New Jersey and New York - Clarelle DeGraffe has been promote to director of rail transit and general manager of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corp. PATH. She succeeds PATH Director Mike Marino, who announced he would retire in April. DeGraffe has served as deputy director of PATH since 2015 and has 29 years of experience working with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. DeGraffe will oversee the PATH's capital program, including an ongoing project to replace equipment and rebuild tunnels damaged during Superstorm Sandy.
Florida - Steven Currall has been chosen as the next president of the University of South Florida. Currall will replace Judy Genshaft, who will step down on July 1 after holding the position since 2000. Currall is currently provost and vice president for academic affairs at Southern Methodist University. He was previously vice chair of the board of directors and a member of the executive committee for the 10-campus University of California system's Global Health Institute.
Connecticut - Seila Mosquera-Bruno of Milford was chosen in February to serve as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Housing. Mosquera-Bruno is currently the president and chief executive officer of NeighborWorks New Horizons, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing quality, affordable homes and supporting community building initiatives in New Haven, Fairfield, Southern Hartford and New London counties.
Virginia - The Albermarle County Department of Fire Rescue has a new deputy chief. Heather Childress will take the position April 1. Childress has more than 25 years of volunteer and career experience in Fire and Emergency Medical Services. She was previously the acting deputy chief of Administration in Lynchburg, Va.
Arkansas - Keith Humphrey has been named the city of Little Rock's chief of police. Originally from the Dallas metro area, Humphrey has spent the last seven years as the police chief in Norman, Okla. Prior to his arrival in Oklahoma, Humphrey served for several years as chief of a smaller department in Texas. Humphrey will take over the department in the next 30 days.
Missouri - University of Missouri-St. Louis (UMSL) Chancellor Tom George will retire Sept. 1. George held the post for 16 years. An interim chancellor will be named in June and a national search will be conducted to pick a permanent successor. Though George's UMSL service ends in September, he will continue serving through 2020 as the president emeritus of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities.
Montana - Shane Stack, the former chair of the Missoula County Airport Authority and an engineer with the Montana Department of Transportation, was named the county's new director of Public Works. Stack, who served 23 years with the state transportation agency, will start on April 1. Stack will oversee all Public Works operations including the road, building and mapping divisions. His duties also include the Surveyors Office and the six sewer and water districts under county jurisdiction.
Illinois - U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer will head to the federal court in Chicago, succeeding Ruben Castillo as chief judge on July 1. Pallmeyer has been a district judge in the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse since October 1998 and served as a federal magistrate in the same courthouse for seven years before that.
Ohio - Verna L. Williams was named the new dean of the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Law March 20. Williams has served as interim dean and Nippert professor of Law since May of 2017. Williams joined the university as an assistant professor in 2001. She was named professor in 2006 and served as Judge Joseph P. Kinneary Professor of Law from 2013-2017. Prior to joining the UC faculty, Williams practiced law at the Department of Justice and served as vice president and director of educational opportunities at the National Women's Law Center.
West Virginia - Former Raleigh County Commissioner Byrd White has been named by Gov. Jim Justice as the state's next Department of Transportation secretary. A certified public accountant, White previously served as executive vice president of one of the country's largest road construction companies. He replaces former Secretary of Transportation Tom Smith, who was terminated from the job.
Washington - Della Bell-Freeman has been hired as the new superintendent of the Spokane R-VII School District, effective July 1. She is the current assistant superintendent of the Montgomery County R-II School District, after 22 years of service as a teacher and principal in the Moberly School District. Bell-Freeman will replace current Superintendent Terry Jamieson, who recently announced his plans to resign after two years with the district. Jamieson's departure date has been set for the fall.
Washington, D.C.- Recently retired senior vice president of flight operations for a major airline, Stephen Dickson, has been tapped by President Donald Trump as the new Federal Aviation Administration administrator. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Dickson will also serve as chair of the Air Traffic Services Committee in the U.S. Department of Transportation. Dickson is a U.S. Air Force veteran and civilian airline pilot. He replaces former administrator Michael Huerta, who stepped down at the end of his five-year term in early 2018 after being appointed by then-President Barack Obama.