UHV adds six to university faculty
The University of Houston-Victoria recently added six members to its faculty to teach topics that include communication, criminal justice, forensic psychology, kinesiology, management and nursing.
“UHV has a commitment to offering an outstanding education, and that begins with hiring an excellent faculty,” said David Cockrum, UHV interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “These additions to the university’s full-time faculty bring a myriad of experience and research to the university. Our students will learn a lot from having these new teachers in their classrooms.”
All six of the new faculty members were hired as assistant professors, which means they have the option to work toward receiving tenure through the university. Three were hired by the School of Arts & Sciences, two by the School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development, and one by the School of Business Administration.
The new faculty members are:
Nicole Eugene is an assistant professor of communication in the School of Arts & Sciences. She teaches “Interpersonal Communication,” “Intercultural Communication” and “Public Speaking.” She received her doctorate from Ohio University in communication studies and her Master of Arts in American cultural studies from Bowling Green State University. She is the winner of numerous awards, and her work has been supported by Ohio Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her research focuses on the particular ways hidden disabilities – especially neurological disabilities – are shaped by cultural dynamics. She loves visual arts, comedy, jazz and running.
Paige Harris is an assistant professor of forensic psychology in the School of Arts & Sciences. She teaches undergraduate and graduate psychology courses. Her research focuses on issues related to testing, such as whether the assessment tools people use work as well outside of the lab as they do in well-controlled and structured environments. She also is interested in the role that the evaluators, such as psychologists, play in forensic evaluations. She is a recent graduate of Sam Houston State University, where she earned both her doctorate and master’s. She originally hails from Birmingham, Ala., where she met her husband, Brent.
Sara Zedaker is an assistant professor of criminal justice in the School of Arts & Sciences. She received her doctoral and master’s degrees from Sam Houston State University. She teaches UHV courses about research methods, statistics and gender-based violence. Her research examines how romantic and peer relationships influence criminal behavior in adolescence, emerging adulthood and adulthood, and how facets such as intimate partner violence, substance use and peer behavior can influence participation in various crimes. She grew up in Denton but spent the last six years in Huntsville. She enjoys spending her free time with her husband, Wade, and her new baby boy, Cooper.
Yuan Wang is an assistant professor of management in the School of Business Administration. She received her doctorate in manufacturing technology management and Master of Education from the University of Toledo in Ohio. Her primary research interests focus on buyer-supplier relationship, sustainable and conventional product development, and the interface of operation supply chain management and human resource management. Her teaching primarily is in operation management and supply chain management. She also is a member of the American Production and Inventory Control Society and is certified in production and inventory management.
Willie Black is an assistant professor of kinesiology for the School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development. Before coming to UHV, he was the assistant principal at Kitty Hawk Middle School in San Antonio. He has a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Texas at San Antonio and a Master of Science in education from Southwest Texas State University. During his previous career, he has held positions as assistant principal, principal and director of humans resources. His research interests are social justice leadership and sports.
Tara Vaughn is an assistant clinical professor for the School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development in the Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Before coming to UHV, she taught at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi as a full-time nursing faculty member. She is a doctoral candidate through the University of Texas at the Tyler School of Nursing and has a Master of Public Health in health education from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Her Master of Science in Nursing Education is from the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on U.S. veterans, especially on help-seeking behavior of veterans who are homeless. She specializes in public health nursing and is board certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center in Advanced Public Health Nursing. She has served 22 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, where she is a major and serves in the Nurse Corps as a public health nurse with a secondary specialty as an operating room nurse. She is married to Cory, her husband of 23 years. They have four daughters and live in Rockport.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
