A Dozen New Appointments

Kim Pate was named director of athletics at the University of Illinois, Springfield. She will become acting director on July 26 and will become the permanent director on August 16.  She has been serving as the athletics director at Brevard College in North Carolina.

A native of Canada, Pate is a summa cum laude graduate of Brevard College and earned an MBA at Western Carolina University.

Laura Conour is the new director of laboratory animal research and attending veterinarian at Princeton University. She was the senior director of U.S. laboratory animal medicine for preclinical services at Charles River Laboratories in Massachusetts. Previously she has taught at Mount Ida College, Thomas Jefferson University, Washington University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Conour earned bachelor’s and doctoral degrees in veterinary medicine at the University of Illinois.

Megan Seibel was appointed director of the Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results (VALOR) program at Virginia Tech. The new program will include education programs to develop leaders and promote agriculture in Virginia.

Seibel is a graduate of James Madison University and holds a master’s degree from Virginia Tech. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at Virginia Tech.

Tiffany L. Stanley was named managing editor of a new online journal that will be published by the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University in St. Louis. The journal will focus on the role of religion in public life, the political arena, and in higher education. Stanley has been working as a reporter for The New Republic.

A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia, Stanley earned a master’s degree in divinity from Harvard University.

Jennifer D’Andrea is the new director of counseling and psychological services at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. She has been a part-time psychoanalyst at the university for the past two years.

Dr. D’Andrea is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross. She earned a master’s degree at Boston College and a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Fordham University.

Jennifer Graf Sims was named staff ombuds officer at the University of Texas in Austin. She was associate ombuds officer for Bridgeport Education in San Diego. She previously taught at the University of Hawaii.

Sims is a graduate of the University of Illinois and holds a master’s degree in community and cultural psychology from the University of Hawaii.

Cheryl B. Torsney was named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York at New Paltz. She has been serving as vice president and dean at Hiram College in Ohio. She is expected to serve in the post for one year while a search for a permanent provost is conducted.

Dr. Torsney is a graduate of Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. She holds a master’s degree from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida.

Ellen Watson was appointed interim vice president for information technology and chief information officer at the University of Memphis. Since 2008 she has served as associate vice president for information technology at the university.

Watson previously served as an IT officer at St. Louis University, Loyola University of Chicago, Bradley University, and Indiana State University.

Lindsay Key was named communications officer for the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech. She was a research communications specialist at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Key is a graduate of Virginia Tech and holds a master’s degree in creative writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Sarah H. Reichard was appointed director of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens. The Botanic Gardens includes the university’s Center for Urban Horticulture, the 74-acre Union Bay Natural Area and shared oversight of the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle.

Dr. Reichard has been at the University of Washington since 1977. She holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from the university. Earlier this year she published The Conscientious Gardner: Cultivating a Garden Ethic (University of California Press).

On August 1 Julie Nagel will become director of industrial partnerships at the University of Kansas. In this position she will work to convert university technology and science into the marketplace. She has been serving as director of the Oncological Science Center at Purdue University’s Discovery Park.

Dr. Nagel is a graduate of John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. She holds a master’s degree in zoology from Oklahoma State University and a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Tennessee.

Marion Harris was named interim associate dean for academic programs at North Dakota State University’s College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources.  Dr. Harris is a professor of entomology at the university, having served on the faculty since 2000.

Dr. Harris is a graduate of Cornell University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in entomology from Michigan State University.