A Quartet of Women Who Have Been Appointed to Dean Positions in Higher Education

Kaveri Subrahmanyam is the new dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of North Florida. She previously worked at California State University, Los Angeles as associate dean of the College of Natural and Social Sciences. Dr. Subrahmanyam joined the faculty there in 1996.

Dr. Subrahmanyam is a graduate of Women’s Christian College in India. She holds a master’s degree from the University of Mysore in India and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Jerri Haynes was appointed the dean of the College of Education and Human Development at Jackson State University in Mississippi. She was a professor and dean of the College of Education at Tennessee State University. She is the author of Silent Epidemic: Problems in Public Education (2012).

Dr. Haynes holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in elementary education from Florida A&M University. She earned a doctorate in child and youth studies from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Valery Forbes is the new dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University. She is the former dean of the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Earlier, Dr. Forbes directed the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Dr. Forbes is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York where she majored in geology. She holds a master’s degree in marine environmental science and a Ph.D. in coastal oceanography from Stony Brook University in New York.

Janekia Mitchell is the new dean of student services at Gadsden State Community College in Alabama. She was on the staff at the college from 2002 to 2018, rising to the role of director of residence life. Since 2018 she has been a counselor in the Gadsden public schools.

Dr. Mitchell is a graduate of Jacksonville State University in Alabama, where she majored in exercise science and wellness. She holds a master’s degree in community agency counseling and a doctorate in professional counseling and supervision from the University of West Georgia.