Faculty promotions

Board of Trustees Approves Faculty Tenure and Promotions

May 28, 2021
By: Maureen Stokes

The Board of Trustees, at its April 13 meeting, approved tenure and promotion for 10 Worcester State faculty across a variety of disciplines.

Tenure-track faculty follow a contractual evaluation process over several years with each year including a recommendation for reappointment. Classroom observation, peer and chair evaluation, dean evaluation and recommendation, as well as the provost’s recommendation, are included. The president makes the final recommendation/approval before going to the Board for tenure recommendation and approval.

“These faculty have reached this important milestone in their academic career by dint of dedication and perseverance in teaching, scholarship and creative activity, advising, and service to students each and every day.  We are blessed by their excellence,” says Provost Lois Wims, Ph.D.

“Congratulations to the faculty who have reached tenure and promotion. We are proud to have such a dedicated group faculty to join our mission of commitment to research and classroom instruction,” stated President Barry Maloney in his remarks following the vote by the Board.

Tenure faculty include: Timothy Antonelli, Ph.D., mathematics, who published three peer-reviewed articles, collaborated with Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and taught mathematical modeling in Peru; Kristina Curro, Ph.D., communications sciences and disorders, who taught graduate students, and is a conference and CEU workshop presenter; Noah Daleo, Ph.D., mathematics, who has presented at eight conferences and published seven peer-reviewed articles; Benjamin Jee, Ph.D., psychology, who published four peer-reviewed articles, made 23 presentations, and received more than $2 million in grants; Syamak Moattari, Ph.D., health sciences, who is the recipient of the Worcester State’s Extraordinary Dedication Award, and is an advising innovator and Community Health Initiative participant.

Rather than the multiyear process, faculty are considered for promotion using a slightly different approach. Faculty who possess a terminal degree in their field of study are hired at an assistant professor rank. After completing a contractual period of time, they are considered for promotion. Likewise, faculty hired at the associate professor rank and following a contractual period of time, may apply for promotion to professor, the latter requiring a higher level of merit. Promotion process requires classroom evaluation, department-level peer evaluation, chair evaluation, a vote of the University-wide promotion committee, dean evaluation and recommendation, provost recommendation and the president’s recommendation before being presented to the Board of Trustees for approval.

Promotion to full professor include: Elizabeth Bidinger, Ph.D., English, who is the driving force behind Memoir by the Numbers, led Ink, a student writers organization, and is an Equity in Pedagogy innovator; Hyesun Kim, Ph.D., criminal justice, who is the study abroad leader in South Korea, partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, and has peer-reviewed publications and multiple presentations to her credit; Samuel O’Connell, Ph.D., visual and performing arts, who is the former MSCA president and incoming chair of the department, holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in theater and drama, and has numerous publications and presentations to his credit, and well as several grants; Ana Perez-Manrique, Ph.D., world languages, who edits Currents, has 13 presentations and four essays to her credit, and is the graduate coordinator and chair of the department; Elizabeth Siler, Ph.D., business administration, who is a scholarly publications reviewer, an Open Education Resources participant, and has 16 conference presentations to her credit.

Promotion to associate professor include previously mentioned tenured faculty Timothy Antonelli, Ph.D., Kristina Curro, Ph.D., and Noah Daleo, Ph.D., as well as Elizabeth Osborne, Ph.D., world languages, who directs the Spanish clinic, made nine conference presentations, and applied for and was awarded multiple grants.

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