Individuals interested in pursuing job opportunities or furthering careers in law enforcement and the corrections system may soon have a new educational option at Arkansas Tech University.
The ATU Board of Trustees approved a letter of intent on Thursday calling for the creation of a Bachelor of Arts degree in criminal justice and criminology. The letter of intent, which was brought forth by the ATU College of Arts and Humanities and Department of Behavioral Sciences, calls for a proposed program implementation date of June 2018 with options to take courses in person on the ATU campus in Russellville or online.
The board approved the letter of intent as part of its regularly scheduled meeting at the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center.
“The purpose of this program is to increase the number of criminal justice graduates available for employment in Arkansas and the wider region,” wrote Dr. David Ward, head of the ATU Department of Behavioral Sciences and professor of psychology, in the letter of intent. “It will help meet the current demand for employees in areas including, but not limited to, the transportation security industry, policing, security, cybersecurity and corrections. One of the strengths of the program is the availability of the online format. With this format, the program will allow local and regional students greater access to the degree, including criminal justice professionals seeking to complete an undergraduate degree.”
Trustees also approved a letter of intent for a new master’s degree at ATU.
The Master of Education degree in K-12 literacy is designed to prepare specialists to work with students and colleagues in continuously improving the literacy knowledge and skills of students. Proposed start date for the new degree is spring 2018.
In other business on Thursday, the ATU Board of Trustees approved:
*MAHG Architecture Inc. of Fort Smith as the architectural firm for a planned renovation of Williamson Hall;
*edits to the faculty handbook that adjust student class attendance accounting procedures and add professional librarians to the list of individuals eligible to serve on university standing committees;
*the 2017-18 ATU student handbooks for the Russellville and Ozark campuses;
*academic outreach programs and campus involvement events planned for 2017-18 by the ATU Department of Diversity and Inclusion;
*an expansion of the campus free speech area near Hindsman Tower to include the lawn area from the south steps of the Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center to the north side of Baswell Techionery, and from the west side of Chambers Cafeteria to Baswell Techionery;
*a letter of notification concerning the proposed creation of a Technical Certificate in health professions through ATU-Ozark Campus;
*a letter of notification concerning the proposed creation of Certificate of Proficiency programs in pharmacy tech and dispatcher telecommunications through ATU-Ozark Campus;
*a proposal to begin conferring posthumous, non-academic degrees to students who were degree-seeking students at the time of death;
*and a schedule of 2017-18 ATU Board of Trustees meetings to include Oct. 19, 2017, Dec. 14, 2017, Jan. 18, 2018, March 15, 2018, May 17, 2018 and Aug. 16, 2018.
In personnel matters, the ATU Board of Trustees approved hiring the following full-time faculty members:
*James Anderson, workforce education faculty of adult education at ATU-Ozark; Kasey Ballard, visiting instructor of mathematics; Katy Dodd, workforce education faculty of English at ATU-Ozark; Lisa Dubose, assistant professor of nursing; Kenneth Floyd, visiting workforce education faculty and program chair of collision repair technology at ATU-Ozark; Dr. Amir Ghazanfari, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Holli Hall, visiting instructor of biology; Dr. Reza Hamidi, assistant professor of electrical engineering; Christopher Harris, visiting instructor of music and director of choirs; Dr. Seyed Ehsan Hosseini, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; Dr. Deepesh Khanna, assistant professor of health and physical education; Dr. Deborah Leslie, assistant professor of geology; Kevin Lyon, visiting assistant professor of physics; John McGrew, assistant professor of art; Dr. Aboozar Mosleh, visiting assistant professor of electrical engineering; Dr. Rajvardhan Patil, assistant professor of computer and information science; Dr. Mark Peacock, visiting associate professor of psychology; Dr. Jay Post, assistant professor of recreation and park administration; Dr. Bryan Rank, assistant professor of agricultural education; John Riggins, visiting instructor of management and marketing/entrepreneur in residence; Jesse Ring, assistant professor of art; Dr. Juliette Rivero, visiting instructor of chemistry; Dr. Rodney Roosevelt, assistant professor of psychology; Dr. Kevin Schoelz, visiting assistant professor of physics; Dr. Asim Shrestha, assistant professor of computer and information science; Dr. Robert Stevens, assistant professor of rehabilitation science; Dr. Michael Waller, associate professor of health and physical education; Daniel Warwick, assistant professor of psychology; Dr. Wan Wei, assistant professor of economics; Dr. Wayne Williams, visiting instructor of analytics; Dr. Matthew Wilson, assistant professor of agriculture; and Dr. Kaiman Zeng, assistant professor of electrical engineering.
