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Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back! The excitement and momentum that accompany the start of a new academic year are unmistakable, and your presence is an essential part of that energy.

There are many opportunities to help support our students, both new and returning, during Weeks of Welcome. I encourage you to attend events where your presence can make a meaningful difference.

As we begin the semester, I want to emphasize that student retention remains our highest institutional priority. The first days of class play a pivotal role in shaping students’ experiences and expectations. A thoughtfully designed opening activity can foster a growth-oriented mindset and help ensure the timely completion of your participation roster.

Included in this newsletter is a recognition of faculty who received tenure and promotions. Congratulations to all of you. Your work does not go unnoticed and makes a true impact on our university.

Welcome, New Faculty!

We look forward to working with our new faculty and are excited to introduce them to the ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ community!

Nathan Baker,ÌýAssistant Professor, Psychology, COSM

Theresa Benson,ÌýClinical Assistant Professor, School of Professional Psychology,ÌýCHEH

Mohammadreza Bidar, Lecturer, Mathematics and Statistics, COSM

Thomas Bitterman,ÌýInstructor, Computer Science, CECS

Dawn Conway, Interim Dean, RSCOB

Tulun Ergin,ÌýVisiting Professor of Astrophysics, Physics, COSM

Joshua Fiechter,ÌýAssistant Professor, Psychology, COSM

Kelsey Gudorf,ÌýInstructor, Elementary and Middle Education, Lake Campus

Rebecca Hall,ÌýLecturer,ÌýSocial Work, CHEH

Linda Heys,ÌýClinical Instructor, Nursing, CHEH

Ryan Ivory,ÌýLecturer, Social Work, CHEH

Michael Jacobs, Professor, Center for Civics, Culture, and Workforce Development

Mariah Jansing,ÌýClinical Instructor, Nursing, CHEH

Bibek Joshi,ÌýInstructor, Computer Science, CECS

Sergei Kolomeitsev, Assistant Professor, School of Supply Chain, Marketing and Management, RSCOB

Anthony Kubat,ÌýAssistant Professor, Medical Education, BSOM

Yoo Min Lee, Assistant Professor, Music, COLA

Ricardo Augosto Leoni deSousa, Visiting Assistant Professor, Health and Exercise Sciences, CHEH

Shelbey Mitchell,ÌýLecturer, Social Work, CHEH

Ronve O'Daniel,ÌýAssistant Professor, Musical Theatre, COLA

Oluwaseun Oyetade,ÌýVisiting Assistant Professor, Chemistry, COSM

Ryan Rose,ÌýClinical Assistant Professor, School of Professional Psychology, CHEH

Braedan Schantz, Lecturer, Education and Leadership, CHEH

Jennifer Schmidt,ÌýLecturer, Education and Leadership, CHEH

Jennifer Smith,ÌýClinical Assistant ProfessorÌýÌýÌý Ìý, School of Professional Psychology, CHEH

Youssef Soliman, Associate Professor, Medical Education, BSOM

Wei Sun,ÌýAssistant Professor, Computer Science, CECS

Rio Watanabe, Lecturer, Health and Exercise Sciences, CHEH

Brian Watson,ÌýAssistant Professor, School of Supply Chain Management, Marketing, and Management, RSCOB
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We also welcome new faculty who joined us beginning in the Spring 2025 Semester!

Brian Hardy,ÌýInstructor, Health and Exercise Sciences, CHEH

Jennifer Jurcsisn,ÌýAssistant Professor, Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Physiology, BSOM/COSM

Richard Sanders,ÌýAssociate Professor, Psychiatry, BSOM

Melissa Schloneger,ÌýAssistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, BSOM

Faculty Promotion and Tenure

Congratulations to our faculty colleagues who recently earned tenure and promotion! This achievement reflects your exceptional scholarship, dedicated teaching, and meaningful service to our university and community. Earning tenure and promotion is a significant milestone that recognizes years of hard work, intellectual contributions, and commitment to student success.Ìý

Promotion to Professor:

Huma Bashir, Human Services, CHEH

Giovanna Follo,ÌýSociology,ÌýLake Campus

Ion Juvina, Psychology, COSM

J. Ashot Kozak, Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Physiology, BSOM/COSM

Weiwen Long, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, COSM

Chasity O’Malley, Medical Education, BSOM

Sara Paton, Population and Public Health Sciences, BSOM

Kelly Sandberg, Pediatrics, BSOM

Elizabeth Talbot, Social Work, CHEH

Randy Woods, Surgery, BSOM

Zifeng Yang, Mechanical and Materials Engineering, CECS

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Promotion to Associate Professor:

Michael Schmidt, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, BSOM

Kallol Set, Pediatrics, BSOM

Sydney Silverstein, Population and Public Health Sciences, BSOM

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Promotion to Associate Professor with Tenure:

Fathi Amsaad, Computer Science and Engineering, CECS

Jinhwan Jo, Management and International Business, RSCOB

Melanie Marshall, Lake Campus

Zheng Xu, Mathematics and Statistics, COSM

Ìý

Promotion to Senior Lecturer:

Steven Aldredge, Music, COLA

Amy Elston, Teacher Education, CHEH

Thomas Hazelbaker, Accounting, RSCOB

John K. Kurokawa, Music, COLA

Kerry Martin, Economics, RSCOB

Gerald Noble, Music, COLA

Teresa Richter, Business Technologies, Lake Campus

Bridgett Severt, Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Physiology, BSOM/COSM

ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ Online Accessibility Essentials

ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ Online offers a compilation of resources designed to support faculty as they ensure their courses meet accessibility standards. These resources include an interactive course, which takes about 20 minutes to complete, along with comprehensive guides.Ìý

Once faculty have completed the Accessibility in Course Design trainingÌýand updated their content to reflect what they have learned, they are encouraged to submit their content for a digital accessibility review. A member of the WSO team will assess the content and provide feedback on any necessary revisions to ensure accessibility standards are met. Learn more about our Accessibility Essentials.

