UW Trustees Approve Appointments

November 18, 2013

The University of Wyoming Board of Trustees approved the following appointments during its November meeting.

Administrative Appointments

Academic Affairs

Bill Mai as vice president for administration. A UW graduate with a B.S. in range and wildlife management (1987) and an MBA with an emphasis in economics (1989), Mai has spent his 24-year career in a variety of leadership positions with the state of Wyoming. Most recently, he served as the Chief Economic Adviser and Legislative liaison for the governor’s office.

Alyson Hagy as interim associate provost. She received a B.A. from Williams College and an MFA from the University of Michigan. She joined UW in 1996 in the Department of English.

David Jones as interim associate provost. He received a B.S. from Westminster College, and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. He joined UW in 2001 in the Department of Communication Disorders.

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics

Chian Jones Ritten as assistant professor. Ritten received a B.S. (2003) in mathematics and political science from Northern Arizona University, and an M.A. (2007) and a Ph.D. (2011) in economics from Colorado State University. Ritten has been a postdoctoral research associate at UW since 2011.

Department of Animal Science

Bledar Bisha as assistant professor. Bisha received a D.V.M. (1999) in veterinary medicine from Agricultural University of Tirana and an M.S. (2004) and a Ph.D. (2009) in food science and technology, both from Iowa State University. Bisha has been a postdoctoral fellow in food microbiology at Colorado State University since 2009.

Wei Guo as assistant professor. Guo received a B.S. (1999) in biotechnology, and a Ph.D. (2004) in agrobiotechnology, both from China Agricultural University. Guo has been a research scientist at the Medical School of the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 2009.

Department of Plant Sciences

Randa Jabbour as assistant professor. Jabbour received a B.S. (2003) in biology from Rochester Institute of Technology, and a Ph.D. (2009) in ecology from Pennsylvania State University. Jabbour has been a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Maine since 2010.

College of Arts and Sciences

Chicano Studies Program

Vanessa Fonseca as instructor. She received a B.A. (2005) in Spanish and an M.A. (2007) in Hispanic Southwest studies from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. (2013) in Spanish cultural studies from Arizona State University. She has been a teaching associate at Arizona State University since 2008.

Department of Communication and Journalism

Ashley Muddiman as instructor. She received a B.A. (2007) in strategic communication from Miami University, an M.A. (2009) in communication from Wake Forest University, and a Ph.D. (2013) in communication from the University of Texas. She has been a research assistant at the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at the University of Texas since 2009.

Department of Criminal Justice

John Boman as assistant professor. He received a B.A. (2007) in sociology/criminology and history from Ohio University and an M.A. (2010) and a Ph.D. (expected 2013) in criminology from the University of Florida. He has been a research assistant since 2012.

Department of Geology and Geophysics

Dario Grana as assistant professor. Grana received a B.S. (2003) in mathematics, and an M.S. (2005) in applied mathematics from the University of Pavia, an M.S (2006) in applied mathematics from the University of Milano Bicocca, and a Ph.D. (expected 2013) in geophysics from Stanford University. Grana has been a research assistant at Stanford University since 2010.

Andrew Parsekian as assistant professor. He received a B.S. (2005) in environmental science from Dickinson College, and a Ph.D. (2011) in environmental science from Rutgers. He has been a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University since 2011.

Department of Physics & Astronomy

TeYu Chien as assistant professor. Chien received a B.S. (2001) in physics from National Taiwan Normal University, and a Ph.D. (2009) in physics from the University of Tennessee. Chien has been a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University since 2011.

Department of Sociology

Shiri Noy as assistant professor. Noy received a B.A. (2005) in environment and development from McGill University, and an M.A. (2007) and a Ph.D. (expected 2013) in sociology, both from Indiana University. Noy has been an instructor at Indiana University since 2010.

Department of Theatre and Dance

Sharon Huizinga as assistant professor. She received a B.A. in theatre and dance from UW, and an M.F.A. in lighting design from the University of British Columbia. She has been a visiting lecturer at UW since 2012. 

