Faculty

Professor
Department of Literature and Language andres_s@utpb.edu

Sophia Andres is professor of English, Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities, and English MA program head in the Department of Literature and Languages, where she teaches Romantic literature, Victorian literature and art, literature and mythology, as well as modern and postmodern British fiction. She is the recipient of several teaching and research awards and is currently a member of the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Her work has been published in several journals and book chapters. Her most recent book, Poetry in Pre-Raphaelite Paintings (2018), was preceded by The Pre-Raphaelite Art of the Victorian Novel (2005).

William and Ordelle Watts Professor
English Program
babcock_r@utpb.edu

Rebecca Day Babcock is the William and Ordelle Watts Professor at UT Permian Basin, where she teaches courses in writing and linguistics. She also serves as the freshman English coordinator and the director of undergraduate research. She has authored, co-authored, or edited several books on tutoring, writing centers, disability, and meta-research. Her latest book, the first not about tutoring, is Boom or Bust: Narrative, Life, and Culture from the West Texas Oil Patch, edited with former UT Permian Basin students Sheena Stief and Kristen Figgins and based on an NEH grant, the first ever to be awarded to UT Permian Basin. Boom or Bust also features narratives by current and former UT Permian Basin graduate students and faculty. In addition to her many books, Babcock has also published research articles in Writing Lab Newsletter, Linguistics and Education, Composition Forum, Praxis, The Peer Review, and others. She won the IWCA Outstanding Article Award in 2011 for her article on interpreted writing tutorials with deaf writers and the CWPA Outstanding Scholarship Award in 2019 for “Writing Center Directors and Diversity,” written with Karen Keaton Jackson and former graduate student Sarah Banschbach Valles. Most recently, she won the Best Edited Collection Award for Theories and Methods of Writing Center Studies from the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum.

Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Literature and Language
English Program
fick_m@utpb.edu

Dr. Marlon Fick is an associate professor of English and chair of the department of literature and languages. He holds a BA from the University of Kansas (philosophy), an MA from New York University (poetics/English), and a PhD from the University of Kansas (English). He is the author of three poetry collections, a book of short stories, and the novel The Nowhere Man (Jaded Ibis, 2015) and is editor/translator of The River Is Wide/El río es ancho: Twenty Mexican Poets (New Mexico, 2005), as well as XEIXA: Fourteen Catalan Poets (Tupelo, 2018). Awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, ConaCulta in Mexico, and Institut Ramon Llull in Catalonia, Dr. Fick specializes in teaching comparative poetics at UT Permian Basin.

Professor of English
Department of Literature and Language
richardson_t@utpb.edu

Todd H. Richardson is a professor of English specializing in American Romanticism, transcendentalism, American women writers, nature writing, and multicultural fiction. His work has appeared in American Literary Scholarship (Duke UP), Approaches to Teaching the Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson (MLA), Emerson in Context (Cambridge UP), Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism (Oxford UP), Walt Whitman Quarterly, and New England Quarterly. He is past president of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Society.

Dunagan Professor of English
Department of Literature and Language
wildermuth_m@utpb.edu

Mark Wildermuth has served at UT Permian Basin since 1992. He has published articles in Philosophy and Rhetoric, the Journal of Popular Film and Television, and the Journal of Popular Culture. He has published the following books: Blood in the Moonlight: Michael Mann and Information Age Cinema; Print, Chaos and Complexity: Samuel Johnson and Eighteenth-Century Media Culture; Gender, Science Fiction Television and the American Security State, 1958-Present; and Feminism and the Western.

Professor of Communication
College of Arts and Sciences
harlow_w@utpb.edu

Dr. Harlow has served at UT Permian Basin since 2008, where he began as assistant professor of communication and basic course director for the communication program. From 2009-2013, he also led the communication program. In 2011, he earned The University of Texas System Regents Outstanding Teaching Award, and in 2012 was promoted to associate professor of communication and dean of undergraduate success. He served as dean until 2019 and is now professor and chair of the department of communication. Prior to his time at UT Permian Basin, Dr. Harlow served as diplomatic secretary of the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission in El Paso from 2007-2008. He also served as a foreign service officer with the U.S. State Department with assignments in Mexico and Nigeria. He earned his PhD in speech communication from Texas A&M in 2002.

Click here to read more about Dr. Harlow and his experience with UT Permian Basin’s communication program.

Associate Professor of Communication
College of Arts and Sciences
harlow_r@utpb.edu

Dr. Harlow is an associate professor of communication. She completed an MA in speech communication, with an emphasis in rhetoric and public affairs, from Texas A&M University (2001). She then completed a PhD in technical communication and rhetoric from Texas Tech University (2005). Her research focus is on technical communication in the public sector. Dr. Harlow has had significant experience in both learning and teaching online, as well as industry experience in technical writing. She has lived in Mexico City, Abuja, Nigeria, El Paso, and the Permian Basin.

