Elwanda Murphy, 57, has been named the superintendent of the Natchitoches Parish, La., public schools. She will replace Kenneth Dutile, who retired, and will be the first woman superintendent of the 7,200-student district. Ms. Murphy is a 25-year veteran of the system.
Bill Beierschmitt, the superintendent of the Bartlesville, Okla., schools, will become a regional administrator for the state’s department of vocational and technical education on July 1. Mr. Beierschmitt, 56, is a 29-year veteran of the Bartlesville district and has been its superintendent since 1995.
The Edmonds, Wash., schools have named Wayne Robertson to be the district’s superintendent. Mr. Robertson, 52, who joined the 20,000-student system in July as an assistant superintendent, will replace Susan Torrens, who is retiring. Mr. Robertson was the superintendent of the 2,400-student Lakewood district, also in Washington, from 1985 to 1998.
Jane Butler Kahle will become the full-time director of the division of elementary, secondary, and informal Education at the National Science Foundation next month. As a professor of science education at Miami University of Ohio since 1989, Ms. Kahle has worked to promote science education throughout the state. The NSF, a federal agency based in Arlington, Va., conducts research and promotes science, mathematics, and technology education.
Sandra Bowman Damico, a professor at Emory University in Atlanta, has been appointed the dean of the college of education at the University of Iowa. Ms. Damico will replace Steven R. Yussen.
Edna M. Szymanski is leaving the University of Wisconsin-Madison to become the dean of the school of education at the University of Maryland. In Madison, Ms. Szymanski, 47, was the associate dean of the school of education and the chairwoman of the school’s department of rehabilitation psychology and special education. She replaces Willis D. Hawley, who directs the National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching.
--Marnie Roberts, Meghan Mullan, & Michelle Galley
