Large group of UHV faculty members earn promotions
A group of 13 University of Houston-Victoria faculty members will have new job titles this fall after the UH System Board of Regents approved their promotions in academic rank.
The assistant professors who will be promoted to associate professors and receive tenure are:
- Linda Autry, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
- Justin Bell, School of Arts & Sciences
- Armando Chavez-Rivera, School of Arts & Sciences
- Xiabo Dong, School of Business Administration
- Shengsheng “Charlie” Huang, School of Business Administration
- Rachana Kalelkar, School of Business Administration
- Yingxu Kuang, School of Business Administration
- Diana López, School of Arts & Sciences
- Joann Olson, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
- Barjinder Singh, School of Business Administration
- Beverly Tomek, School of Arts & Sciences
The associate professors who will be promoted to the rank of professors are:
- Elsa Soto Leggett, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
- Hsin-Hui Lin, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
All of the promotions will take effect Sept. 1. The number of faculty promoted is the most in the past six years and more than doubles the amount promoted in 2016.
“It’s gratifying to see so many of our dedicated faculty members earn promotions,” said David Cockrum, UHV interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “They have a long list of accomplishments in the classroom, performing research and serving our students and the community.”
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.
Autry teaches counseling education. In addition to her teaching and research, she heavily is involved in service activities at UHV and outside the university. She has served as faculty sponsor for the Chi Sigma Iota international counselor honor society, an instructor for the university’s First-Year Experience and a board member for the Nave Museum.
Bell teaches philosophy and serves as director for the School of Arts & Sciences honors track program. His areas of research specialization are American philosophy and ethics. In 2013, Bell earned a research grant from UHV for a project investigating the role of empathy in the moral philosophy of John Dewey and those who follow his ideas.
Chavez-Rivera has taught Spanish at UHV since the program began in 2012. He now is director of the Spanish program. Chavez-Rivera worked as a journalist in Latin America for more than a decade before he began teaching. In 2015, he served as the keynote speaker and presenter for a Latino Film Festival in California.
Dong teaches several accounting courses. In 2015-2016, she was the UHV School of Business Administration Partnership Professor of Accounting. Her research focuses on financial intermediaries, especially financial statement analyst forecast, management forecast and equity valuation.
Huang teaches management classes, including “Strategic Management,” the Bachelor of Business Administration capstone course. He also conducts research about multinational companies, and how they navigate cross-cultural relations and business management.
Kalelkar teaches accounting and researches executive compensation, corporate governance and auditing. She was chosen as the 2013-2014 UHV School of Business Administration Partnership Professor of Accounting and won the 2015-2016 Bloomberg Research Award.
Kuang has taught accounting at UHV since 2011. She is a Certified Public Accountant in China and previously worked as a financial manager for a Chinese securities firm. Her research interests include tax policy, financial accounting theory and educational research.
López teaches creative writing courses and serves as the director of UHV’s undergraduate creative writing program. She also is the managing director of CentroVictoria, a center for Mexican American literature and culture that is housed at UHV. López has written several books for middle-grade audiences, including “Confetti Girl,” “Choke,” “Ask my Mood Ring How I Feel” and “Nothing up My Sleeve.”
Olson teaches adult and higher education courses. In 2015, she won the UHV Research and Scholarly Activity Excellence Award. She also was the recipient of a UHV summer research grant in 2014 for four different projects. Also in 2014, the UHV Student Government Association presented Olson with an award for Outstanding Service to Students.
Singh teaches several management courses. In 2013-2014, he was the UHV School of Business Administration Partnership Professor of Management and won the Bloomberg Research Award. Singh researches a variety of topics within the fields of organizational behavior and human resource management.
Tomek teaches history courses and will continue to teach a U.S. history course, in addition to serving as the associate provost for University College. In 2015, she won the UHV Enron Teaching Excellence Award. She was the UHV Faculty Senate president in 2015-2016. Her research is in U.S. social history, especially civil rights, abolition and 19th century U.S. reform.
Leggett teaches counseling education classes. She won the 2016 UHV Distinguished Faculty Service Award. Leggett served as the UHV Faculty Senate President in 2014-2015, and she is active in a number of counseling organizations. Leggett teaches and researches play therapy, a counseling technique that uses toys, drawings, sand and more to relate to patients.
Lin teaches family and childhood development education courses. In 2007, she won the UHV Distinguished Faculty Service Award, and in 2014, she won the UHV School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development Faculty Service Award. She serves as a mentor for the Young Professional Mentoring Program in the Association of Chinese American Professionals.
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.