Associate Professor of Communication
College of Arts and Sciences
cox_j@utpb.edu

Dr. Jeremy Cox is an assistant professor of communication. He teaches courses in rhetorical criticism, the history of rhetoric, political rhetoric, civic engagement, and organizational rhetoric. His research interests include the rhetoric of nationalism, public memory, and the history of rhetoric. His articles and book reviews have appeared in the Journal for the History of Rhetoric, Quarterly Journal of Speech, and Philosophy and Rhetoric. He is a former Balch Fellow in Immigration and Ethnic History with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Associate Professor of Communication
College of Arts and Sciences
cho_s@utpb.edu

Dr. Cho started teaching as assistant professor of communication at UTPB in Fall 2020. Her research interests are rooted in the social construction of identity—how people use language to differentiate between “us” and “them.” She aims to uncover the dynamics between social structures and communication as they pertain to building social categories among different groups. She believes that no student should be at a disadvantage in her class due to ability, age, culture, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other factors. Dr. Cho also values the outcomes of self-learning. She trusts her students’ capabilities to investigate, produce, and develop knowledge and respects their diverse perspectives. Dr. Cho earned her degrees in communication from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (PhD – social interaction & culture), University at Albany SUNY (MA – health communication), and Sogang University (MA – digital media & contents).

Associate Professor of Communication
College of Arts and Sciences
tambunga_j@utpb.edu

Mrs. Tambunga has earned a BA in communication from UT Permian Basin and MA in communication studies from Texas Tech University. She has been teaching communication courses since 2010 and her research interests include family communication and dark side communication. In her spare time, she enjoys novice piano playing and hiking in the Guadalupe mountains with her husband and 10-year-old son.

Lecturer
College of Arts and Sciences
james_t@utpb.edu

Terra James is the basic course director for the UTPB Department of Communication. She earned a BA in psychology and a BS in communication studies (with an emphasis on organizational communication) from Missouri Western State University. She also earned an MA in communication studies from Auburn University. She has served as a lecturer at UTPB since 2016.

Adjunct Instructor in Communication
College of Arts and Sciences
loyd_r@utpb.edu

Ryan Loyd earned a Master of Arts in Communication Studies from West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. His research, teaching, and business consultation focuses on communication applications and organizational success. Having taught at the collegiate level for over 15 years, he has facilitated the gamut of core communication courses and has offered specialty courses in corporate training and development, instructional communication, organizational communication, and gender communication. He has taught a multitude of synchronous face-to-face courses as well as facilitated online courses, hybrid courses, and synchronous courses via digital tools (Zoom & Teams). Outside of the academy, he spent nearly two decades in the nonprofit sector before transferring his training and experience to the field of healthcare administration. He enjoys playing golf, reading, watching movies, and (most of all) spending time with his wife and two daughters.

Program Head for Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences
Associate Professor of History
spickermann_r@utpb.edu

Dr. Spickermann is associate professor of history and the program head for humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences at UT Permian Basin. His recent research has focused on the history of adoption in 20th-century Germany. Dr. Spickermann came to UT Permian Basin in 2001 following 12 years teaching at universities in Michigan. He earned his doctoral degree at the University of Michigan and his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

Professor
Department of Literature and Language
andres_s@utpb.edu

Sophia Andres is professor of English, Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities, and English MA program head in the Department of Literature and Languages, where she teaches Romantic literature, Victorian literature and art, literature and mythology, as well as modern and postmodern British fiction. She is the recipient of several teaching and research awards and is currently a member of the UT System Academy of Distinguished Teachers. Her work has been published in several journals and book chapters. Her most recent book, Poetry in Pre-Raphaelite Paintings (2018), was preceded by The Pre-Raphaelite Art of the Victorian Novel (2005).

William and Ordelle Watts Professor
English Program
babcock_r@utpb.edu

Rebecca Day Babcock is the William and Ordelle Watts Professor at UT Permian Basin, where she teaches courses in writing and linguistics. She also serves as the freshman English coordinator and the director of undergraduate research. She has authored, co-authored, or edited several books on tutoring, writing centers, disability, and meta-research. Her latest book, the first not about tutoring, is Boom or Bust: Narrative, Life, and Culture from the West Texas Oil Patch, edited with former UT Permian Basin students Sheena Stief and Kristen Figgins and based on an NEH grant, the first ever to be awarded to UT Permian Basin. Boom or Bust also features narratives by current and former UT Permian Basin graduate students and faculty.

In addition to her many books, Babcock has also published research articles in Writing Lab Newsletter, Linguistics and Education, Composition Forum, Praxis, The Peer Review, and others. She won the IWCA Outstanding Article Award in 2011 for her article on interpreted writing tutorials with deaf writers and the CWPA Outstanding Scholarship Award in 2019 for Writing Center Directors and Diversity written with Karen Keaton Jackson and former graduate student Sarah Banschbach Valles. Most recently, she won the Best Edited Collection Award for Theories and Methods of Writing Center Studies from the Association for Writing Across the Curriculum.

Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Literature and Language
English Program
fick_m@utpb.edu

Dr. Marlon Fick is an associate professor of English and chair of the Department of Literature and Languages. He holds a BA from the University of Kansas (philosophy), an MA from New York University (poetics/English), and a PhD from the University of Kansas (English). He is the author of three poetry collections, a book of short stories, and the novel The Nowhere Man (Jaded Ibis, 2015) and is editor/translator of The River Is Wide/El río es ancho: Twenty Mexican Poets (New Mexico, 2005), as well as XEIXA: Fourteen Catalan Poets (Tupelo, 2018). Awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, ConaCulta in Mexico, and Institut Ramon Llull in Catalonia, Dr. Fick specializes in teaching comparative poetics at UT Permian Basin.

Professor of English
Department of Literature and Language
richardson_t@utpb.edu

Todd H. Richardson is a professor of English specializing in American Romanticism, transcendentalism, American women writers, nature writing, and multicultural fiction. His work has appeared in American Literary Scholarship (Duke UP), Approaches to Teaching the Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson (MLA), Emerson in Context (Cambridge UP), Oxford Handbook of Transcendentalism (Oxford UP), Walt Whitman Quarterly, and New England Quarterly. He is past president of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Society.

Dunagan Professor of English
Department of Literature and Language
wildermuth_m@utpb.edu

Mark Wildermuth has served at UT Permian Basin since 1992. He has published articles in Philosophy and Rhetoric, the Journal of Popular Film and Television, and the Journal of Popular Culture. He has published the following books: Blood in the Moonlight: Michael Mann and Information Age Cinema; Print, Chaos and Complexity: Samuel Johnson and Eighteenth-Century Media Culture; Gender, Science Fiction Television and the American Security State, 1958-Present; and Feminism and the Western.

Associate Professor
College of Arts and Sciences
emmert_c@utpb.edu

Dr. Emmert received his PhD from Florida State University in 1988. He teaches multiple courses within the political science program. Dr. Emmert is an acknowledged expert in American politics, constitutional law, and judicial politics and behavior. He has published in some of the most esteemed periodicals in the political science field, including Judicature, American Politics Research (formerly American Politics Quarterly), the Journal of Politics, Social Science Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Latin American Research Review, and the Journal of East Asian Studies.

Associate Professor
Political Science Program Coordinator
College of Arts and Sciences
perry_r@utpb.edu

Dr. Perry received his PhD from Texas A&M University in 1995. He is an expert in both international and comparative political economy, political theory, and the American West and teaches courses in those and other areas. He has published in the Journal of Theoretical Politics, International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Public Policy, and the Social Science Journal. Dr. Perry has also co-authored the books The Comparative Analysis of Nations and Toxic Chemicals in America: Policies, Trends, and Controversies in Public and Environmental Health.

Associate Professor
Coordinator, Criminology Program
College of Arts and Sciences
kiekbusch_r@utpb.edu

Dr. Kiekbusch is a jail operations specialist with 13 years of jail management experience in three different states. He was president of the American Jail Association from 1992-1993. He holds a BA, MA, and PhD in sociology from the University of Notre Dame. In addition to fulfilling his academic duties, Dr. Kiekbusch provides expert witness and other consulting services in the area of jail management. He also serves on editorial boards for multiple practitioner publications and scholarly journals.

Assistant Professor
Coordinator, Criminal Justice Administration (CJAD) Program
College of Arts and Sciences
fisher_j@utpb.edu

Dr. Fisher served in the U.S. Air Force during Desert Storm and has a background in private corrections and state probation. He earned his PhD in human services specializing in criminal justice from Walden University in 2016. At UT Permian Basin, he teaches criminal justice administration and behavioral analysis courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Dr. Fisher’s current research interests include polarization, extremism, and hate, specifically within the criminal justice system.

Associate Provost Academic Affairs
wilson_s@utpb.edu

Dr. Wilson is a military veteran and a former law enforcement officer with an administrative background in higher education. He earned his PhD in criminal justice at the University of Nebraska in 2005. He teaches courses related to law enforcement, management and supervision, research methods, and statistics at UT Permian Basin. Dr. Wilson’s research interests include improving attitudes toward the criminal justice system, police unions, and how organizations can decrease police officer victimization. In 2012 he received the James L. Madison Award for Best Published Article.

Lecturer
Coordinator, Criminal Justice Online (CCJO) Program
College of Arts and Sciences
hammon_g@utpb.edu

Professor Hammon teaches many of the UT Permian Basin criminal justice courses offered online. He received an undergraduate degree in criminology from The University of Texas Permian Basin in 1990 and earned his master’s degree from Sul Ross State University in 1991. Professor Hammon has been teaching at the college level since 2001, both on campus and online. He has over 15 years of experience in law enforcement and earned a Master Peace Officer Proficiency Certification from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Professor Hammon also has several years of experience in corrections and child protective services.

