Five Women in New Administrative Posts in Higher Education

Tracy McCracken was named assistant director of education and training for the Center for Public and Corporate Veterinary Medicine at the Virginia/Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. She was a wildlife expert with the U.S. Agency for International Development.

A graduate of Texas A&M University, Dr. McCracken holds a master’s degree in animal health and production from the University of Edinburgh and a doctorate from Virginia/Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.

Brigitte Arduni was appointed director of the Stem Cell Research Core Facility in the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. She was the director of the Rockefeller Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Facility in New York City.

Dr. Arduni is a graduate of Cornell University and holds a Ph.D. in molecular genetics from Ohio State University.

Leah Chamberlain is the new director of field placement for the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas. Chamberlain is responsible for placing student teachers in 120 schools in 16 different school districts. She was a senior director of financial aid and assistant director of study abroad financial services at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

Chamberlain is a graduate of Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She earned a master’s degree at Northwestern University.

Renique T. Kersh was appointed assistant dean for student services and enrollment management at the School of Education of the University of Missouri Kansas City. She was the assistant dean of academic affairs for the College of Applied Health Sciences of the University of Illinois.

Kersh holds a master’s degree from the University of Maryland and is studying for a doctorate at the University of Illinois.

Jennifer Berklas is the new director of human resources for Scripps College in Claremont, California. She was the manager of human resources service operations for Insperity, a business management consulting company based in Diamond Bar, California.

Berklas is a graduate of the University of California Riverside and New York Law School.