The University of Idaho has successfully appointed Aviva Abramovsky, J.D. has their new dean of the College of Law. Professor Abramovsky will begin at University of Idaho on a part-time basis in late May and transition to full-time June 10. Presently, Professor Abramovsky is the William J. Magavern Faculty Scholar, Dean Emerita, and Professor of Law at the University at Buffalo School of Law. From 2017 to 2023, she served as the law school’s 19th permanent dean and was the first woman to hold the position. Under her leadership, Professor Abramovsky established the law school as a hub for legal education at all levels. In addition to the traditional JD program, four LLM programs, and a two-year degree for internationally trained attorneys, she oversaw the launch of an undergraduate program in law – one of just two in the nation - and a brand new Doctor of Juridical Science. Prior to her appointment as the dean of the UB School of Law, Professor Abramovsky served as the Kaufman Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation and an associate dean at Syracuse University College of Law, where she led the school’s internationalization efforts. She spearheaded a Master of Laws (LLM) and two-year Juris Doctor (JD) programs for foreign lawyers, launched a visiting scholars and researchers program, developed partnerships to enable a new international student exchange program, and created a legal English pre-matriculation program. A member of the American Law Institute and winner of the New York State Bar Association Professor David D. Siegel Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to the study of New York law, Professor Abramovsky is an acknowledged expert in the fields of insurance law, commercial law, regulation of financial entities and legal ethics. She is the author of “Uniform Commercial Code, West’s McKinney’s Forms for New York,” as well as numerous other book chapters and articles in the fields of insurance and commercial law. Professor Abramovsky has served twice as an academic evaluator for the American Bar Association’s federal judiciary committees, once for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito and again for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor. She is the former chair of the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on Autonomous Vehicles and the Law. Professor Abramovsky received her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and her B.S. from Cornell University. Read more.
The Utah System of Higher Education has selected Gregory F. Peterson, Ed.D., as the ninth president of Salt Lake Community College. Dr. Peterson will assume the position on July 1, 2024. Dr. Peterson currently serves as the president of Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Arizona. Throughout his career, he has led key efforts in student learning and success impacting over 100,000 students, including developing transfer partnerships and college promise programs at multiple institutions and launching the first community college Artificial Intelligence program in the nation. Dr. Peterson has worked closely with industry partners and community leaders in strengthening workforce pipelines for students into family-sustaining careers and has served on local, state and national organizations to advance these efforts. He brings experience in student affairs and instructional programs and has worked at urban, suburban and rural community colleges. Dr. Peterson was selected as an Aspen New President Fellow and was recently recognized as the East Valley Man of the Year by Positive Paths. Dr. Peterson holds a doctorate in educational administration with an emphasis in community college leadership from the University of Texas at Austin; a master’s degree in postsecondary, adult and continuing education from Portland State University; and a bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University. As a first-generation community college student, Dr. Peterson has a passion and commitment to the community college mission of access and success for all students. Read more.
Fresno Pacific University has successfully appointed Dr. Alison Noble as their next provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. Dr. Noble will begin her new role on August 5, 2024. Dr. Noble comes from Messiah University, a Council for Christian Colleges & Universities member affiliated with the Brethren In Christ, a denomination related to the Mennonite Brethren, which sponsors Fresno Pacific University. There since 2010, she has served as interim provost—her current position—associate provost, assistant provost and director of faculty development, special assistant to the provost, and professor of chemistry. She is an accomplished scholar and educator with a publication and speaking record in chemistry, education, and faith and learning. Prior to Messiah, Noble was a visiting assistant professor at George Fox University and the University of Portland and a senior process engineer at Intel Corporation. Dr. Noble has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a B.S. in Chemistry from Westmont College. She is also a 2023 graduate of the Institute for Management and Leadership in Higher Education from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Read more.
Texas A&M University-Commerce has successfully appointed Dr. Erin Webster Garrett as their next Dean of the Honors College. Dr. Webster Garrett will begin her new role on July 1, 2024. She is currently the associate vice provost at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). At VCU, Webster Garrett led the effort to institutionalize experiential learning as a part of every baccalaureate degree. She is a recognized leader in developing large-scale assessment frameworks designed to ensure student access and opportunity to engage in high-quality experiential learning that connects students' personal, professional, and civic goals. Webster Garrett earned her bachelor's in English with a minor in Spanish from the University of Richmond. She also holds a master's in English from VCU, a doctorate in Literary Studies from the University of Denver, and six professional certifications. Read more.