Dr. Phillip Bridgmon was hired as associate vice president for academic affairs and professor of political science. His appointment will be effective Oct. 2, 2017.
Dr. Robin Lasey was named interim head of the ATU Department of Physical Sciences effective July 1, 2017.
Other administrative and full-time staff appointments made by trustees on Thursday include:
*Bryan Bramlett, research associate, effective Aug. 1, 2017; Sandy Cheffer, director of budget and financial reporting, effective July 1, 2017; Angela Cox, counselor for the ATU-Ozark Career Pathways Initiative, effective July 1, 2017; Randall Eubanks, machinist for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, effective June 26, 2017; Tommy Fields, interim associate dean for residence life, effective Aug. 1, 2017; Rob Grieve, assistant women’s basketball coach, effective Aug. 23, 2017; Carolyn Ishee, major gifts officer in the ATU Division of Advancement, effective Aug. 15, 2017; Chelsea Lairamore, academic counselor at Arkansas Tech Career Center, effective Aug. 1, 2017; Ashley McCool, research assistant for the Child Welfare Emphasis Partnership, effective July 10, 2017; John Ruff, programmer and analyst, effective Aug. 1, 2017; Jason Salmans, computer network coordinator, effective Aug. 7, 2017; Kassidy Simpson, admissions officer, effective July 19, 2017; Brandon Smith, assistant director of athletic communications, effective July 10, 2017; Heather Taylor, associate director of financial aid, effective June 15, 2017; and Dr. Jason Warnick, assistant vice president for student success, effective July 1, 2017.
The board accepted the following resignations:
*Dr. Steven Berg, assistant professor of psychology, effective Aug. 12, 2017; Dr. Tiffany Bone, visiting assistant professor of educational leadership, effective July 7, 2017; Tosha Bradley, associate director of admissions operations, effective July 31, 2017; Cindy Bunch, STEM Institute science specialist, effective July 31, 2017; Jesse Dare, admissions officer, effective June 30, 2017; Dr. MarTeze Hammonds, associate dean for diversity and inclusion, effective Aug. 5, 2017; Dr. Stewart Hart, assistant professor of chemistry, effective July 11, 2017; Dillin Hill, visiting workforce education faculty aide, effective July 18, 2017; Aaron Hogan, associate dean for residence life, effective July 31, 2017; Kristy Hogan, advanced nurse practitioner in the ATU Health and Wellness Center, effective May 4, 2017; Lindsey Ingmire, assistant director for programming in the International and Multicultural Student Services Office, effective July 31, 2017; Patrick McConnell, programmer and analyst, effective June 16, 2017; Dr. James Musser, associate professor of physics and head of the ATU Department of Physical Sciences, effective June 30, 2017; James Reasoner, visiting instructor of electrical engineering, effective June 30, 2017; Kaci Sexton, project and program specialist in adult education, effective Aug. 3, 2017; Adam Stanek, assistant director of athletic communications, effective June 30, 2017; Dr. W. Browder Swetnam, visiting instructor in the English Language Institute, effective July 31, 2017; and Dr. Zhi Tao, assistant professor of management, effective Aug. 12, 2017;
Trustees accepted the retirements of:
*Stanley Hatcher, workforce education faculty, program chair of collision repair technology and member of the ATU-Ozark faculty since 1997, effective July 31, 2017; Dr. Larry Morell, professor of computer and information science and member of the ATU faculty since 1998, effective Aug. 11, 2018; and Kenneth W. Shores, associate professor of mathematics and member of the ATU faculty since 1985, effective Dec. 31, 2017.