Adjunct Professor Criminal Justice
College of Arts and Sciences
gallivan_d@utpb.edu

After serving in the U.S. Air Force for four years, Mr. Gallivan earned a degree in finance from UT Permian Basin before attending Baylor Law School, where he earned his MBA. He has been an attorney for more than 20 years. Mr. Gallivan started off his career working with the Ector County District Attorney, where he prosecuted habitual criminals. Following that, he was in private practice for about 12 years, before going back to the Ector County District Attorney’s Office. He is currently the District Attorney for Ector County. In January 2016, Mr. Gallivan began his adjunct teaching career at UT Permian Basin, teaching eight different courses, including a graduate-level course.

Adjunct Professor Criminal Justice
College of Arts and Sciences
burton_t@utpb.edu

Mr. Burton began his 35-year law enforcement career in 1982 as a police officer for the city of Portland, Maine, attaining the title of police chief in 2005. In 2008, he accepted a position as chief of police for the city of Odessa, Texas and served in that capacity until retiring in 2017. His experience includes four years as a division commander, seven years as a bureau commander, and more than 12 years as a major city police chief. He is a recognized police policy expert and is also currently the criminal justice diversion manager for the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Massachusetts. Mr. Burton received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology from the University of Southern Maine in 1991 and a Master of Science in Business from Husson University in 1996. He has eight years of experience teaching graduate-level business courses at Husson in addition to several years of teaching undergraduate criminal justice courses at Odessa College, York County Community College, and The University of Texas Permian Basin.

Adjunct Professor Criminal Justice
College of Arts and Sciences
coleman_h@utpb.edu

Henry Coleman has been a career fire and arson investigator. He’s held numerous positions with the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office, worked as the Bexar County Fire Marshal and Emergency Management Coordinator, and Fire Prevention Administrator for the San Angelo Fire Department. While in San Antonio, he served on the Lonestar Fugitive Task Force with the United States Marshal’s Service. Mr. Coleman holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Texas State University, a master’s in Public Administration from Sul Ross State University, as well as a master’s in Criminal Justice, also from Sul Ross State University. Additionally, Mr. Coleman is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.

Adjunct Faculty
College of Arts and Sciences
jaeckle_t@utpb.edu

Dr. Jaeckle is a licensed clinical social worker in Florida and has nearly three decades of mental health and crisis intervention experience. She serves as the mental health/training coordinator for several critical incident stress management and hostage/negotiation teams and consults with numerous law enforcement agencies nationwide. Dr. Jaeckle received a BS in criminology from Florida Southern College. She also completed a Master of Science in criminal justice with a speciality track in the behavioral sciences and a PhD in the humanities and social sciences with an emphasis in conflict analysis and resolution (speciality in crisis management) from Nova Southeastern University.

Adjunct Faculty
College of Arts and Sciences
dibari_d@utpb.edu

Dr. DiBari joined UT Permian Basin in 2019 and has been teaching criminal justice since the early 2000s. He has also served as a police academy instructor for new cadets and is an experienced doctoral dissertation chair and university research reviewer. He specializes in forensic interviewing, sexual assault investigation, and crisis intervention techniques and response. He designed crisis intervention training for police officers in southern Colorado, a nationally recognized program that was featured in Police Chief magazine. Dr. DiBari has held multiple positions in law enforcement, most notably police department director. He has published in textbooks and peer-reviewed journals on the topic of sexual assaults.

Adjunct Faculty
College of Arts and Sciences
gallivan_d@utpb.edu

After serving in the U.S. Air Force for four years, Mr. Gallivan earned a degree in finance from UT Permian Basin before attending Baylor Law School, where he earned his MBA. He has been an attorney for more than 20 years. Mr. Gallivan started off his career working with the Ector County district attorney, where he prosecuted habitual criminals. Following that, he was in private practice for about 12 years before going back to the Ector County District Attorney’s Office. He is currently the district attorney for Ector County. In January 2016, Mr. Gallivan began his adjunct teaching career at UT Permian Basin, teaching eight different courses, including a graduate-level course.

Professor of Sociology
Sociology Program Coordinator
College of Arts and Sciences
hadjicostandi_j@utpb.edu

Born in Alexandria, Egypt of Greek parents, Dr. Joanna Hadjicostandi-Anang is a sociology professor at UTPB. She earned her BA in sociology at Greenwich University, and her MA and PhD in sociology at Northeastern University. She has taught sociology at Clark University, Northeastern University, and Bridgewater State in MA and served as a diversity consultant. She met her late husband Frederick, who was from Ghana, West Africa, in Boston, Massachusetts and they proudly raised talented and beautiful children: Anima, Nana-Ama, and Michaela.

Her multifaceted research in International Development and Migration, Gender, Race, Ethnicity, Social Class, Oral Histories, Community Development, and Drug Use and Abuse has been published in many journals, including The International Journal of Education, The Greek Review of Social Research, Agradecidas Senas, National Forum of Multicultural Issues Journal and The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse and has been presented in numerous national and international conferences and symposia. Her working knowledge of Arabic, Greek, and French and progressive learning of Spanish and Italian has helped her emphasize multicultural learning and international solidarity through her travels and research.

