Jeff Blodgett began his three-year commitment to the UHV Faculty Senate in 2020 as vice president during a pandemic. Now, he’s ready to continue to serve the faculty in the role of president.

Blodgett, a marketing professor in the UHV School of Business Administration, will serve as the 2021-2022 UHV Faculty Senate president.

Jeff Blodgett

“It is an honor and privilege to represent the faculty,” Blodgett said. “We have a lot of outstanding faculty members who are highly dedicated to their students and the university. They have many good ideas and many legitimate concerns, and so it is important that their voices be heard.”

Ricardo Teixeira, a UHV associate professor of mathematics, director of the mathematics program and the previous president, has moved into the role of past president.

“Jeff Blodgett is an active member of the UHV community and has done an amazing job leading the Faculty Salary Plan Committee,” Teixeira said. “He is a selfless person, and I have enjoyed working with him on the Faculty Senate. I know he will do a great job as president.”

The UHV Faculty Senate is an elected body that represents the Faculty Council. The senate advocates for the university’s faculty, and faculty members can share ideas or concerns with the senate to be submitted for consideration by the administration. The Faculty Senate president also sits on UHV boards and committees, including the President’s Cabinet and the Academic Council.

Ricardo Teixeira

Blodgett has worked at UHV since 2011 and will celebrate his 31st year as a faculty member as he takes over the reins as Faculty Senate president. He teaches marketing courses and received the 2020 UHV Distinguished Faculty Service Award for his service to both the university and community. Additionally, for the past three years, he has chaired the Faculty Salary Plan Committee and has been involved with the American Association of University Professors. He recently completed his first year of a three-year term as president of the AAUP Texas Conference.

One of Blodgett’s goals as Faculty Senate president is to continue to improve faculty compensation and bring salaries up to national averages. The Faculty Senate has made significant progress in that area. Blodgett said that UHV President Bob Glenn; Chance Glenn, UHV provost and vice president for academic affairs; and Wayne Beran, vice president for administration and finance, have been committed to making faculty and staff compensation a priority.

Another goal Blodgett has is to continue working with administration in recruiting efforts for students at the Victoria campus, online and at the UHV instructional site in Katy. He also plans to continue to advocate for shared governance, especially in the area of budgeting.

Although the pandemic created challenges, one benefit was that more faculty participated as Faculty Senate meetings switched from in person to Microsoft Teams. The Faculty Senate would like to continue to provide an online option so that more people can easily participate.

Blodgett said he also appreciates the support of Chance Glenn, who meets with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee on a regular basis and asks for the committee members’ opinions.

“It is a team effort,” Blodgett said. “I anticipate the executive committee will continue to work in a collaborative fashion with Chance Glenn.”

Joining Blodgett and Teixeira are:

Executive Committee:

• Vice President – Sandy Venneman, professor of psychology and biology, School of Arts & Sciences
• Secretary – Liane Tanguay, associate professor of English, School of Arts & Sciences
• Member-at-Large – Katherine Bacon, associate professor of counselor education, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development

Senators:

• Keith Akins, associate professor of criminal justice, School of Arts & Sciences
• Saidat Ilo, assistant professor of political science, School of Arts & Sciences
• Brooks Sterritt, assistant professor of English, School of Arts & Sciences
• Mark Ward, associate professor of communication, School of Arts & Sciences
• Alexandre Aidov, associate professor of finance, School of Business Administration
• Xiaobo Dong, associate professor of accounting, School of Business Administration
• Jonathan Du, associate professor of accounting, School of Business Administration
• Saeed Janani, assistant professor of marketing, School of Business Administration
• Willie Black Jr., assistant professor of kinesiology, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
• Lou Lloyd-Zannini, associate professor of educational leadership, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
• Barba Patton, professor of curriculum and instruction, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development
• Karyna García, assistant professor of counselor education, School of Education, Health Professions & Human Development