Nine Women Appointed to Dean Positions at Universities Across the United States

Aarti S. Ivanic has been appointed dean of the Barney School of Business at the University of Hartford in Connecticut. She most recently served as the founding dean of the Nicolais School of Business at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. Previously, she was the academic director of MBA programs for the Knauss School of Business at the University of San Diego.

Dr. Ivanic received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Purdue University in Indiana. She holds a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Southern California.

Jenny Roberts has been named dean of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. She currently serves as a professor of law and co-director of the Criminal Justice Clinic in the College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C. She previously taught law at Syracuse University and New York University.

Professor Roberts completed her undergraduate education at Yale University. She received her juris doctorate from New York University.

Jennifer Reynolds has been selected to serve as interim dean of the University of Oregon School of Law. She has been with the university for the past 15 years, currently serving as the Orlando John and Marian H. Hollis Professor of Law, associate dean for academic affairs, and faculty director of the Appropriate Dispute Resolution Center.

Professor Reynolds is an honors graduate of the University of Chicago where she majored in English. She holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Texas and a juris doctorate from Harvard University.

Twinette Johnson has been named dean of the Saint Louis University School of Law in Missouri. She has been with the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law for the past seven years, holding leadership positions such as interim dean, associate dean for academic affairs, and director of academic success.

Dr. Johnson is a two-time graduate of Saint Louis University where she received her bachelor’s degree in English literature and a Ph.D. in public and social policy. She received her juris doctorate from Tulane University in Louisiana.

Monica J. Casper has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Seattle University in Washington. She currently serves as a professor of sociology and special assistant to the president on gender-based violence at San Diego State University. She has authored numerous books including The Making of the Unborn Patient: A Social Anatomy of Fetal Surgery (Rutgers University Press, 1998) and Babylost: Racism, Survival, and the Quiet Politics of Infant Mortality, from A to Z (Rutgers University Press, 2022).

Dr. Casper is a first-generation graduate of the University of Chicago where she majored in sociology. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, San Francisco.

Renée Baernstein has been promoted to dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Miami University in Ohio. She has been with the university for over 30 years, most recently serving as associate dean and professor of history.

Dr. Baernstein holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University.

Alina Chircu has been named dean of the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico. She comes to her new position from Bentley University in Massachusetts where she served as a professor of computer information systems, dean of business, and senior associate dean of business for graduate programs.

Dr. Chircu received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in computer science and systems modeling and simulation from Politechnica University of Bucharest in Romania. She holds a Ph.D. in business administration with a focus on management information systems from the University of Minnesota.

Cherrise Jones-Branch has been appointed dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication at Arkansas State University. She has been with the university for over 20 years, currently serving as the James E. and Wanda Lee Vaughn Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences and dean of the Graduate School. She is the author of Better Living by Their Own Bootstraps: Black Women’s Activism in Rural Arkansas, 1914-1965 (University of Arkansas Press, 2021).

Dr. Jones-Branch holds three degrees in American history: a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the College of Charleston in South Carolina and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.

Nicole Bromfield has been named dean of the College of Health and Human Performance at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She currently serves as associate dean for academic affairs for the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston, where she has taught since 2016. She is the co-author of From Intercountry Adoption to Global Surrogacy: A Human Rights History and New Fertility Frontiers (Routledge, 2016).

Dr. Bromfield received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology and master of social work degree from West Virginia University. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy and administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.