Dr. Hadjicostandi-Anang’s primary enthusiasm, besides her family, is teaching and community involvement. Her dedication has led to several awards over the years at UTPB, including the prestigious statewide 2021 Minnie Steven’s Piper Outstanding Teaching Award, the UTPB President’s Outstanding Service Award, the UTPB President’s Award for Student Success, the Dos Mundos Outstanding Hispanic Community Award, the UT System Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teacher Award and the UTPB La Mancha Research Award. She has also been the recipient of several grants, including funding to put her entire undergraduate sociology program online and to develop an Introduction to Sociology course as a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) for the edX Harvard/MIT platform, which is available free to thousands of students worldwide.

Her activism led her to involvement in several professional and community organizations locally, nationally, and internationally, including the American Sociological Association, Association of Black Sociologists, Association of Humanist Sociology, and International Sociological Association. She has also been active in local community organizations as a trustee, including the Odessa/Midland Symphony, LINKS (homeless family support, where she served as president of the board), the Black and Hispanic Chambers, and the ECISD school system Tri-Ethnic Committee. She also advises many UTPB student-award-winning clubs and organizations, including the Black Leadership Council, Sociology Club, International Student Organization, and Environmental Justice Club.

Associate Professor
College of Arts and Sciences
ziyanak_s@utpb.edu

Sebahattin Ziyanak, Associate Professor of Sociology, received his BA with honors from Mimar Sinan University in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was named outstanding student in sociology in 1999. Dr. Ziyanak earned his MA in sociology from the University of Houston in 2007 and his PhD in sociology from the University of North Texas in 2013.

Dr. Ziyanak received Outstanding Instructor Recognition in Teaching from the Thank a Teacher program for Commitment to UNT Student Success in 2012 and 2013. He was awarded the La Mancha Society Golden Windmill Research Award in 2018, the Outstanding Excellence in Teaching Award with the National Society of Leadership and Success in 2018, and the President’s Research Award in 2020.

Dr. Ziyanak has contributed the following books:

Understanding Deviance, Crime, Social Control, and the Mass Media: The Construction of Social Order (2022)
The Native American Contest Powwow: Cultural Tethering Theory (2021)
Political Sociology (2020)
Sociological Studies of Environmental Conflict (2019)
Introduction to Sociology (2019)
Turkish Immigrants in the Mainstream of American Life: Theories of International Migration (2018)
Analyzing Delinquency among Kurdish Adolescents: A Test of Hirschi’s Social Bonding Theory (2015)
Crossroad: A Grassroots Organization for the Homeless in Houston (2008)

He has seventeen book chapters and has published in a variety of publications, including: The Qualitative Report, Elsevier, The Extractive Industries and Society Journal, Frontiers in Sociology, the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, and the Race, Gender, & Class Journal.

Since 2016, Dr. Ziyanak has been a member of the Advisory Board of the Odessa Links for Odessa Homeless Coalition. He was the President of the Peace Academy of West Texas from 2018 to 2019. His fields of research are in the subjects of delinquency, deviance, social organization, social movement, sociology of education, environmental studies, and race and ethnicity.

Literacy Program Coordinator
Associate Professor
College of Education
wilson_t@utpb.edu

Dr. Wilson teaches literacy courses for undergraduate and graduate students and is the literacy program coordinator at UT Permian Basin. Prior to working in higher education, she taught in Texas public education for 11 years, first as a kindergarten teacher and later as a literacy specialist. She received her Doctorate of Education in literacy from Sam Houston State University, publishes in literacy and early childhood journals, and presents at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels.

Click here to read more about Dr. Wilson and her experience with UT Permian Basin’s literacy program.

Assistant Professor
College of Education
landreth_s@utpb.edu

Dr. Landreth is an assistant professor of literacy at UT Permian Basin. Prior to joining the University, she spent 23 years as a teacher, librarian, and administrator in Texas public schools. Dr. Landreth is passionate about sharing her knowledge about and enthusiasm for literacy with pre-service and in-service teachers to prepare them for the challenge of classroom teaching. Her research interests include developing fluency in struggling adolescent readers, effective vocabulary instruction, and motivating adolescents to read.

Click here to read more about Dr. Landreth and her experience with UT Permian Basin’s literacy program.

Social Sciences Department Chair
Associate Professor
Master of Public Administration Program Coordinator
College of Arts and Sciences
abrams_h@utpb.edu

Dr. Abrams came to UT Permian Basin in 2008 for a second career in academia after working for years in managerial roles for a variety of public and nonprofit agencies in New York City and Boston. His service areas included child welfare, emergency medical services, mental health, education, and social services. He completed a doctorate in public administration from New York University in 1991. Dr. Abrams has published articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Public Performance and Management Review, the Journal of Public Affairs Education, and Resuscitation. His research centers on performance management, improving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates, and issues in healthcare system policy and management.

