Archive for 2025
Virginia Tech to Host Leadership Certificate Program for Women Veterans
Beneath the Service, a veteran and military family support organization, has recently partnered with Virginia Tech to provide women veterans with professional development as they transition from service.
In Memoriam: Mildred Elizabeth Sanders, 1943-2024
A Cornell faculty member for nearly three decades, Dr. Sanders published extensively on American political development and popular politics.
Six Women Professors Appointed to New Academic Roles
Here is this week’s roundup of women who have been appointed to new faculty positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to contact@WIAReport.com.
Anita Jacobson Awarded for Commitment to Pharmacy Students and Substance Abuse Education
A clinical professor of pharmacy at the University of Rhode Island, Dr. Jacobson focuses her work on improving pharmacist-patient communication, specifically regarding vulnerable patient populations.
New Dean Appointments for Four Women Scholars
The new deans are Traci Zimmerman at James Madison University in Virginia, Chanel Fort at Gadsden State Community College in Alabama, Tracey Donnelly at Wenatchee Valley College in Washington State, and Amanda Murdie at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Miya Qiong Xie Wins First Book Prize From the Modern Language Association
Dr. Xie has taught comparative East Asian literature at Dartmouth College for the past seven years. Her award-winning book, Territorializing Manchuria: The Transnational Frontier and Literatures of East Asia, examines how the frontier of Manchuria influenced literature throughout East Asia.
Six Women Who Have Received Administrative Appointments in Academia
Here is this week’s roundup of women who have been appointed to new administrative positions at colleges and universities throughout the United States. If you have news for our appointments section, please email the information to contact@WIAReport.com.
Federica Brandizzi Receives International Recognition for Plant Science Research
Dr. Brandizzi has served as a professor of plant biology at Michigan State University for nearly two decades. She was recently honored by the Accademia Nazionale Dei Lincei in Italy for her research on how plants adapt to environmental stressors.
Four Women Scholars Appointed to Endowed Faculty Positions
The appointments to endowed faculty posts are Jennifer Bennett Shinall at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Deborah Lipstadt at Emory University in Atlanta, Joyce Many at Georgia State University, and Leslie Lamberson at the Colorado School of Mines.
In Memoriam: Nancy Moody, 1951-2024
Dr. Moody was the first woman president of Lincoln Memorial University and what is now Tusculum University. Prior to her presidencies, she served as a professor of nursing at several Tennessee-based universities.
Study Finds Women Scientists Are Viewed as More Likable and Trustworthy Than Male Scientists
According to a recent study, when scientific messaging comes from a woman scientist, people are more likely to perceive them as likable, competent, and trustworthy compared to male scientists.
American-Born Layli Maparyan Appointed President of the University of Liberia
Dr. Maparyan, a distinguished academic and prolific scholar, had been serving as the executive director of the Wellesley Centers for Women and a professor of African Studies at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
How Differences in Media Framing Influences Women’s Response to Political Gender Gaps
When the media frames women’s underrepresentation in politics as “men’s overrepresentation,” women viewers have stronger negative responses and are more likely to express desire to take action against the gender gap.
Rachel Davis Mersey Is the New Provost at the University of Texas at Austin
Before being named interim provost last August, Professor Mersey was the dean of the Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas. Earlier, she was a professor and the associate dean for research in the Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
The Gender Gap in Employment and Salaries for Doctoral Recipients
For 2023 doctoral recipients who had a job offer, 41.5 percent of women had accepted positions in the academic arena. In 2008, 58.2 percent of women who earned doctorates had secured an academic appointment by the time they were awarded their doctoral degree.
The New Leader of Marietta College in Ohio
Kathleen Poorman Dougherty was appointed Interim president of Marietta College in Ohio. Since July 1, 2023, she has served as provost and dean of the faculty at the college. She was the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Alma College in Michigan from 2018 to 2022.
In Memoriam: Marietta Culhane, 1930-2025
During her career, Dr. Culhane conducted over 250 math workshops in 18 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands and served as an administrator at Essex Community College in New Jersey and Neuman University in Aston, Pennsylvania.
Grants or Gifts Relating to Women in Higher Education
Here is this week’s news of grants and gifts that may be of particular interest to women in higher education.
