New Administrative Duties for Seven African Americans in Higher Education

Iessa_SuttonIessa J. Sutton was appointed campus operating officer for the downtown Brooklyn campus of Berkeley College. She joined the staff at Berkeley College in 2012 and has been serving as senior director in the career services department.

Sutton is a graduate of Clark Atlanta University in Georgia. She holds a master’s degree in organization management and is working on a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Phoenix.

BurnsWallaceDeAngela Burns-Wallace was appointed vice provost for undergraduate studies at the University of Kansas. She will also hold a courtesy faculty appointment in the department of educational leadership and policy studies in the university’s School of Education. Dr. Burns-Wallace was the assistant vice provost for undergraduate studies at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

Dr. Burns-Wallace is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in international relations and African American studies. She holds a master’s degree in public policy and international affairs from Princeton University and an educational doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

ArthurTrippArthur Tripp Jr. was appointed assistant to the president of the University of Georgia. He has been serving as a senior policy adviser to Congressman David Scott, who represents the people of Georgia’s 13th Congressional District.

Tripp is a 2009 graduate of the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia.

Alexia-WhitakerAlexia Whitaker was named affirmative action officer at the University of Washington in Seattle. She was program manager in the Office of Affirmative Action at Arkansas State University.

Whitaker is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she majored in African American studies and sociology. She earned a law degree at DePaul University in Chicago.

Angela_WilliamsAngela Williams was promoted to assistant vice provost for student affairs and executive director of the Career Development Center at the University of Arkansas. She was the director of the Career Development Center.

Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in counseling education, and a doctorate in adult education, all from the University of Arkansas.

Brandon_RhondaRhonda Brandon was appointed chief human resources officer for the Duke University Health System. She is senior vice president and chief human resources officer for BJC Healthcare in St. Louis. She will begin her new duties at Duke on February 1.

Brandon is a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia, where she majored in mass communication. She holds a master’s degree in organization development from American University in Washington, D.C.

Higgins-Photo-2Ronnell Higgins was promoted to director of public safety at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He has been serving as Chief of Police at Yale and will continue in that role while undertaking his new duties.

Higgins has been on the police force at Yale since 1997 and was named chief in 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in law enforcement administration from the University of New Haven and is currently studying for an MBA.

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