Assistant Professor
College of Arts and Sciences
hijal_i@utpb.edu

Dr. Hijal-Moghrabi has been teaching at UT Permian Basin since 2016. She earned her PhD in public affairs from UT Dallas and a BA and MA in public administration from the American University of Beirut. She has been a financial controller responsible for promoting proper budget execution by diverse national public agencies in Lebanon. Her research interests include innovation and change, performance management, performance budgeting, government ethics, organizational stress, and other human resource management-related issues. Dr. Hijal-Moghrabi’s scholarly work has appeared in Administration & Society, Public Administration Quarterly, Public Performance & Management Review, Public Organization Review, Public Integrity, and Review of Public Personnel Administration.

Associate Dean
Associate Professor of Accounting
College of Business
counts_r@utpb.edu

Roy Wayne Counts, PhD, is an associate professor of accountancy and associate dean within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating from Texas Tech University with his PhD in 2005, he joined UTPB from 2004-2010 and rejoined in Spring 2015. Prior to this, Dr. Counts served as faculty and taught at Oklahoma City University and Youngstown State University between 2010 and 2015. His research interests focus around income wages, social security, and factors affecting finance. His work has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, International Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance. Dr. Counts currently teaches the following courses within the accounting undergraduate program and the MPA program: Intermediate Accounting I, Federal Income Tax, and Energy Accounting.

“My interest in financial planning is what inspired me to specialize in tax accounting. Helping students to see how they can provide value-added services to clients is very rewarding. My passion is helping students get prepared for taking and passing the CPA exam.”

Assistant Professor of Accounting
College of Business
PhD, University of North Texas
MAAC, University of Hawaii at Manoa
MA, University of Hawaii at Manoa
MS, University of Hawaii at Manoa
nie_d@utpb.edu

Dongfang Nie, PhD, is an assistant professor of accountancy at the University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of assistant professor at the College of Business in 2019 after having served as a research assistant and teaching fellow at the University of North Texas. His educational background includes a Master of Accountancy, Master of Arts in economics, Master of Science in financial engineering, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, all earned from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research interests include voluntary disclosures: non-GAAP reporting, management earnings forecasts, and auditing (fraud, bankruptcy, and audit committees). He has presented a conference paper at the American Accounting Association and has publications in Oil, Gas & Energy Quarterly.

“My interest in accounting comes from my business education. Accounting information, as a byproduct of business, plays an important role in business evaluation. Accounting information is the only public channel outsiders learn about a business. When I teach accounting, I always like to highlight the above important roles of accounting information and how students can make decisions based on accounting information.”

Assistant Professor of Accounting
College of Business
PhD, Texas Tech University
MS, University of Florida
MS, University of Alaska
xu_c@utpb.edu

Chunhao (Howard) Xu, PhD, is an assistant professor of accounting at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of adjunct of the College of Business in 2020 after serving as a professor at Texas Tech University in 2019. His research interests include accounting information systems, auditing and data analysis; earnings management; financial statement disclosure; corporate governance; and tax archival. His research includes publications in the Journal of Information Systems, the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Cold Regions Science and Technology, and the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. He has presented at conferences including the Society for Marketing Advances’ annual conference. He has served as a financial advisor, international audit manager, and senior associate for an analytic forensic technology team.

Lecturer in Accountancy
College of Business
MBA, The University of Texas Permian Basin
holmes_n@utpb.edu

Narita Holmes, MBA, CPA, CIA, is a lecturer of accountancy at The University of Texas Permian Basin. She started in the role of director of audit and compliance at UT Permian Basin in 2004, and began as a lecturer of accountancy in 1999. Currently, she is a lecturer in accountancy, the Title IX coordinator, and assistant compliance officer. Her educational background includes an MBA in management from UT Permian Basin and a BBA in management from UT Austin. Her professional experience includes being a co-founder of N&C Procurement Consulting Service and a purchasing agent for Ector Country. She has publications in County Magazine, The Model Purchasing Manual for Texas Cities and Counties, and Emerging Issues in State & Local Government. Narita is also an advisor for the UT Permian Basin Accounting Association and is a member of various state and national accounting associations.

Chair of Department of Management, Marketing, and Industrial Technology
Associate Professor of Marketing
PhD, University of North Texas
MEd, University of Windsor
MA, Heilongjiang University
gai_l@utpb.edu

Dr. Lili Gai has been an associate professor of marketing at UT Permian Basin since 2014. Her principal teaching and research interests include digital marketing, marketing research, retailing, and international marketing. Dr. Gai has published research articles in prominent journals including Journal of Business Research, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Journal of Global Marketing, and Journal of Marketing for Higher Education. Her research has been presented at academic conferences both nationally and internationally.

