Bowie State University has successfully appointed Ms. Sabrina Ram as their new Vice President for Marketing and Communications effective July 8, 2024. Ms.Ram has managed communications and marketing efforts for major organizations such as AT&T, Walden University, Drexel University Online, 2U, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Arcadia University. She’s also led communications and marketing efforts for a variety of clients, including the University of Southern California, New York University, Northwestern University, the University of Liverpool, Villanova University, Simmons College, and the School District of Philadelphia. Working in-house and in agency settings, Ms. Ram has cultivated strong relationships with digital influencers and media across international, national, niche, and local markets. In these roles, she has also built or refreshed brand identities, shaped narratives and reputations, created integrated and transparent internal communications strategies, and focused on developing and amplifying diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Ms. Ram has a bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communications and Public Relations from Drexel University and a master’s degree in Public Relations & Corporate Communications from Georgetown University. She has also completed two executive leadership programs at Cornell University.
Bowie State University has successfully appointed Mr. Manish Kumar as their new Vice President for Administration and Finance effective April 1, 2024. Mr. Kumar comes to Bowie State from Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) where he served as Vice President for Finance and Administration for nearly five years. There he provided strategic direction and leadership for campus financial and administrative services. Prior to his work at NEIU, Mr. Kumar was the Chief Financial Officer for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Along with his role as the CFO for the UNC-A&S Foundations, he managed funds totaling more than $1.6 billion. He also oversaw all financial and budgetary matters, including operations and compliance along with the support of new program development through forecasts, budgets and accreditation compliance. Mr. Kumar served as the CFO and Head of HR and Administration at Rutgers Business School. From 2011 to 2015, he served as Director of Strategic Initiatives for the College of Art and Architecture at the University of Idaho. He has significant private sector experience where he has worked with fortune 20 companies such as American Express, AAA insurance and State Street Global Advisors in various leadership capacities. Mr. Kumar holds an MBA from Northeastern University (Boston) He is working toward a Ph.D. in Supply Chain Management at the University of Greenwich (London, U.K.) and currently holds an ABD status.
Waubonsee Community College has successfully appointed Dr. Toya Webb as their new Chief of Staff and Vice President of Strategy, effective April 1, 2024. Dr. Webb has spent the past 12 years working in various capacities at Elgin Community College, ultimately advancing to the role of Chief Marketing, Communications, and Government Relations Officer in 2022. Dr. Webb also has experience as an adjunct faculty member, is a Peer Reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, and sits on the Board of Directors for the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations. Dr. Webb holds an AA from Jefferson Community College, a BA in Journalism and Sociology from the University of Hawaii-Manoa, an MS in Integrated Marketing Communications from Roosevelt University and an Ed.D. in Higher Education and Organizational Change from Benedictine University. Read more.
Wheaton College (MA) has successfully appointed Dr. Sean Schofield as their new Assistant Vice President for Life and Career Design. Dr. Schofield currently serves as the Executive Director of Career Services at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. As the Executive Director, Schofield provided strategic leadership and oversight for a centralized college-wide career services division. Schofield also leveraged data to understand and develop a methodology to individualize career interventions (Muhlenberg Action Plan) which has been developed and successfully launched to all first-year Muhlenberg students. Prior to his work at Muhlenberg College, Schofield served as the Associate Director of Graduate Career Advising at William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Schofield served on the Associate Dean's workplace culture team, leading efforts to improve staff morale and engagement. He also advanced diversity and inclusion initiatives and practices through surveys and one-on-one staff check-ins and delivered 30+ workshops to graduate and business students. Dr. Schofield holds a Bachelor of Arts in Family and Child Studies and a Masters of Arts in Counseling (Student Affairs & Higher Education) from Montclair State University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy, Planning and Leadership, from William and Mary. Read more.
