointed Ms. Caitlin Derderian as their new Senior Director of Development, Stony Brook Medicine. Ms. Derderian started her duties on June 3rd. Ms. Derderian comes to Stony Brook from Emory University, where she has served as the Director of Regional Advancement since 2019.  Prior to Emory, she served for 2 years at Mount Sinai Medical Center as Associate Director of Annual Programs & Children's Health. Ms. Derderian earned a B.A. in psychology from Providence College. 

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has successfully appointed Ms. Stephanie Pope as the Vice Chancellor for Administration & Finance. Ms. Pope will begin her new role on July 29, 2024. Ms. Pope is a strategic-thinking finance professional with 23 years of college and university leadership experience. She currently serves as the Vice President of Finance and Facilities at Minnesota North College in Hibbing, Minnesota. As VP, Ms. Pope provided leadership, direction, and policy and procedure development and implementation college-wide and in the areas of direct report including finance, budget, business services, IT, facilities, safety and security, institutional research, and auxiliary services. Ms. Pope holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point as well as a Master’s in Business Administration from Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2023, she earned the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Outstanding Service Award. Read more.

Purdue University has successfully appointed Ms. Kay Parker as their new Controller. Ms. Parker will begin her duties with the University on June 17th. Ms. Parker worked in the Financial Office at Purdue as the Accounting Systems Manager and the Manager of Financial Reporting from 2005-2013. Since 2013, she has served as the Director of Internal Control at Indiana Packers Corporation and most recently as the Controller at Saab. Ms. Parker holds a BS in Accounting from Indiana University and an MBA from Purdue University.

The University of Wisconsin La Crosse has successfully appointed Ms. Stacy Narcotta-Welp as their next Vice Chancellor, Diversity and Inclusion. Ms. Narcotta-Welp transitioned into her new position on May 20th. Ms. Narcotta-Welp brings over twenty years of experience leading staff; engaging in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) work; implementing grant funding; and designing and delivering programs with high impact practices across a wide range of settings. She is experienced in using best practices to assess constituent-specific, departmental, and institution- wide needs related to DEIB programming, holistic advising, leadership development, tutoring, and student services. Ms. Narcotta-Welp has proven her ability to create, align, implement, and assess strategic plans that address DEIB programming, student success, and retention goals in higher education. Ms. Narcotta-Welp earned her bachelor's in Anthropology from the University of Tulsa and her master's in Counseling, Rehabilitation, and Student Development from the University of Iowa.

Stony Brook University has successfully appointed Mr. Matthew Simons as their Director of Development, Metro NY. Mr. Simons will begin on May 22nd. Mr. Simons comes to Stony Brook from Northeastern University, where he has served as Associate Director of Leadership Giving since 2023.  Prior to Northeastern, he served for 6 years at Boston College, first as Development Assistant, then Assistant Director of Annual Giving, and finally as Assistant Director of Leadership Giving. Mr. Simons earned an M.S. in Leadership and Administration from Boston College and a B.A. in History from College of the Holy Cross. 

Dr. Laurence Alexander has been appointed as the new Chancellor of the University of Michigan-Flint. Dr. Alexander will begin his new role on July 1, 2024. For the past 11 years, Dr. Alexander has served as Chancellor and CEO of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has successfully appointed Dr. Julia Getchell as their new Chief Human Resources Officer. Dr. Getchell will begin her duties with UWL at the end of June. Since 2019, Dr. Getchell has served as the Chief Human Resources Officer at Washington State Vancouver and previously served as Director of Academic Employee and Labor Relations at Portland State University in Oregon. She earned her doctoral and master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa. 

Dr. Justin Schwartz has been apointed as the new Chancellor of University of Colorado, Boulder. Dr. Schwartz will join CU Boulder on July 1. Dr. Schwartz currently is executive vice president and provost at Pennsylvania State University, a post he has held since 2022. 

The University of Idaho has successfully appointed Aviva Abramovsky, J.D. has their new dean of the College of Law. Professor Abramovsky will begin at University of Idaho on a part-time basis in late May and transition to full-time June 10. Presently, Professor Abramovsky is the William J. Magavern Faculty Scholar, Dean Emerita, and Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo School of Law. From 2017 to 2023, she served as the law school’s 19th permanent dean and was the first woman to hold the position. Under her leadership, Professor Abramovsky established the law school as a hub for legal education at all levels. In addition to the traditional JD program, four LLM programs, and a two-year degree for internationally trained attorneys, she oversaw the launch of an undergraduate program in law – one of just two in the nation - and a brand new Doctor of Juridical Science. Prior to her appointment as the dean of the UB School of Law, Professor Abramovsky served as the Kaufman Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and an associate dean at Syracuse University College of Law, where she led the school’s internationalization efforts. She spearheaded a Master of Laws (LLM) and two-year Juris Doctor (JD) programs for foreign lawyers, launched a visiting scholars and researchers program, developed partnerships to enable a new international student exchange program, and created a legal English pre-matriculation program. A member of the American Law Institute and winner of the New York State Bar Association Professor David D. Siegel Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to the study of New York law, Professor Abramovsky is an acknowledged expert in the fields of insurance law, commercial law, regulation of financial entities and legal ethics. She is the author of “Uniform Commercial Code, West’s McKinney’s Forms for New York,” as well as numerous other book chapters and articles in the fields of insurance and commercial law. Professor Abramovsky has served twice as an academic evaluator for the American Bar Association’s federal judiciary committees, once for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito and again for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor. She is the former chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Autonomous Vehicles and the Law. Professor Abramovsky received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and her B.S. from Cornell University. Read more. 

The Utah System of Higher Education has selected Gregory F. Peterson, Ed.D., as the ninth president of Salt Lake Community College. Dr. Peterson will assume the position on July 1, 2024. Dr. Peterson currently serves as the president of Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona. Throughout his career, he has led key efforts in student learning and success impacting over 100,000 students, including developing transfer partnerships and college promise programs at multiple institutions and launching the first community college Artificial Intelligence program in the nation. Dr. Peterson has worked closely with industry partners and community leaders in strengthening workforce pipelines for students into family-sustaining careers and has served on local, state and national organizations to advance these efforts. He brings experience in student affairs and instructional programs and has worked at urban, suburban and rural community colleges. Dr. Peterson was selected as an Aspen New President Fellow and was recently recognized as the East Valley Man of the Year by Positive Paths. Dr. Peterson holds a doctorate in educational administration with an emphasis in community college leadership from the University of Texas at Austin; a master’s degree in postsecondary, adult and continuing education from Portland State University; and a bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University. As a first-generation community college student, Dr. Peterson has a passion and commitment to the community college mission of access and success for all students. Read more.