Princeton Theological Seminary has appointed Rev. Dr. Jonathan Lee Walton as its eighth President. Dr. Walton comes to Princeton Seminary from Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where he has served as the dean since 2019 and holds the Presidential Chair in Religion and Society. Prior to joining Wake Forest University, he served on the faculty at Harvard Divinity School and was the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church of Harvard University. Dr. Walton is trained as a social ethicist whose scholarship focuses on the intersection of evangelical Christianity, mass media, and political culture. He is the author of two books and has published widely across various academic journals, books, magazines, and newspapers. His insights have been featured in the New York Times, CNN, Time Magazine, and PBS. Dr. Walton earned his PhD in 2006 and his MDiv in 2002 from Princeton Seminary, and his bachelor’s degree in political science from Morehouse College in 1996. He is an ordained Baptist minister and a gifted preacher who has continued to serve both his alma maters. He is a member of the Humanities Advancement Council at Morehouse College and has served on the Board of Trustees at Princeton Seminary. Read more here.
Spring Hill College has selected Mary H. Van Brunt, PhD, as its 39th President. As the College prepares to celebrate its 200-year legacy, Dr. Van Brunt makes history as the first woman to serve as president of the college.
Ms. Holly Fincke has been appointed as the new Senior Director of Development, College of Science and Engineering, at San Francisco State University. She will begin her role on November 14th. Ms. Fincke currently serves as the Director of Development for the College of Science and the College of Education and Allied Studies at California State University East Bay, where she has worked for the past 5 years. Prior to that, she was the Associate Director of Annual Giving at the University of California Berkeley's School of Law. At Cal State East Bay, Ms. Fincke increased giving from major donors in her portfolio by 900% in four years and was a key member of the team that achieved four of the five top fundraising years in CSUEB's history. She received her bachelor’s degree in sociology/anthropology and women's studies from Oberlin College.
Mr. Ray Kliewer, M.Ed. has been appointed as Gonzaga University’s inaugural Vice President for Human Resources and Chief Human Resources Officer. Mr. Kliewer previously served as the Senior Director of Human Resources for the School of Medicine at Indiana University.
Dr. Senthil Kumar has been appointed as the new vice president for strategic enrollment management at Regis University, effective September 26, 2022. Dr. Kumar was most recently vice president for strategic enrollment management at Saint Leo University and has more than 20 years of higher education experience and a proven track record in strategic enrollment planning and global engagement. At Regis, he will oversee recruitment, admissions and financial aid. Read more here.
Texas State University System has appointed Sidney E. Valentine, Ph.D., as president of Lamar Institute of Technology in Beaumont. He will assume office August 16. Since 2015, Dr. Valentine has served as chief academic and student services officer at South Florida State College, where he provided academic leadership for the college’s transfer, vocational, technical, adult and community education, and workforce education programs. He also supervised the college’s applied research activities, grants, and institutional effectiveness efforts. Previously, Dr. Valentine served as associate vice president of industrial and engineering technology at York Technical College (SC) and as director of workforce and economic development at the West Virginia Community and Technical College System. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from The University of South Carolina and his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from West Virginia University Institute of Technology. Read more here.
Huston-Tillotson University announced that Melva K. Williams, Ph.D. has been appointed as the institution’s seventh President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 15, 2022. Dr. Williams has held numerous positions within the Southern University System (LA), including Executive Associate to the Chancellor, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management at SU-Shreveport, Vice Chancellor at SU-New Orleans, and System Chief of Staff. A former associate dean of College at Centenary College of Louisiana, Williams has concurrently served as a professor, lecturer and board member at several colleges and universities. She earned a doctorate in higher education from Jackson State University (MS) and a master’s in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Grambling State University (LA). Read more here.
Arizona State University has appointed Dr. Beth Huebner, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, to the role of Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as the inaugural Watts Professor of Public Safety. Dr. Huebner will begin January 3, 2023. Dr. Huebner is recognized as a top scholar. Her principal research interests include the collateral consequences of incarceration, racial and gender disparities in the criminal justice system, and public policy. She serves as the current chair of the Division on Corrections and Sentencing for the American Society of Criminology. She is the editor for the Oxford Bibliographies in Criminology and is Associate Editor for Criminal Justice and Behavior. She earned her Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Michigan State University. Read more here.