Nine University of Houston-Victoria faculty members are being promoted Sept. 1, with five receiving tenure and three becoming full professors.
The associate professors who will be promoted to the rank of professors are:
- Andrew Baerg, School of Arts & Sciences
- Kyle Schlesinger, School of Arts & Sciences
- Andria Young, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
Some of the assistant professors who will be promoted to associate professors and receive tenure are:
- Jennifer Boswell, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
- Nazif Durmaz, School of Business Administration
- Craig Goodman, School of Arts & Sciences
- Ziyun Yang, School of Business Administration
In addition to the promotions in the professorial ranks, Jennifer Ortiz-Garza will be promoted to the position of senior lecturer in the School of Arts & Sciences. All of the promotions will take effect Sept. 1.
“These faculty members exemplify the university’s dedication to excellence and service,” said David Cockrum, UHV interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “I am proud to see their hard work has been rewarded, and I look forward to seeing their continued efforts to impact their students and make UHV a destination university.”
Faculty members hired as assistant professors at UHV are eligible to apply for tenure and promotion to associate professor after six years. Associate professors may be considered for promotion to professor after five years, although distinguished achievements can warrant earlier consideration.
The promotion review process, which takes almost a year to complete, begins with evaluations by the school deans. Their recommendations are sent to the university’s Promotion and Tenure Committee for evaluation. The committee’s recommendations go to the provost, and his recommendations go up the chain to the university president, UH System chancellor and the UH System Board of Regents.
Ortiz-Garza teaches psychology and is the assistant director of the university’s undergraduate psychology programs. She has more than 10 years of higher education teaching experience and is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. In 2017, she was given UHV’s Teaching Excellence Award.
Boswell teaches graduate counseling education courses. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a National Certified Counselor and a Registered Play Therapist. Her research focuses on topics including child play therapy, child-parent relationship therapy, and perceptions of religious or spiritual counseling. In 2014, she received the university’s Research & Scholarly Activity Excellence Award.
Durmaz teaches economics and is a native of Turkey. His research topics include international economics and trade, open economy macroeconomics, international finance, forecasting and time series econometrics. In 2014, he received the UHV School of Business Administration’s Partnership Professor Award.
Goodman teaches political science. His research focuses on American politics, especially Congress and the presidency. He also has participated in radio interviews with Houston Public Media and has been quoted by national news organizations such as the Washington Post and C-SPAN.
Yang teaches undergraduate accounting courses. He is an active member of the American Accounting Association, and his research interests include financial reporting, executive compensation and corporate governance research.
Baerg teaches communication and serves as chair of the UHV School of Arts & Sciences’ Arts & Humanities Division. He is a member of the National Communication, and Popular and American Culture associations, and he is a founding member of the International Association for Communication and Sport. His current research focuses on the relationship between sport and the media with a specific focus on the cultural and social significance of the medium of the sports video game.
Schlesinger teaches publishing and is the co-director of the graduate publishing program. He also is a poet, printer and book artist. He is a member of several groups, including the American Print History Association, College Book Art Association, American Institute for Graphic Arts and the Modern Language Association. His scholarly activity includes lectures and publishing about poetics, visual communication and artists’ books.
Young teaches education and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Her research has included topics such as teachers’ explanations for challenging behavior in the classroom, teachers’ use of behavior assessment and intervention in the classroom, and using student feedback to inform faculty development.