J.K. Yates has become the first woman to head a college or university construction management department in the U.S., working at Western Carolina University. Yates has been named the Joe W. Kimmel Distinguished Professor of Construction Management at Western Carolina University, prior to which she served as chair and professor in the department of construction management and engineering at North Dakota State University.
Susan Hunter has been selected as the first female president of the University of Maine system. Hunter will serve a two-year appointment only, and plans to retire in 2016. Hunter became a full-time University of Maine faculty member in 1991 and has served in various roles, including assistant director in the College of Natural Sciences and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences.
JG Innovations Inc., a leading provider of steel soffit concealment systems, has named Allen Stowers as the firm’s new president. Stowers most recently served as vice president for JG Innovations Inc. and began his career with the company as a marketing director.
The University of Dayton has named Eddy Rojas as its new engineering school dean. Rojas currently serves as director of the Charles W. Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and will begin the new role on July 1. As dean, Rojas will oversee the university’s 2,600 engineering students. Rojas has experience in administration, teaching and research, and has also overseen strategic plan development and other initiatives.
Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, has hired William S. McMullen, CFM, LEED AP, as the business unit manager for its newly formed energy solutions group. Based in Dewberry’s Raleigh, N.C. office, McMullen will be responsible for all facets of the group’s client and project development. McMullen has more than 25 years of experience in building operations, facility engineering and commissioning, and energy engineering.
Elizabeth K. Meyer has been appointed to a two-year term as dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture. Meyer, the Merrill D. Peterson Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University, begins serving in the new role July 15. An internationally renowned design theorist and critic, Meyer will continue teaching during the two-year appointment, and plans to return full-time to that role at the conclusion of her term.
The Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers has named Joseph G. Burns, a managing principal at Thornton Tomasetti, an SEI Fellow. Burns joined Thornton Tomasetti in 1995, and has more than 30 years experience in building design and renovation.
Ann Poppen has been promoted to preconstruction manager for the California district of Sundt Construction Inc. Poppen joined Sundt in December 2013 as a preconstruction project manager on the San José State University Campus Village Phase II student housing project before being promoted to her new position.
Dr. Meria Carstarphen has been named the new superintendent of Atlantic Public Schools. Carstarphen most recently served as district superintendent of the Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas, prior to which she was superintendent of Saint Paul Public Schools. Carstarphen also worked with public school systems in the District of Columbia, Tennessee and Ohio, and has taught at the middle school and elementary levels.
Kwame Foundation has named Yolonda Lankford as its new executive director. The Kwame Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization founded by Kwame Building Group CEO and Chairman Tony Thompson, providing mentoring and scholarship opportunities for youth in underprivileged communities. Prior to joining Kwame Foundation, Lankford worked with the St. Louis Cardinals’ Cardinal Care and the Antwan Moore Memorial Scholarship fund.
