Nine Women in New Administrative Posts at Colleges and Universities

Judy Appleton was named vice provost at Cornell University. She is the Alfred H. Caspary Professor of Immunology in the Baker Institute for Animal Health and has been serving as the associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the university. She has been on the faculty at the Baker Institute since 1987.

Dr. Appleton is a graduate of Indiana University. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Georgia.

Lynette Ralph was appointed director of the University Library Resource Center on the campus of Xavier University in New Orleans. She was the assistant university library director at the Sims Memorial Library at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond.

Dr. Ralph holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in library and information science.

Virginia P. Ruesterholz was elected chair of the board of trustees of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. She is the first woman to hold the position in the 143-year history of the educational institution.

Ruesterholz is a 1983 graduate of Stevens Institute of Technology. She holds a master’s degree in telecommunications management from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. Until her retirement in 2012, she was an executive vice president at Verizon Inc.

Kenya Mann Faulkner was named vice president for legal affairs and general counsel at the University of Cincinnati. Since 2011, she has been the Inspector General for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Previously, she was a partner at the Philadelphia law firm Ballard Spahr.

Faulkner has taught at West Chester University in Pennsylvania and at the Temple University Law School in Philadelphia. She is a graduate of Niagara University and earned her law degree at SUNY’s University at Buffalo.

Carrie Kearney was named director of employer relations for the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas. She has been a human resources professional for Wal-Mart and Tyson Foods.

Kearney has a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Arkansas.

Melinda Church was appointed director of the Office of University Communications at Ohio State University. She has been on the staff at the university since 2007 and has served in a number of administrative roles.

Church is a graduate of the University of Washington, where she majored in creative writing. She earned a master’s degree in journalism from Indiana University.

Melissa Gruver was appointed assistant dean of students for leadership and civic engagement at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She has been serving as the community engagement coordinator at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.

Gruver is a graduate of Union University and holds a master’s degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas.

Meg Amstutz was promoted to associate provost for academic programs at the University of Georgia. Since 2007, she has been the chief of staff for the university’s president. She will begin her new job on July 1.

Dr. Amstutz is a graduate of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in English from Washington University in St. Louis.

Joanne Damminger is the new assistant vice president for student affairs at Delaware Technical Community College. She was the chief student affairs officer at Salem Community College in New Jersey.

Dr. Damminger holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in educational leadership from Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey.