College of Education and Health Professions Welcomes 26 New Faculty Members

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Several new College of Education and Health Professions faculty members met at Crystal Bridges Museum last week as part of the college's First-Year Faculty Engagement and Networking Series. From left, Bernard Muriithi, Associate Dean Michael Hevel, Renee Speight, Sheida Raley, Becca Bassett, Danielle Acurio, Emily Goucher, Julie Hill, Karynecia Conner and Jennifer Muriithi.

The College of Education and Health Professions welcomed 26 new faculty members this year and is supporting them through two programs that kicked off this fall.

Michael Hevel, the college's associate dean for research, strategy and outreach, led development of the new faculty programs: the First-Year Faculty Engagement and Networking Series and the Early-Career Faculty Research Engagement and Mentoring Program.

The First-Year Faculty Engagement and Networking Series is designed to acclimate new faculty members to the college, the U of A and the broader community. The series began with a new faculty welcome event on Aug. 16. Additional learning sessions throughout the academic year will focus on several pertinent college and university processes — such as annual evaluations and promotions — as well as regional learning experiences at sites throughout Northwest Arkansas.

On Sept. 8, new faculty visited the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to learn about art in Northwest Arkansas and tour the museum. They also met with leaders from Arkansas A+ Schools, an outreach unit of the college that helps K-12 schools integrate the arts into their curriculum. Later in the semester, in collaboration with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, new faculty will be invited to a hike at Devil's Den to learn about the region's outdoor recreation opportunities as well as OLLI's mission to promote lifelong learning.

The college's Early-Career Faculty Research Engagement and Mentoring Program includes a series of workshops, panel discussions and roundtable conversations on issues related to identifying funding opportunities, writing successful proposals, managing start-up funds, building research teams and planning a research-productive summer.

The first event, "Advancing Research Excellence," is planned for Sept. 18, when new faculty will learn about services available to them from the college's Office of Research and Grant Administration and engage with a panel of experienced researchers in the college.

The Early-Career Faculty Research and Engagement Program is specifically designed to provide early-career tenure-track faculty with targeted grant and research development support. All nine new tenure-track faculty members bring impactful research backgrounds to the college, focused on improving pressing issues in education and health. Their research interests range from inclusive education for students with extensive support needs to preventing compassion fatigue among crisis counselors.

Becca Bassett, who joined the higher education program, draws on cultural sociology and organizational theory to examine inequality in higher education and student success among first-generation and low-income college students. Julie Hill, a new tenure-track faculty member in counseling, has a special research interest in underserved populations with chronic illness and disability, such as those living with rare diseases. Lindsay Lundeen, another tenure-track counseling faculty member, brings scholarship focused on crisis counseling and self-directed violence.

Several tenure-track faculty members' research focuses on helping children and adolescents. Among them is Shristi Bhochhibhoya, an assistant professor of public health, who researches the impact that social determinants of health have on adolescent and sexual health. Mehmet Gultekin, who joined the childhood education program, studies multicultural children's literature and culturally relevant practices. Sheida Raley, a new assistant professor of special education, is an expert on assessment and intervention for building self-determination in all students, including students with extensive support needs learning in inclusive contexts. Another new assistant professor of special education, Renee Speight, brings a wealth of knowledge for supporting in-service and pre-service teachers who want to implement evidence-based practices to improve academic, social, emotional and behavioral outcomes for adolescent learners at risk for and with disabilities.

The college's occupational therapy program also gained two new tenure-track faculty members, including Glenda Hux, with a research focus on the impact of adverse childhood experiences on role performance and health, and Bernard Muriithi, with a research interest in music and health.