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NEWS
| SEPTEMBER 15, 2005
Liberal Arts
Faculty successes honored
New faces, prize winners and grant
recipients recognized at Wednesday reception.
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| The Shorthorn: Michelle Proksell |
The Shorthorn: Michelle Proksell
Communications professor Karin McCallum, center, and history
professor Donald Kyle, right, chat with new communications
assistant professor Michael Stefanone, left, at a reception
Wednesday afternoon in Carlisle Hall. The event was held
to welcome new liberal arts faculty members to UTA. |
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By Alyssa
Fry
Contributor to The Shorthorn
Poetry prizes and million-dollar research grants are some of the
new liberal arts faculty’s accomplishments.
At a reception Wednesday, 26 new faculty members, divided among
10 departments and the Language Acquisition Center, were honored.
Melinda Schlager, criminology and criminal justice assistant professor,
received a $2 million federal grant in 2002 while working in New
Jersey.
This money funded a part of the Serious and Violent Offender Reentry
Initiative.
“It’s to look at the continuum of service for offenders
leaving prison and coming back to the community,” Schlager
said. “It’s about reducing the barriers.”
Ignacio Ruiz-Pérez, one of three new faculty to the Modern
Languages Department, received three prizes for his poetry from
the Mexican government.
The new face in the Theatre Arts Department, Jim Hutchison, is a
lighting and sound design professor. He also composes music for
performances and said he hopes to bring his own curriculum into
the system.
“I want to make sure when the students leave UTA, they’re
prepared,” he said. “You have to be able to practice
the craft before you can create the art. I believe very strongly
in that.”
He said he tries to teach his students all the elements that go
into lighting so they have a clear understanding of how it works.
“I love it so much,” Hutchison said. “It starts
from the smallest fundamentals, and it moves like a tidal wave.”
Sasha Grant, visiting communication assistant professor, is one
of five new faculty in the Communication Department. Before coming
here, she taught at the University of New Zealand, where she is
from.
Grant came to the U.S. to be closer to her two sisters, one in California
and one in Texas. She chose Texas because it reminded her of home.
“It’s very much like New Zealand as far as the people,
the pace of life and the weather,” she said.
Thirty-year communication professor Karin McCallum said the new
hires fit in well with the department.
“It’s like a wonderful family,” she said. “They
are professional, they know their job, and it’s great. We
have a lot of fun.”
After introducing the newcomers, staff and department chairs, the
professors who received teaching and research awards last year were
recognized.
Librarian Suzanne Beckett informed the new faculty of the library
services available to them and urged them to promote it to their
students.
Associate Dean Kimberly van Noort concluded the reception with an
overview of the tenure process.
She recommended thinking about the Research Enhancement Program
grants.
“This is to help you get started on that next big project,”
she said. “So have fun in your classes, and welcome.”
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