Appointments

• Ronald D. Blanton, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, was named director of the Center for Silicon System Implementation. The center conducts research on chip design and manufacturing. It is funded by the National Science Foundation, the Defense Department, the Semiconductor Research Corporation, and other industry groups.

Professor Blanton is a graduate of Calvin College. He holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan.

• Elizabeth Thornton was appointed chief diversity officer at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Thornton, an adjunct professor  at Babson, is founder and CEO of a training and consulting firm called Entrepreneurship Advantage Inc.

Thornton is a graduate of Georgetown University and holds an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

• Catherine Meeks, director of the Lane Center for Community Engagement and Service at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, announced that she will be “graduating from higher education” at the end of the academic year.

Professor Meeks is a graduate of Pepperdine University. She holds a master’s of social work degree from Atlanta University and a Ph.D. in women’s and African-American studies from Emory University.

• Gretchel Hathaway Tyson was promoted to senior director for campus diversity and affirmative action at Union College in Schenectady, New York. She has served as director of community outreach.

Dr. Tyson is a graduate of Manhattanville College. She holds a master’s degree from Yeshiva University and a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh.

Copyright © 2008. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.