Five Women Scholars Appointed to University Dean Positions

Rowena Ortiz-Walters has been named dean of the Greehey School of Business at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, effective June 2021. Since 2015, she has been serving as dean of the School of Business and Economics at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. Prior to her appointment at SUNY Plattsburgh, Dr. Ortiz-Walters was chair of the management department and co-founder/co-director of the Center for Women and Business in the School of Business at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.

Dr. Ortiz-Walters holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a Ph.D. in management from the University of Connecticut. She also holds an MBA from the University of New Haven.

Yvonne Gaudelius, associate vice president and senior associate dean for undergraduate education at Pennsylvania State University, has been named interim vice president and dean for undergraduate education at the university. Dr. Gaudelius holds the rank of professor of art education and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies. She joined the Penn State faculty in 1993.

Professor Gaudelius earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in art education and fine arts from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and a bachelor’s degree in art history from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. She holds a doctorate in art education from Pennsylvania State University.

Kristin Sosnowsky was named interim dean of the College of Music & Dramatic Arts at Louisiana State University. Professor Sosnowskyis executive associate dean and chair of the School of Theatre. She has been at the university since 2001.

Professor Sosnowsky is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she majored in communication. She earned a master of fine arts degree at the Yale School of Drama.

Schnavia Smith Hatcher has been selected to lead the School of Social Work at the University of Alabama. She will become dean on August 1, 2021. A native of Selma, Alabama, she has been serving as director of the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Earlier, Dr. Hatcher was the founding director of the Center for African American Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington from 2012 to 2016, where she also worked as an associate professor of social work and criminology and criminal justice.

Dr. Hatcher is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta, where she majored in psychology. She has earned a master of social work degree from the University of Georgia and a doctorate in social work from the University of Kansas.

Mary Finn was appointed dean of the College of Social Science at Michigan State University. She has been serving as interim dean since March. Earlier, Dr. Finn was a professor and director of the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State. Prior to joining the faculty at Michigan, State, Dr. Finn served as the associate provost for institutional effectiveness at Georgia State University.

Dr. Finn is a graduate of Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System.