Department of Zoology and Physiology

Hayley Lanier as assistant professor. She received a B.S. (2004) in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Kansas, and a Ph.D. (2010) in biological sciences from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.  She has been a postdoctoral research Fellow at the University of Michigan since 2010.

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

Saman Aryana as assistant professor. Aryana received a B.S. (2003) and an M.S. (2006) in civil engineering from the University of Texas, Arlington, and a Ph.D. (2012) in energy resources engineering, both from Stanford University. Aryana has been a reservoir engineer for Occidental Petroleum Corporation in Houston, Texas, since 2012.

Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering

Mohamed Ahmed as assistant professor. He received a M.S. (2001) in civil engineering from Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt; an M.S. (2009) and a Ph.D. (2012) in civil engineering, both from the University of Central Florida. He has been a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Central Florida since 2012.

Liping Wang as assistant professor. Wang received a B.S. (2001) and an M.S. (2003) in HVAC engineering from Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, and a Ph.D. (2007) in building technology from National University of Singapore. Wang has been a senior scientific engineering associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2012.

College of Health Sciences

Division of Communication Disorders

Mary Jo Cooley Hidecker as assistant professor. She received a B.A. (1981) in speech and hearing science and psychology, an M.A. (1984) in speech pathology and audiology, both from the University of Iowa, an M.S. (2011) in epidemiology, and a Ph.D. (2004) in audiology and speech sciences, both from Michigan State University. She has been an assistant professor at the University of Central Arkansas since 2009.

School of Pharmacy

Guanglong He as assistant professor. He received a B.S. (1986) in physics from Anhui Normal University; an M.S. (1994) in physics, optics, physical chemistry from the Institute of Fine Optics Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and a Ph.D. (1997) in physical chemistry from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has been an associate professor at Ohio State University since 2008.

Wyoming Institute for Disabilities

Catherine Carrico as clinical assistant professor. She received a B.A. (2006) in psychology from Austin College, and a Ph.D. (2012) in psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. She has been an assistant lecturer at UW since 2011.

Academic Professionals

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Cooperative Extension Service

Sara Fleenor as assistant extension educator. She received a B.S. (2000) in agriculture communications and an M.P.A. (2004) from UW. She has been a non-extended term assistant extension educator in Crook County since 2012.

Rachel Vardiman as assistant extension educator. She received a B.S. (2005) in range management and livestock production from Chadron State College, and an M.A. (2013) in youth development from Michigan State University. She has been a non-extended term extension educator since 2006.

College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Art

Bailey Russel as assistant lecturer. Russel received an A.B. (2001) in art and archeology from Princeton University, and an M.A. (2004) in photography from New Your University. Russel has been a non-extended term lecturer in the UW Department of Art.

Global and Area Studies Program

Ruth Bjorkenwall as assistant lecturer. She received a B.A. (1990) in peace and conflict studies, and an M.A. (1994) in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. She has been a non-extended term lecturer at UW since 2009.

Changes in Appointments

Academic Affairs Nicole Ballenger as professor. She ends her appointment as associate provost (2005-13) and continues as a tenured professor in the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics. Her previous administrative appointments have included department head for the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economic (2004-05).

Administration

Mark Collins and Janet Lowe end their appointments as interim vice presidents for administration and continue as associate vice presidents.

College of Arts and Sciences

Dean's Office

Gregory Brown as associate dean. He continues as a tenured professor in the Department of Botany.

College of Education

Dean's Office

Leslie Rush as associate dean. She continues as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Secondary Education. 

College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Botany

David Williams as department head for a three-year term.

College of Business

Department of Management and Marketing

Roland Kidwell as interim department chair.

College of Education

Department of Educational Studies

Allen Trent ends his appointment as associate dean of education and continues as a tenured professor in the Department of Educational Studies.

Department of Secondary Education

Katherine Welsh as department head. She continues as a tenured associate professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education.

Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education

Timothy Rush ends his appointment as department head in the Department of Professional Studies and continues as a tenured professor in the Department of Elementary and Early Childhood Education.

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering

Vladimir Alvarado is serving as associate department head in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.

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