Assistant Professor of Management
PhD, State University of New York at Buffalo
MS, State University of New York at Buffalo
qu_j@utpb.edu

Dr. Qu has been an Assistant Professor of Management at The University of Texas Permian Basin since 2022. Jiajia received her MS in Operations Management and Strategy and PhD in Management Science and Systems from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She has also served as a research assistant and teaching fellow at the University at Buffalo. Her teaching interests include Operations Management, Information systems, and Business Analysis. Jiajia’s professional affiliations include DSI, INFORMS, ICIS, and CHITA. She is actively involved in research on healthcare systems, healthcare payment models, shared savings models, and design science and has an extensive background in operations management.

Assistant Professor of Management
College of Business
huerta_j@utpb.edu

Jose Huerta, PhD, is an assistant professor of management within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin, where he started in 2022. Dr. Huerta earned his Bachelor of Science in Management from Park University School of Business (AACSB); his Master of Science in Management from Troy University, Sorrell College of Business (AACSB); and his PhD in information science – data science with a health informatics emphasis from the University of North Texas. He has published articles in journals including the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management and the International Journal of Big Data and Analytics in Healthcare, and he has presented at the Decision Sciences Institute Annual Conference. Dr. Huerta’s research interests include health informatics, health management, data science, and business/data analytics.

Associate Professor
Chair
Department of Management, Marketing, and Industrial Technology
PhD, University of Oklahoma
MA, University of Iowa
MBA, Western Illinois University
stauffer_j@utpb.edu

Joe Stauffer is the chair of the Department of Management, Marketing, and Industrial Technology (MMI). He teaches statistics and operations management. Dr. Stauffer has a Bachelor of Business degree and an MBA from Western Illinois University, a Master of Arts in human resources and labor relations from the University of Iowa, and a PhD in management from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to his time at UT Permian Basin, he was the department head of marketing and management at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Assistant Professor of Management
Roden Fellow in Entrepreneurship
DBA, University of Liverpool
MBA, The University of Texas at Dallas
peckham_g@utpb.edu

Ryan Peckham, DBA, is an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of assistant professor in the College of Business in 2019 after serving on the faculties of Midland College, Texas Christian University, and Syracuse University. Dr. Peckham’s research interests are in management, finance, behavioral finance, and entrepreneurship. He is also a registered investment advisor (RIA) and has owned a private investment firm for 10 years. Prior to these roles, Dr. Peckham was VP of business development for Security Bank and worked with many small businesses across West Texas. He teaches courses in the undergraduate and graduate MBA and management programs as well as various entrepreneurship programs. Dr. Peckham’s professional service includes areas such as recruitment, Blackstone Launchpad, Odessa and Midland Business Challenges, and the Incubator Makerspace. He was named 2016 Business Professor of the Year and 2016 Cowen Financial Literacy Institution Columbia University Attendee.

Click here to read more about Ryan Peckham and his experience with UT Permian Basin’s management program.

Senior Lecturer
LLM, George Mason University
PhD, The University of Texas at Dallas
MS, The University of Texas at Dallas
JD, Oklahoma City University
macdonald_s@utpb.edu

Stuart MacDonald, PhD, JD, LLM, is a senior lecturer of management within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He graduated in 2000 with a PhD in political economy from The University of Texas at Dallas and joined UTPB in the fall of 2019. Prior to his start at UTPB, he worked at a law firm, served as chair for the Department of Economics, Finance, General Business and International Trade, and served as faculty at Midwestern State University and the University of Central Oklahoma. His research interests include the oil and gas industry, ethical behavior, and game theory, and his work has been published in Oil and Gas Quarterly, the Journal of Education and Business Leadership, and the Southwest Journal of Business and Economics. Dr. MacDonald will be teaching the following courses within the management undergraduate program: Energy Law and Environmental Law & Regulation in the Energy Industry.

“Many spectacular business failures such as Enron can be traced to leadership that was smart enough to manipulate the law but not wise enough to know when they shouldn’t. Guided by that, I endeavor to show my students that the law, more than a constraint, is actually a tool that can be used to gain and maintain a competitive advantage, as long as they have the wisdom to know how far is too far.”

Assistant Professor of Management
PhD, Texas Tech University
MBA, Oregon State University
sirissomboonsuk_p@utpb.edu

Pinyarat Sirisomboonsuk, PhD, PMP, is an assistant professor of management at The University of Texas Permian Basin. She started in the role of assistant professor of management at the College of Business in 2018 after being a full-time lecturer at the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth. Her research interests include supply chain management, project management, lean-agile project management, organizational maturity, and strategic alignment. She has presented publications at conferences such as The 50th Southwest Decision Sciences Institute Annual Conference and The 12th Annual Education and Development Conference 2017. She has published articles in International Journal of Project Management, American Journal of information Technology, and Journal Line.

