Board of Regents approves faculty and staff appointments
May 1, 2019
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Mary Nelle Brunson (left), who formerly served as associate provost, associate vice president of academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School, was named associate professor emeritus during Stephen F. Austin State University's Board of Regents meeting Tuesday; regents also honored two longtime faculty members with the title of professor emeritus: Tim King (center), music; and Karen Embry-Jenlink (right), secondary education and educational leadership.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Mary Nelle Brunson, who formerly served as associate provost, associate vice president of academic affairs and dean of the Graduate School, was named associate professor emeritus during Stephen F. Austin State University's Board of Regents meeting Tuesday.
An SFA graduate holding a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Education, Brunson received her doctoral degree in early childhood education from the University of North Texas. She originally joined the SFA faculty in 1993 as an instructor of early childhood education.
During her tenure, Brunson was appointed as campus academic leader of the newly formed Nacogdoches ISD and SFA Charter School in 1998 and was named assistant department chair of elementary education in 2000.
She served as associate provost and associate vice president of academic affairs from 2008 until her retirement in August 2018, and she also served as dean of the Graduate School from 2011 to 2015.
Regents also honored two longtime faculty members with the title of professor emeritus: Karen Embry-Jenlink, secondary education and educational leadership, and Tim King, music.
Embry-Jenlink joined SFA's faculty in 1998 as an associate professor in the James I. Perkins College of Education and in 2003 was promoted to professor. Jenlink served as national president of the Association of Teacher Educators and led the SFA Faculty Senate as chair for two years. Her work with a national NASA education commission to study the future of STEM education will impact future generations of teachers and students.
King, who served as the director of choral activities at SFA until his retirement in 2017, joined the SFA music faculty in 1983. He directed the A Cappella Choir through numerous tours of Europe and conducted the student ensemble during performances in such prestigious venues as St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, San Marco (St. Mark's) Basilica and the Vatican.
He was named Regents Professor, the highest honor SFA bestows upon members of the faculty, for the 2014-15 academic year.
Faculty members granted tenure by the board are Marcus Cox, Gina Harden and Jason Reese, management and marketing; Lynn Greenleaf and Jonathan Mitchell, mathematics and statistics; Ali Hachem, secondary education and educational leadership; Hyunsook Kang, human sciences; Carrie Kennedy-Lightsey, languages, cultures and communication; William Nieberding and Shaun Roberts, art; Jodene Pappas, library; Robert Polewan, psychology; Susan Reily, Vicki Thomas, Tingting Xu and Deborah Williams, elementary education; James Rowe, kinesiology and health science; and Christopher Turner, music.
Regents approved the following faculty promotions:
To professor - Heather Olson-Beal, secondary education and educational leadership; Perky Biesel, history; Leslie Cecil, anthropology, geography and sociology; Stephen Cooper and Wilma Cordova, social work; Thomas Judson, mathematics and statistics; Stephen Kosovich and Mark Schaub, economics and finance; Linda Levitt, languages, cultures and communication; Chay Runnells, human sciences; Christina Sinclair, kinesiology and health science; Jeremy Stovall and Pat Stephens Williams, forestry; Walter Trikosko, physics, engineering and astronomy; and Kimberly Welsh, elementary education.
To associate professor - Marcus Cox, Gina Harden and Jason Reese, marketing and management; Lynn Greenleaf and Jonathan Mitchell, mathematics and statistics; Paula Griffin, Susan Reily and Vicki Thomas, elementary education; Ali Hachem, secondary education; Carrie Kennedy-Lightsey, languages, cultures and communication; William Nieberding and Shaun Roberts, art; Mary Olle, human sciences; Robert Polewan, psychology; and James Rowe, kinesiology and health science.
In addition, regents approved the promotion of Jeffrey Forsse to assistant professor in kinesiology and health science and the appointment of Maria Betancourt-Smith as visiting assistant professor of secondary education and educational leadership.
In SFA Athletics, staff appointments approved include JaMarkus McFarland and Nathan Young as assistant football coaches; Joshua Stoner, assistant coach and director of sports performance; Philip Vigil, coordinator of football team operations; and Tomas Rodriguez, facilities and equipment supervisor.
Additional staff appointments approved during Tuesday's meeting include Cassandra Montesano, equine supervisor in the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture; Bryan Nelson, network support specialist II, information technology services; Morgan Smith, senior analyst, institutional research; Arnulfo Hernandez and Christopher Ruth, hall directors, Residence Life; and Prici Arizmendi, counselor, student affairs support services.
In University Affairs, the board approved changes of status for Lacey Folsom, from director of student engagement to interim assistant dean of students; Hollie Gammel Smith, from assistant dean of student affairs programming to interim dean of students; and Adam Peck, from dean of students and assistant vice president of university affairs to interim vice president of university affairs. Also, Ryan Brown-Moreno was approved from admissions counselor to career coordinator in the Center for Career and Professional Development.
In the Rusche College of Business, regents approved changes of status for Robert McDermand, from associate director of athletic academic services to senior lecturer of management and marketing, and Keith New, from adjunct faculty to lecturer of business communication and legal studies.
Additional changes of status include:
- Janet McLeroy, from assistant director to associate director of admissions, and Monique Nunn, from coordinator of the Student Success Center to enrollment coordinator in the Office of Admissions
- Alison Reed, from human resources representative to learning experience design specialist II in the Center for Teaching and Learning
- Kenneth Untiedt, from professor of English and creative writing to professor and interim chair of English and creative writing
- Ginger Walker, from accountant I in development to senior budget analyst in finance and administration
- Barbara Hunter, from senior representative for benefits to lead senior representative in human resources
- and James Egner, from technical support specialist to client services manager; and Henry Wiederhold, from programmer systems II to specialist security ITS II in information technology services.
Faculty development leave was granted to Piero Fenci for fall 2019 and Brook Poston for spring 2020.
Regents also approved the retirements of the following faculty and staff with 342 years of combined service to the university: Ellen Caplan, librarian III; Shirley Dickerson, director of the library; Matthew Fenley, associate director of compliance in athletics; Susan Jennings, professor of business communication and legal studies; Gary Mayer, professor of mass communication; Gregory Payne, supervisor of athletic facilities and equipment; K.L. Roberts, associate professor of secondary education and educational leadership; Peggy Scott, director of student rights and responsibilities; Van Sellars, information technology services programmer/analyst III; Deborah Sellman, budget director; Samuel Smith, director of the student center; Wini Turner, assistant to the president/budget analyst; and Susan Williams, special assistant to the president.