Leadership & administration
I enjoy academic leadership, particularly bringing people together to solve problems and make academic programs stronger. The work is both strategic and practical. An idea matters only if people can put it into practice.
Scope of leadership
As Associate Chair for Academics in Biology, I help lead a large department with growing enrollment and a complex instructional portfolio. Much of my work involves helping colleagues address challenges, make sound decisions, and carry improvements through to completion.
Through department leadership and university service, I have direct experience with and a broad understanding of the faculty lifecycle for both tenure-track and non-tenure-track faculty. I recruit and mentor instructional faculty and guide them through promotion. My work with research-active faculty focuses on workload planning, academic operations, and graduate education.
I oversee teaching assignments and instructional scheduling, including the selection, assignment, and evaluation of adjunct instructors and GTAs. I coordinate this work with staff in advising and enrollment management while planning for course capacity and faculty workload.
My work beyond Biology includes program review, Faculty Senate leadership, the Undergraduate Assembly, university planning initiatives, and shared governance.
I identify opportunities and bring together people with the expertise to pursue them. The best results come when a team understands both the purpose of the work and its role in making it happen.
Leadership in practice
I have chaired reviews for four academic departments or programs, leading committees of internal and external reviewers through the process. I coordinate the work, facilitate discussion, and help the committee evaluate strengths and opportunities for improvement. This work has broadened my understanding of academic programs across disciplines.
Every academic professional-track faculty member I have recommended for promotion has been promoted. I have also led improvements across teaching teams that strengthened student learning and course evaluations. Faculty reported greater satisfaction with the courses and renewed enthusiasm for teaching them.
Although my formal portfolio centers on academics, I work closely with research-active faculty and understand the demands of sustaining a research program. Teaching assignments and workload planning must account for grant development, laboratory responsibilities, and graduate-student mentoring. They must also consider the staff whose work keeps laboratories functioning. I balance those realities with the instructional needs of the department.
I helped recruit faculty with the right expertise and connected the team with resources at UTA's Smart Hospital. Together, we developed a pathway that gives Biology students practical clinical experience while drawing on faculty strengths.
I developed and lead Biology's pilot of eight-week core courses for campus-based students. The courses also run during the summer, and expanded online offerings give students another way to make degree progress when they cannot be on campus. The model is now informing broader institutional planning.
I have served in the Undergraduate Assembly and held leadership positions in the Faculty Senate. My university service also includes academic planning and the search committee for UTA's next Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Faculty Success.
How I lead
I am naturally outgoing and enjoy working with people. I want colleagues to feel comfortable bringing me questions or a new idea. When a difficult issue arises, I address it directly and fairly.
Return to homepageGood ideas can come from anywhere in an organization. People need to know they will be heard.
Support works best when expectations are understood and accountability is consistent.
A decision about one program can affect faculty, staff, students, research, and resources elsewhere.
I enjoy moving from discussion to implementation and staying with the work long enough to see whether it succeeds.