Sherree R.B. Davis is interim dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Education at Hampton University. Tina Jackson is dean of workforce education and public service at McLennan Community College in Texas and Filiz Tabak is dean of the School of Business and Technology at Emporia State University in Kansas.
Dr. Kostelis, the new interim president of Central Connecticut State University, has been with the university for more than two decades. For the past five years, she has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Mary Ann Villarreal took the helm of CSU Dominguez Hills on January 1, 2026. She will continue to serve as the university's interim president through the 2028–2029 academic year.
Lisa Prosser is the inaugural dean of the forthcoming School of Public Health at Wayne State University in Detroit. Carolyn Keller was promoted to dean of the College of Business, Industry, Life Science, and Agriculture at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Cynthia Gray was promoted to dean of nursing and allied health sciences at Florence-Darlington Technical College in South Carolina.
The new deans are Geeta Swamy at Boston University's Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Ashley S. Dukes at the Americus campus of South Georgia Technical College, and Merritt McAlister at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law.
Dr. Heafner has worked for Horry-Georgetown Technical College for the past two decades, most recently serving as vice president for academic affairs. She will become the college's next president on January 4.
Gilbert is managing director of Loyola Marymount University's Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, a comprehensive research center focused on civic life, governance, and quality-of-life trends in Los Angeles County.
Melissa Napolitano is the inaugural dean of the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. Mahalley Allen was appointed interim dean of the College of Communication and Education at California State University, Chico and Valentina Salotti was named dean of the John M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University.
Dr. Weir is a senior lecturer of global affairs at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs. She was recently named the inaugural executive director of the Jackson School's new Center for Peace and the Global Good, a hub for scholars and students working to address challenges in human rights and global health.
The new deans are Bethany Cieslowski at the George Mason University School of Nursing, Irma Medina at Holyoke Community College, Susan English at Wor-Wic Community College, and Raida Abuizam at the Honors and University College of Purdue University Northwest
Most recently, Dr. Hooyman was vice president of academic affairs and provost of Northwest Missouri State University. She was the first woman to serve in that role.
The Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey is a nonprofit that supports New Jersey's 13 independent, nonprofit, public missions institutions of higher education through efforts such as philanthropy and public policy advocacy.