Texas A&M University-Commerce has successfully appointed Dr. Joseph Romero as their next Dean of the College of Humanities, Social Sciences and Arts. Dr. Romero will begin his new role on June 1, 2024. Dr. Romero joins the Texas A&M-Commerce after having served as a professor and chair of the Department of Classics, Philosophy, & Religion at the University of Mary Washington (UMW) in Fredericksburg, Virginia. His career in higher education spans more than two decades and includes a year as an American Council on Education Fellow. Romero holds degrees from Mary Washington College (B.A.) and Duke University (Ph.D), and he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae housed in the Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften in Munich, Germany. Read more.
Mount Saint Mary College has successfully appointed Dr. Robert Gervasi as their next President. Dr. Gervasi will begin his new role June 17, 2024. Dr. Gervasi has more than three decades of experience in higher education administration, including 14 years as a college president. He also has extensive teaching experience, having taught courses in Greek and Roman civilization, religion, historiography, business, philosophy, ethics, and more. Prior to his career in higher education, he worked in marketing and communications serving major firms including Bristol-Myers and Procter & Gamble. He earned an Honors AB in Classics from Xavier University, an MA and PhD in Classics from The Ohio State University, and an MBA in Marketing from the Wharton School. A former Fullbright Scholar, he now serves as Board Chair of the Fulbright Association. Read more.
New York University has successfully appointed Mr. Jake Olkkola as the next Director of Athletics, Intramurals, and Recreation. Mr. Olkkola will begin his new role on June 10, 2024. A seasoned collegiate athletics professional, Mr. Olkkola comes to Washington Square from Johns Hopkins University where he's served in multiple capacities since 2019. From 2019-21 Mr. Olkkola was Johns Hopkins' Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation before being elevated to Deputy Director of Athletics and Recreation in 2021. Prior to JHU, Mr. Olkkola was the Director of Athletics at Colby College from 2017-19. At Colby, he oversaw the athletic department's 32 varsity programs which achieved many "firsts" under his leadership. From 2010-17, Mr. Olkkola was part of the University of Delaware's athletics leadership team. He was the Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation from 2010-15 and was promoted to Senior Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation in 2015. The Ossipee, NH, native's first role in collegiate athletics was at Harvard University, where he worked as Director of Recreation from 2003-08. Mr. Olkkola is a 2001 graduate of New Hampshire College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management. He earned a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Wilmington University in 2019. Read more.
Ohio University has successfully appointed Dr. Donald Leo as their next Executive Vice President and Provost. Dr. Leo will begin on July 1st. Dr. Leo was the first permanent dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia, where he has served since 2013. Before joining UGA, Dr. Leo served as a professor of mechanical engineering and vice president and executive director of the National Capital Region operations of Virginia Tech. He previously served as associate dean for research and graduate studies at the Virginia Tech College of Engineering. His research focuses on smart materials and he has served as principal investigator on 50 research grants and authored or co-authored more than 200 research publications. Dr. Leo holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Buffalo, and a B.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Read more.
The University of Dubuque has successfully appointed Dr. Travis Frampton as their next President. Dr. Frampton will succeed President Bullock, who is currently the longest serving president in UD's history. He will begin his new role June 1, 2024. Dr. Frampton has served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas, since July 2019. He also is Schreiner's Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges liaison as well as Schreiner's Title IX coordinator. As provost and vice president for academic affairs at Schreiner University, Dr. Frampton created a new academic learning ecosystem for the campus, implemented new academic programs, designed relevant and innovative academic majors, developed mission-critical co-curricular programs, consistently maintained a balanced budget and created ways to improve efficiency, established graduate school pipelines for undergraduates, added resources to increase support for faculty development, and more. Dr. Frampton earned a bachelor of arts in religion from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, a master of arts in religion from Yale Divinity School in New Haven, Connecticut, and a dual doctor of philosophy degree in philosophy and religion from Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (philosophy) in the Netherlands and Baylor University (religion) in Waco, Texas. Read more.