Student Success

Academic Success Centers — Embed academic success in your course! Getting students connected to the Academic Success CentersÌýearly in the semester is essential to their success. Faculty are our best way to make students aware of the support that is available to them. Here are three ways you can help connect students to our support:

1. Put support information in your syllabus. We have ready-made snippets you can use on our Faculty and Staff Resources webpage.
2. Bring your students to the Academic Success Centers or have us visit your class. You can request tours and classroom visits through ourÌý.
3. Add the Academic Success Centers widget to your Pilot homepage.

If you are unsure if your course is supported by the Academic Success Centers, check the following webpages: Course-based Tutoring, the Math Learning Center, Supplemental Instruction,Ìýand the Writing Center.

Visit the Academic Success Center’s open house, Wright Start: Empowering Faculty for Student Success, on September 23 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Success Center.

Contact Dr. Alison Witte, director of the Academic Success Centers, with any questions.

Peer Navigators — The Peer Navigator Program is designed to connect students with upperclassmen for regular support and mentorship. The program matches students with a peer navigator for regular meetings that encourage, give direction, and help them navigate the university successfully. Peer navigators focus on holistic well-being by providing support, problem-solving, and goal-setting tips that assist students in reaching their educational goals.

The Peer Navigator Program seeks to:

• Increase sense of belonging with a built-in peer support system
• Initiate early intervention strategies as needed
• Provide an additional touch point via regular follow up
• Identify barriers prohibiting student success
• Allow students to see their peers model excellence
• Assist in the transition between high school and university life
• Promote healthy classroom behaviors

Learn more about the Peer Navigator Program.

Raising Early Alerts for Students–Faculty play a critical role in identifying student issues. By raising an early alert, you enable timely interventions from various campus teams, enhancing ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´â€™s ability to foster student success.

The Slate Student Success Portal can be accessed through WINGS using your ÌÇÐÄÔ­´´ username and password. Learn more about the portal.

Faculty Activity Reporting

Continuing this fall, annual faculty activity reports are due September 15. As a reminder, faculty report their activities for the previous academic year (fall 2024 to summer 2025), not for the calendar year.

Activity reporting is collected through information entered by faculty in Watermark’s Faculty SuccessÌýsoftware. One-hour user training sessionsÌýare available.

Evaluation of teaching and service as well as scholarship for TETs will be based on a 0-4 scale (11.3).

Teaching and service are evaluated for the year under review only; scholarship is evaluated for the year under review, with the merit score for that year then averaged with the two prior years (11.2).

Criteria for evaluation of teaching and service are found in Article 11.6 for Bargaining Unit Faculty Members.

Faculty Intervention Dates at a Glance

Due Dates

Ìý	Full Term	A Term	B Term
Participation Roster Reports due from faculty by 11:59 p.m.	Tuesday, September 2	Tuesday, September 2	Tuesday, October 21
Midterm Grades due by noonÌý (Only applies to FULL term classes; required of all undergraduate classes, optional for graduate classes)	Wednesday, October 15	N/A	N/A
Last day to drop with a W grade	Friday, October 31	Friday, September 19	Friday, November 7

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Participation Rosters —ÌýIn order to comply with federal financial aid regulations, instructors are required to determine if a student has established attendance or participated in each course. This information must be reported each semester during the first week of each class using the (WINGS/WINGS Express). Variable date classes (known as X term) must report by the end of the eighth day after the start date of the course.

For those reporting full attendance in a course, please see these quick Instructions for Reporting Full Class Participation (PDF).

All courses (undergraduate and graduate) are required to report Participation Rosters. This includes any lab classes that are worth credit, thesis/dissertation classes, independent studies courses, etc. The only courses exempt from reporting are those that are not eligible for federal financial aid. This includes College Credit Plus classes taught in the high schools and zero credit classes. Additional information is available on the Registrar’s Participation Rosters page.

Midterm Grades — Faculty will regularly submit midterm grades for all undergraduate courses. Further information is available on the Registrar’s Grading page.

When a Student Needs Support

Ìýis a great resource for helping students or making referrals. This site contains contact information for emergency or essential departments that can assist your students all in one location.

The Student Success NavigatorÌýshowcases the wide range of resources designed to support our students. Whether students are interested in joining a student organization, looking for access to mental health services, playing a sport, or finding a job, all information is available in one central location.

I am grateful for your dedication to promoting student success. I hope you have a wonderful and productive week!

Jim Denniston, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost