Jenlink named SFA Regents Professor

Left to right: Dr. Patrick Jenlink, Dr. Tim Clipson and Dr. John Moore

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Dr. Patrick Jenlink, professor of secondary education and educational leadership at Stephen F. Austin State University, has been named the university's 2017-18 Regents Professor.

Reserved for exemplary community and university role models, the title of Regents Professor is the highest honor SFA bestows upon faculty members.

"Dr. Jenlink is a point of pride for the Perkins College of Education," said Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of SFA's James I. Perkins College of Education. "It is fitting that his influence on doctoral students and the educational leadership and policy of the region, state and nation is now being recognized as a point of pride by the SFA Board of Regents."

Jenlink joined the SFA faculty in 1997 and is doctoral program coordinator for the department. He is a prolific writer, speaker and scholar, having authored or co-authored hundreds of books, book chapters and journal articles. He has presented at numerous national and international conferences, and he has served on myriad committees for students completing their theses or dissertations to complete master or doctoral degrees.

Also during Tuesday's board meeting, two longtime SFA professors were named professor emeritus.

Dr. Tim Clipson, who will retire in May 2017 following 36 years of teaching at SFA, was named professor emeritus of business communication and legal studies. While at SFA, Clipson has held the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor and professor in the Rusche College of Business, where he teaches specialized executive leadership courses. Since 1998, Clipson also has served as the SFA 101 Freshman Success coordinator.

Dr. John Moore, who has served SFA for 46 years, was named professor emeritus of chemistry and biochemistry. During his tenure at SFA, Moore has been a professor in the Department of Chemistry, director of the Teaching Excellence Center, and co-director of SFA's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Center. He was the 2008-09 Regents Professor.

Dr. Joey Bray, an associate professor in the Department of Agriculture, was approved as chair of the department by the Board of Regents. Bray had served as interim chair of the department since September 2016. He replaces Dr. Dale Perritt, who plans to retire in August after more than 35 years of service to the university.

The Board of Regents also approved the following faculty promotions:

To professor - Kenneth Austin and Linda Jones Black, secondary education and educational leadership; Erin Brown, Michael Maurer and Craig Morton, agriculture; Todd Brown, economics and finance; Ken Collier, government; Dana Cooper, history; Jennifer Dalmas, music; Eric Jones, kinesiology and health science; Matthew Kwiatkowski, biology; Michael Martin and Christine Butterworth McDermott, English and creative writing; and Joseph Musser, physics, engineering and astronomy.

To associate professor - Scott Bailey, secondary education; Susan Casey, Tracey Hasbun and Tingting Xu, elementary education; Carlos Cuadra, languages, cultures and communication; Nina Ellis-Hervey, Human Services; Darrell Fry, chemistry and biochemistry; Casey Hart, mass communication; Stacy Hendricks, secondary education and educational leadership; and Gene Moon, music.

Regents also approved the appointment of Jennifer Perry as clinical instructor of human services.

Staff appointments approved during Tuesday's meeting included Joseph Shannon, program director for Academic Affairs - university partnerships; Tony Gilbert, assistant football coach; Alexander Vanvalkenburgh, athletic trainer; and Kathy Bryson, program director, Academic Assistance Resource Center.

Status changes in the James I. Perkins College of Education included Lydia Richardson, from instructor to assistant professor of human services, and Christina Sinclair, from associate professor of kinesiology and health science to associate professor and interim associate dean.

In the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, the board approved status changes for Dawn Stover, from educational program coordinator and research associate to ornamental plant evaluation research associate, and Paul Weatherford, from lab associate to interim director of the Soil, Plant and Water Analysis Laboratory.

Additional status changes approved by regents included adjunct faculty members Carrie Butler, to clinical instructor, and Cynthia Devlin, to visiting lecturer, in the College of Liberal and Applied Arts; Michael Coffee, from assistant director of Information Technology Services to interim chief information officer; Gavin McCarty, from manager of the SFA Post Office to Post Office manager and interim director of printing services; Danny Hamilton, from building operator II to manager of Residence Life systems; Deborah Dunn, from professor of computer science to professor and interim chair of computer science in the College of Sciences and Mathematics.

Faculty members granted tenure by the board included Susan Casey, elementary education; Carlos Cuadra, languages, cultures and communication; Nina Ellis-Hervey and Jennifer Kennon, human services; Darrell Frey, chemistry and biochemistry; Casey Hart, mass communication; Stacy Hendricks, secondary education and educational leadership; and Carol Wright, general business.

Kyle Ainsworth, a special collections librarian in the East Texas Research Center, was granted tenure, as well as faculty development leave for summer 2017. Faculty development leave also was granted to Andrew Brininstool of the Department of English and Creative Writing, Aryendra Chakravartty of the Department of History, and Amanda Rudolph of the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership for fall 2017. Chris Comer, Forestry, was granted faculty development leave for spring 2018.

The board approved retirements of faculty and staff members with 79 years of combined service to the university. Retirements include James Kendall, network support specialist II; Wynter Chauvin, professor of elementary education; Pedro Escamilla, assistant professor of languages, cultures and communication; and Scott Slough, professor of secondary education.