Key Leadership

Melissa L. Bard provides strategic leadership on human resources matters to UD’s administrators, faculty and staff. While fostering a customer-service-oriented human resources approach, she works closely with other administrators to align HR, financial and operational systems efficiently.

With experience building high performing teams and collaborative relationships, Bard has led the human resources operations at Frederick Community College, California State University, East Carolina University and Pennsylvania State University.

Beth G. Brand, Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, is responsible for promoting a culture of philanthropy throughout the University community and beyond and for enhancing connections of alumni to their alma mater.

Most recently, Brand served as Vice President and University Secretary from 2020 to 2025.

Brand joined UD in 2007, serving as associate vice president in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. She also served as Interim Vice President in 2016-17. She is a UD alumna.

Glenn Carter, former global marketing communications leader for the 3M Company in St. Paul, Minnesota, serves as Vice President for Communications and Marketing. Reporting directly to the President, he is responsible for the vision, implementation and supervision of the University’s overarching communication operations, as well as its branding strategy and initiatives, visual identity and development of major institutional relationships. 

In addition to serving as global marketing communications leader in 3M’s Global Design department, he held positions at 3M in the Corporate Communications Department. He earlier held positions with the Abernathy MacGregor Group Inc., the Charles A. Dana Foundation and the Paley Center for Media. A cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University with a degree in English, he earned his master of science degree in integrated marketing communications, with a specialty in corporate public relations, from Northwestern University. 

As the University's chief legal counsel, Angela Downin is responsible for the management and supervision of all legal affairs for the University.

Reporting to the President, Downin serves as principal legal advisor to the Board of Trustees, the President, and senior staff on litigation, regulatory, and contract matters.

As University Secretary, Downin acts as a liaison between the President and the Board of Trustees, providing administrative support for the Board and its chair, as well as overseeing the University's records management and archives operation.

In addition, she is responsible for coordination of presidential leadership advisory boards, as well as planning and delivering presidential, University-wide events, including Commencement and Convocations. Downin is also responsible for building an effective institutional model to cultivate corporate engagement in partnership with other areas of the University.

Miguel Garcia-Diaz serves as Vice President for Research, Scholarship, and Innovation (VPRSI). The VPRSI is the University’s senior research officer, responsible for advancing the University’s research enterprise and providing oversight over research administration, technology transfer, as well as several service centers and research institutes.

Garcia-Diaz, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, joined UD from Stony Brook University, where he was a Professor of Pharmacological Sciences, interim Vice President for Research, and the institution’s operations manager for the SUNY Research Foundation.

A structural biologist, Garcia-Diaz has focused his own research on understanding how mitochondria — the power plants in cells — build the different structures needed for cellular respiration and energy production. 

Garcia-Diaz received his B.S. in biochemistry and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Universidad Autónoma in Madrid, Spain. He also pursued postdoctoral research as a visiting fellow at NIH’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Carol Kissal brings extensive leadership experience in higher education, including senior executive roles at Emory University and George Mason University, as well as in the transportation and technology sectors. Her background spans finance, operations, facilities, capital planning, human resources, information technologies, and research administration. She has also led major transformations in organizational design, implemented institution-wide Enterprise Resource Planning systems, and introduced data-informed planning practices. 

Kissal earned her MBA in Corporate Finance from the Lubin School of Business at Pace University.

José-Luis Riera serves as Vice President for Student Life, after serving as Interim Vice President since 2017. He joined UD in 2010 as Associate Dean of Students and was named Dean of Students in 2014.

His career in higher education includes a variety of experiences and progressive responsibilities in student affairs, including positions in student life at University of Maryland College Park, Drexel University and Colorado State University. A graduate of Muhlenberg College, he earned a master of science degree in student affairs from Colorado State University and his doctorate in college student personnel administration from the University of Maryland. 

Rhett Ruggerio works closely with University senior administration to further enhance government and community relations, cultivating productive partnerships with city, county and state elected officials and their staffs.

Ruggerio is the founder of Dover-based Ruggerio Willson & Associates, which represents a wide array of businesses, including many Fortune 500 companies. 

Jordan Skolnick has served as the senior deputy athletic director of revenue generation and sport administration for UD Athletics.