Five Women Announced Their Retirements From Key Posts in Higher Education

Elaine Tuttle Hansen, the executive director of the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, announced that she will step down from her post on August 31. Dr. Hansen came to John Hopkins in 2011 after serving as president of Bates College in Maine.

Dr. Hansen is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She earned a master’s degree at the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. at the University of Washington.

Jo Ann Pepper, director of the Treasurer’s Office at the University of Arkansas is retiring on February 28. She has served in this role for 17 years and has been on the staff at the university for a quarter century.

“The most rewarding aspect of my time at the university has been helping students and their families navigate the process of paying for their education and seeing them complete their degree,” said Pepper.

Emmie Donadio, the assistant director of the Middlebury Museum of Art is retiring. She came to Middlebury in 1977 when her husband joined the English department. She lectured in art history at the college. She joined the staff at the museum in 1989.

Dr. Donadio is a graduate of what is now Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Columbia University.

Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, is stepping down. She has served as director for the past 22 years.  Earlier in her career, she was an administrator at Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Bystrom is a graduate of what is now the University of Nebraska-Kearney. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Oklahoma.

Elsa Kircher Cole will retire on June as university counsel at the University of New Mexico. She has served in that role since May 2013. Earlier, she served for 13 years as general counsel for the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

A graduate of Stanford University, Cole earned her law degree at Boston University.