Congratulations to Regional Campus Colleagues who Received Promotion and Tenure
On Friday, February 16th, the Board of Trustees approved the promotion and tenure of eight of our regional campus colleagues! Each has contributed greatly to our success as regional campuses.
Please join us in congratulating Theresa Conover, Lihn Dich, John Forren, Ziying Jiang, Tom Mays, Stephanie Nicely, John Schaefer and Leland Spencer!
Dr. Theresa Conover (CLAAS) Department of Justice and Community Studies. Theresa has taught classes for both the undergraduate and graduate programs in Criminal Justice. She utilizes community-based research in her classes, giving students a chance to practice their skills with multiple agencies and organizations in the Hamilton area. Theresa's many service activities include contributions to the development of the Forensic Science and Investigation program as well as the Master's in Criminal Justice, and she serves as the faculty advisor to the very active Regionals' Criminal Justice Society. Her research and publications are focused on problem-solving approaches to crime, policing, and place, as well as on the role of community engagement in crime prevention.
Dr. Linh Dich (CAS) Departments of English and Languages, Literatures, and Writing. Linh works with both undergraduate and graduate students, and she strives to use technology in her teaching to enhance the value of diversity in both her seated and online courses. Her service work centers on faculty development and diversity initiatives. In addition to having served as the co-coordinator for the Middletown Center for Teaching and Learning, she is currently serving as the first Regional Director of the Centers for Teaching and Learning. Linh's research looks at expressions of identity and technology use, and her publications include an article inComputers and Composition, the premier journal in composition and rhetoric for technology and writing.
Dr. John Forren (CLAAS) Department of Justice and Community Studies. John is an influential instructor at multiple undergraduate levels in several programs: Political Science, Criminal Justice, and Civic and Regional Development (now Non-Profit and Community Studies). He contributed to the development of the Civic and Regional Development program as well as to the Master's in Criminal Justice. One highlight of John's service is his administration of the Regionals' Citizenship and Democracy Week, a week of civic focused programming that culminates in an on-campus naturalization ceremony. John's research crosses the fields of civic engagement, political science, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.
Dr. Ziying Jiang (CAS) Departments of Geography and Social and Behavioral Sciences. Ziying teaches Geographic Information Science courses and has won multiple awards for her teaching. Recently, she has been incorporating service-learning projects with community partners into her classes. Her service includes extensive promotion of geospatial techniques both within Miami and with external partners, and her publications include peer-reviewed journal articles on the topics of land usage and land cover change in Ohio agriculture, urban land use and crime in the local area, and scholarship of teaching and learning within geography courses.
Dr. Tom Mays (CLAAS) Department of Commerce. Tom is an expert in online learning and technology and has been crucial in making the Small Business major available online. He has chaired the Technology in Learning Committee on the regionals since 2013. His service to the community includes pro bono work as a consultant and he is a director on the Community Health Alliance board. He has roughly two-dozen peer-reviewed presentations in his time at Miami, mostly focusing in online education, as well as several peer-reviewed journal articles.
Dr. Stephanie Nicely (CLAAS) Department of Nursing. Stephanie has won numerous teaching awards and honors and helped found the Center for Teaching and Learning on the regional campuses. She co-created one of the first study away programs on the regional campuses, a program that focuses on the health of Native American communities. She has also developed independent study courses that focus on childhood obesity prevention initiatives. She has published multiple peer-reviewed articles in both nursing practice and nursing education.
Dr. John Schaefer (CAS) Departments of Anthropology and Social and Behavioral Sciences. As an instructor, John engages his students with cross-cultural work and experiential learning. His excellent service record includes sustained collaborations with the Muslim, Middle Eastern, and refugee communities in Butler County. One noteworthy event he has organized has been the very successful Women's Journeys, Women's Voices: The Refugee Experience program, which brings women refugees from southwest Ohio to Miami Middletown where they share their stories with students, faculty, and staff. John has published several peer-reviewed articles on Middle Eastern music and spirituality, and he is currently working on a book project on Gnawa identity and spiritual work in Morocco.
Dr. Leland Spencer (CLAAS) Department of Interdisciplinary and Communication Studies. Leland serves as Chief Departmental Advisor for ICS, and his teaching spans the fields of Communication, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Integrative Studies. He has made major contributions to the development of the Health Communication and Communication Studies programs, and he has developed and taught courses in both online and face-to-face formats. Leland is a prolific scholar who has published fourteen peer-reviewed journal articles, one edited collection, one monograph, and six book chapters since he started at Miami in 2013. He has also won several awards for his work, including the Miami University Distinguished Faculty Junior Scholar Award.