Five Women Named to Dean Positions

Millicent Lownes-Jackson is the new dean of the College of Business at Tennessee State University in Nashville. She is the first women to serve as dean of the business school. She has previously served the university as interim provost and executive vice president and associate dean of the College of Business.

Dr. Lownes-Jackson is a graduate of Fisk University in Nashville. She holds an MBA and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University.

Laura Oster-Aaland was promoted to dean of enrollment management at North Dakota State University. She has been on the staff at the university since 1990 and most recently served as director of orientation and student success programs.

Dr. Oster-Aaland holds a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree in speech communication, and a doctorate in education, all from North Dakota State University.

Patricia M. Biesiot was appointed interim dean of the College of Science and Technology at the University of Southern Mississippi. She has been serving as associate dean and has been with the university for more than 23 years.

Dr. Biesiot is a marine biologist, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. She earned a Ph.D. from MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Lorraine Fleming was named interim dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Computer Sciences at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Fleming joined the Howard faculty in 1985 and is a professor and former chair of the department of civil engineering.

Dr. Fleming is a graduate of Howard University. She earned a master’s degree at George Washington University and a Ph.D. in civil engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

Susan Tornquist was appointed interim dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University in Corvallis. She has been serving as associate dean for the veterinary school.

Dr. Tornquist earned her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Colorado State University. She holds a Ph.D. in veterinary pathology from Washington State University.