Office of Academic Affairs
1000 E. University Ave - Dept 3302
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307)766.4286
Fax: (307)766.2606
Joseph Holles is a professor in the department of Chemical Engineering. His laboratory
research is in the area of heterogeneous catalysis with a current application of dry
reforming of methane. He also performs pedagogical scholarly activity in the area
of undergraduate and graduate research with a focus on research ethics, research skills,
and research preparation. Joe’s service roles have included: undergraduate curriculum
coordinator, graduate coordinator, Associate Editor of Chemical Engineering Education,
and ABET (engineering accreditation coordinator). He is also a member of the UW Council
on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CDEI) and teaches for the Honors College.
Paula Martin (she/her) is Assistant Dean, User Services in UW Libraries and holds
Associate Librarian rank. She has worked in academic libraries for over 13 years in
varying roles, serving on many search committees along the way. Paula has a history
of forming partnerships with faculty and staff to forward DEI efforts on college campuses,
including educational programming, voter registration/campus democracy efforts, equitable
hiring practices, campus storytelling projects, and as faculty advisor for student
LGBTQIA+ organizations.
Chian Jones Ritten is an associate professor in the department of Agricultural and
Applied Economics. Chian’s research focuses on the how gender and race impact economic
outcomes, including how biases influence hiring decisions. She teaches classes on
economic decision-making and issues of gender and race in the economy. She is passionate
about ensuring diversity and equity in the search process and has served on many search
committees at the University of Wyoming, several outside of her department.
John Ritten is a professor in the department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.
As part of the Search Equity Advisor program at UW, he would love to help hiring committees
work towards attracting a vibrant, diverse applicant pool and bringing highly qualified
and exciting candidates to the campus of the university of Wyoming. John aims to bring
new ideas and best practices to all aspects of the hiring process including writing
inviting job descriptions, working towards eliminating biases in the evaluation criteria,
and provide a welcoming environment for all applicants.
Arielle Zibrak is an associate professor in the department of English. She began her
career at UW Casper in 2014 and relocated to the main campus in 2018. She is the founder
and director of The Bruce Richardson Lectures in the Humanities—a series that brings
distinguished scholars to speak in both Casper and Laramie—and is committed to bringing
a diversity of perspectives to the university and our communities state-wide. Her
scholarship on American women’s literature, popular culture, and sexuality has appeared
in both scholarly and public-facing venues such as The Los Angeles Review of Books,
Women’s Studies, and American Literature. She is the author of Guilty Pleasures (NYU
Press, 2021) and the editor of Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence: New Centenary
Essays (Bloomsbury, 2019).
Office of Academic Affairs
1000 E. University Ave - Dept 3302
Laramie, WY 82071
Phone: (307)766.4286
Fax: (307)766.2606