Online Articles of Interest to WIAReport Readers
Each week, Women in Academia Report will provide links to online articles that may be of interest to our readers. Here are this week’s selections.
Recent Books of Interest to Women Scholars
Women in Academia Report regularly publishes a list of new books that may be of interest to our readers. Here are the latest selections.
In Memoriam: Lynn Landmesser, 1943-2024
A leading authority in the field of neuroscience, Dr. Landmesser taught at Case Western Reserve University for two decades.
Three Women Professors Appointed to Academic Leadership Roles at Universities
The women faculty taking on new duties are Grete Pederson at Yale School of Music, Haley Oliver at Purdue University, and Jennifer Hunter at the University of Kentucky.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science Honors Four Early-Career Women Chemists
This year’s recipients of the 2025 Marion Milligan Award for Women in the Chemical Sciences are Grace Han of Brandies University in Massachusetts, Michelle Calabrese and Jessica Lamb of the University of Minnesota, and Erin Stache of Princeton University in New Jersey.
New Dean Appointments for Four Women Scholars
The new deans are Tracey Turner at Liberty University in Virginia, Jenna Lowder at Mohave Community College in Arizona, Bettina Mrusek at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and Hillary Richardson at Mississippi University for Women.
Duke University Rabbi Elana Friedman Recognized for Outstanding Student Support Services
Friedman has served as Duke University’s chief Jewish educator and spiritual leader for the past decade. In her role, she provides counseling services for students and oversees Jewish learning initiatives for the campus community.
A Trio of Women Appointed to Administrative Roles in Higher Education
The women appointed to administrative posts in academia are Noemi Custodia-Lora at Urban College of Boston, Alicia Miles at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Claudia Aguayo at the University of Nevada Reno.
Nneka Dennie Receives National Book Prize for Outstanding Bibliographical Scholarship
Dr. Dennie’s award-winning book, Mary Ann Shadd Cary: Essential Writings of a Nineteenth-Century Black Radical Feminist, examines the works of North America’s first Black woman newspaper editor.
Miles College in Alabama Promotes Four Women Scholars to Senior-Level Faculty Positions
The four women promoted to senior-level faculty positions at Miles College in Alabama are Loretta Westry in mathematics, Tamatha White in business administration, Jarralynne Agee in criminal justice and psychology, and Nikaela Flournoy in biology.
The Average Woman Is Responsible for Nearly Three-Quarters of Her Family’s “Mental Load”
A new study has found that women carry, on average, 71 percent of their families’ domestic cognitive labor – the planning prior to physical tasks that must be done to keep a household functioning.
Ursuline College in Ohio Agrees to Become the Third Campus of Gannon University
Ursuline College, a women’s oriented educational institution in Pepper Pike, Ohio, has agreed to become the Ursuline College Campus of Gannon University. Both institutions have ties to the Catholic Church. The Ursuline College Campus of Gannon University will have distinct academic programs and maintain its own athletics teams.
Indiana University Report Examines Women’s Philanthropy in the Twenty-First Century
The study’s authors conclude that “the changing dynamics of philanthropy and the household call for an ongoing commitment to exploring how gender shapes generosity and how research insights can be used to create a more vibrant and resilient philanthropic landscape.”
Director of the Barnard Center for Research on Women Resigns in Protest
In a letter to the campus community, Professor Nadasen said, “I look forward to a time when campus reopens, when we can freely discuss ideas, when the administration stands up for critical academic inquiry and debate, and when students are able to freely express ideas, whether or not we agree with those ideas.”
Women Are 40 Percent of the Homeless Population in the United States
A new report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development finds that just over 300,000 women and girls were considered homeless in 2024. There were 60,000 homeless people who said they were victims of domestic violence.
Shannon Byers to Lead the College Foundation, a Nonprofit That Assists North Carolina Students
The nonprofit corporation serving North Carolina students and families since 1955, administers education loan programs and several major grant and scholarship programs funded by the State of North Carolina for students attending North Carolina colleges and universities.
In Memoriam: Barbara Ann Wolf, 1952-2024
For many years, Dr. Wolf was the psychiatry clerkship director for the Flint campus of the College of Human and Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Michigan. Recently, she had led the behavioral health faculty for the college’s affiliated family medicine residency at McLaren Flint hospital.
