Four Women Who Have Been Appointed Provosts

Nicolle Parsons-Pollard has been named provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She was named interim provost in January 2022. Earlier, Dr. Parsons-Pollard was the vice provost for academic and faculty affairs at Monmouth University in New Jersey. She began her career as a part-time instructor and then an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. She later went to work at Virginia State University, where she was a tenured faculty member and served as assistant vice provost for academic operations. Dr. Parsons is the editor of Disproportionate Minority Contact: Current Issues and Policies (Carolina Academic Press, 2017, 2nd Edition). Most recently, her research has expanded to issues related to faculty workload in higher education.

Dr. Parsons-Pollard holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communications, a master’s degree in criminal justice, and a Ph.D. in public policy and administration, all from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, has named Elizabeth Mullenix as its next provost and vice president for academic affairs. Mullenix has served as interim provost and executive vice president since last July. Prior to that interim role, she was the dean of the College of Creative Arts at the university. Dr. Mullenix joined Miami in 2006 as chair and professor of theatre and artistic director/producer of Miami University Theatre.

Dr. Mullenix graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theatre and English from the University of Vermont. She earned a master’s degree in theatre and a doctoral degree in theatre studies from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign.

Marguerite S. Giguette has been named the interim senior vice president of academic affairs and provost at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. For 17 years, Dr. Giguette has served Xavier in the Office of Academic Affairs. Most recently, she was senior associate provost and chief institutional research officer. She is the former chair of the computer science department at Xavier.

A New Orleans native, Dr. Giguette received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Loyola University in New Orleans. She earned a master’s degree in mathematics from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. in computer science from Tulane University in New Orleans.

Gabby McCutchen was named provost of arts and sciences at the Scott Northern Campus of Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh, North Carolina. Previously. she served at Durham Technical Community College for 18 years. During that time, she served as the assistant vice president of academics and guided-career pathways and as full-time faculty, coordinator, chair, assistant dean, and director of the Teaching and Learning Center.