Three New Appointments in the Graduate College

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Three New Appointments in the Graduate College

Andrew Carnie, Dean of the Graduate College
July 18, 2016

I am pleased to announce that after a significant reorganization of the administrative structure in the Graduate College, and after several competitive searches, I have appointed three new faculty members to part-time administrative positions in the Graduate College. They will each begin their appointments on August 15, 2016.

Dr. Patricia Stock, Professor in the Department of Entomology and the Entomology and Insect Science GIDP will be joining us as Faculty Fellow for Special Projects and Initiatives. In this role, Dr. Stock will be working with the Faculty Directors of GIDPs, Diversity and Inclusion and the Graduate Center to develop new programs and funding opportunities for our graduate students to expand their experiences outside of the classroom and laboratory. Dr. Stock comes to us with a great deal of experience in this area, having developed several programs to bring students from Latin America to the US and programs to build the professional capacity of graduate students in EIS. She also has an extremely strong record of seeking extramural funding. You can read about Dr. Stock’s research program at: https://ag.arizona.edu/ento/faculty/stock.htm

Dr. Frans Tax is a Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and will be joining us as Faculty Director for Diversity and Inclusion. The late Dr. Maria Teresa Velez left UA with a legacy as one of the top institutions in the country for the inclusive recruitment and retention of Graduate Students from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds. Dr. Tax worked closely with Dr. Velez as co-PI of the NIH funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) grant that has funded students from a diversity of backgrounds. Over the past ten years, Dr. Tax has also worked to provide students with access to all of the resources of the University of Arizona He is one of the founders of the Arizona Science Engineering and Mathematics Scholars (ASEMS) program, and helps to teach a course for freshman to transition to college level academics, understand university culture, and connect with faculty and students. ASEMS primarily serves students who are from low-income backgrounds, students who are the first in their families to attend college, students who are members of underrepresented groups, or students with disabilities. In 2015, the ASEMS program was awarded a TRiO –STEM grant ($1,100,000 over five years) from the Department of Education. Outside of the lab, Tax is dedicated to community outreach efforts that expand research experiences to K-12 students. Tax is one of the founders of PREP, the Partnership for Research and Education in Plants, an outreach program designed to teach high school students about genetics, genomics and the scientific method. In 2015, Dr. Tax was named a University Distinguished Outreach Professor for the impact of his outreach efforts. You can read about Dr. Tax’s research program at: http://www.mcb.arizona.edu/people/fetax

Finally, Dr. Benedict Colombi, Associate Professor of American Indian Studies will be replacing me as Faculty Director of Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs (GIDPs). The University of Arizona's Graduate Interdisciplinary Programs transcend departmental boundaries by facilitating cutting edge teaching and research where traditional disciplines interface. The fusion of ideas, techniques, and expertise from the traditional academic fields provides for the evolution of modern and imaginative methods of research, and the creation of new fields of endeavor. Dr. Colombi has a long tradition of working across disciplinary boundaries as reflected in the fact that, in addition to his primary appointment in American Indian Studies, he also has appointments in the School of Anthropology, the School of Geography and Development, The Institute of the Environment and the School of Natural Resources and Environment. As Faculty Director of GIDPs, Dr. Colombi will oversee the operations of the office of GIDP Administration and oversee the operations of the 15 GIDP programs (gidp.arizona.edu). You can read about Dr. Colombi’s research at: http://ais.arizona.edu/users/benedict-colombi

Drs. Stock, Tax and Colombi will all continue to hold academic positions in their home units and will continue to participate in the teaching and research missions of the institution in addition to taking on these important administrative roles. Please join me, Assoc. Dean Sturman, Assoc. Dean Voorhees and Faculty Director Meg Lota Brown (Grad Center) in welcoming them to the Graduate College team! 

 

Andrew Carnie, Dean of the Graduate College

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