San Francisco State University has successfully appointed Ms. Soo Kim as their next Senior Director of Development for the College of Liberal and Creative Arts. Ms. Kim will start on March 25, 2024. Ms. Kim currently serves as the Assistant Director of Fund Development and Communications at Swords to Plowshares. For the past 12 years, she has also run a successful fundraising consulting business through which she conducts program evaluations, alumni engagement analyses, and donor prospect research, along with assisting nonprofits with strategic planning, leadership transition mapping, grant writing, and development of fundraising opportunities. Earlier in her career, she served as the Assistant Curator of Japanese Art at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. Ms. Kim, a Ph.D. Candidate in Art History at University of California, Berkeley, earned her B.A. in Asian Studies at Pomona College, her M.A. in Art History from University of California, Berkeley, and her Master of Nonprofit Administration at the University of San Francisco.
The University of Alaska Anchorage has successfully appointed Mr. Ryan McDaniel as their new Chief Information Officer. Mr. McDaniel currently serves as the Executive Director (Associate Vice President) for Secure Identity Services. As AVP, McDaniel leads a cross-functional technical team in the strategic planning, development, and implementation of a broad range of secure IT services. McDaniel also effectively mentors and leads a team of directors, managers, service owners, and project managers and serves as a member of the Senior Leadership Team for the Division of IT. Prior to Secure Identity Services, McDaniel served as the Assistant Director for Identity and Access Management at the University of Colorado. At CU, he led a diverse functional, technical, and security administrator team in the strategy, development, and implementation of a broad range of Identity and Access Management services and applications for the Office of the University President. McDaniel acted as program and portfolio owner for Identity and Access Management services and applications including Identity Governance, Authentication, ERP and API Authorization, Provisioning Services, Directory Services, and personal identity data for internal staff and affiliates. Mr. McDaniel holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Intercultural Studies from William Jessup University. McDaniel also holds an M.A. in History from San Jose State University and an M.S. in Information Systems from the University of Colorado – Denver. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Planning, Governance, and Globalization at Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at Khazar University. Read more.
University of the Arts has successfully appointed Mr. Eric Leal as their new Vice President for Finance and Administration. Mr. Leal has served as the Associate Dean for Budget and Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences at American University since the Spring of 2019. He previously served as the Associate Dean for Administration and Finance for the College of Medicine at Howard University, and as the Assistant Dean of Administration and Finance for the School of Optometry at the University of California, Berkeley. A former active duty Air Force member and Appropriation Manager at The Pentagon, Mr. Leal holds an MBA from the University of Tennessee and a BA in Psychology from the University of Arizona. Read more.
Marist College has successfully appointed Dr. Ron Buckmire as their new Dean of the School of Computer Science and Mathematics. Dr. Buckmire will begin on August 1, 2024. Dr. Buckmire comes to Marist College from Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he served as Professor of Mathematics and had been on the faculty since receiving a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1994. He has served the national mathematics community in a wide array of capacities in multiple organizations, including as a Program Officer in the Division of Undergraduate Education at the National Science Foundation. Dr. Buckmire also holds an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Read more.
The University of Utah has successfully appointed Dr. Charles Musgrave as their next Dean of the John & Marcia Price College of Engineering. Dr. Musgrave will begin on July 1st. Dr. Musgrave currently serves as Chair of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Colorado, with a joint appointment at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He earlier served as Associate Chair and Director of the Graduate Program of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering and, most recently, as Associate Dean for Graduate Education for the College of Engineering and Applied Science. He is a fellow of the Materials Science and Engineering Program and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute at the University of Colorado. Before his nearly 16 years in Colorado, Musgrave served as an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Stanford University, and as a visiting professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University. He has collaborated with Intel Corporation, SC Solutions Corporation, General Motors Corporation, and Xerox Corporation, among many others. Along with his notable achievements, Musgrave brings a unique perspective to his leadership role as a first-generation student and son of an immigrant. Dr. Musgrave earned his B.S. in materials science and engineering at the University of California Berkeley. Both his M.S. and Ph.D. in materials science were earned at California Institute of Technology. Read more.