“After three degrees in business (one from an overseas university), I decided on two very important business topics that were particularly fascinating to me—operations/supply chain management and project management—both of which are very fast-changing as a result of new developments in the technologies supporting these. I was introduced to project management by a leading textbook author as a result of editing six different editions of his project management text. My professional mission is to make contributions to these important disciplines while concurrently leading students to an understanding of these content areas that will serve them for a lifetime. After all, accountants, architects, administrators, and auditors are, by any other name, project managers.”

Assistant Professor of Management
PhD, New Mexico State University
MBA, New Mexico State University
zare_m@utpb.edu

Mortaza Zare, PhD, is an assistant professor of management at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of instructor at New Mexico State University, a visiting instructor of Louisiana State University, and then assistant professor of management at UT Permian Basin’s College of Business in 2018. He has published research in Human Resource Management Review, Human Performance, Academy of Management Proceedings, Tamara: Journal for Critical Organizational Inquiry, and the Philosophy of Management. He has presented papers in the Western Academy of Management, the Southwest Academy of Management, the Southern Management Association, and the Western Academy of Management. Dr. Zare has taught the following courses: Graduate Organizational Behavior, Undergraduate Organizational Behavior, Management Concepts & Organizational Theory, and Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Lecturer of Management and Marketing
ABD, Liberty University
MBA, The University of Texas Permian Basin
barron_k@utpb.edu

Katelin Barron, MBA, is a lecturer of management at The University of Texas Permian Basin. She started in the role of lecturer at the College of Business in 2013. Not only is Ms. Barron from Odessa, TX, she has taught the following courses for UT Permian Basin: Principles of Marketing, Energy Marketing, Principles of Landman, Business Communication, International Marketing, Strategic Brand Management, Sports Marketing, Management Concepts, Consumer Behavior, Sales Management, E-Commerce, Organizational Behavior, Marketing Strategy, Healthcare Marketing, Production Operation Management, Human Resources Management, and Project Elements. She has published articles in International Journal of Management Practice, the Journal of Global Responsibility, Society and Business Review, Management Research Review, and the Journal of Management Sciences. Ms. Barron currently serves as a member of the College of Business Scholarship committee and a member of the athletic committee for UT Permian Basin.

“My fundamental interest is centered on organizational behavior. This has allowed me to study various theories and analyze human behavior within an organizational setting. Moreover, when teaching strategic management and business communications, I can share the application of theories and how human behavior impacts an organization.”

Management Lecturer
EdD, The University of Houston
MBA, The University of Texas Permian Basin
MEd, The University of St. Thomas
harmon_m@utpb.edu

Dr. Harmon is a lecturer in the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin, teaching Human Resource Management, Ethics and Public Policy, Professional Communications, and Business Management. She began her career working for two Fortune 500 companies, then transitioned back to education, serving as a middle school teacher and administrator and working as a director in three large urban school districts in Texas, serving as the Director of Special Programs, Human Resources, and Career and Technical Education.

Dr. Harmon’s degrees include an EdD in educational leadership and cultural studies from the University of Houston, an MBA from The University of Texas Permian Basin, an MEd from the University of St. Thomas, and a BS from The University of Texas at Austin. Her doctoral dissertation was on school finance and progressive models for funding public education. She has researched for the Texas Equity Center and Moak, Casey Consulting. She has published and presented nationally on subjects that include the Americans with Disabilities Act, school finance, recruiting and retaining Millennials and Gen Z, preventing harassment in the workplace, efficient HRM practices, conflict resolution, customer service, and ethics.

Dr. Harmon owns Michele Harmon, LLC, dba RRR Assessment and Behavior Center, offering human resource management (HRM) and mediation to clients in public and private organizations, career planning, and conflict mode assessment for staff. She writes a monthly column on various HRM topics for Permian Basin Oil and Gas Magazine.

Click here to read more about Dr. Harmon and her experience with UT Permian Basin’s BBA in management program.

Director of Graduate Programs, UT Permian Basin College of Business
Professor of Marketing
saran_a@utpb.edu

Anshu Saran, PhD, is a professor of marketing within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating with his PhD from The University of Texas – Pan American, he joined UTPB in the fall of 2006. Prior to this, he served as faculty and taught at the APS University Rewa, Amity Business School Noida, and The University of Texas – Pan American. His research includes competing in the global marketplace, marketing strategies, social media ad marketing, and cultural differences in international business and marketing. His work has been published in the International Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing. Accumulating work experience for 12 years in different parts of the world, he served as chief operating officer for Tata International Ltd. along with other accolades in India. Dr. Saran currently teaches the following classes within the MBA program: International Business (on-campus and online) and Marketing Strategy.

“My research interests and experience in international business and marketing have supported my academic endeavors and helped me incorporate industry examples in the curriculum, creating value for students and supporting their job and career progression.”

Associate Dean
Associate Professor of Accounting
UT Permian Basin College of Business
counts_r@utpb.edu

Roy Wayne Counts, PhD, is an associate professor of accountancy and associate dean within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating from Texas Tech University with his PhD in 2005, he joined UTPB from 2004-2010 and rejoined in Spring 2015. Prior to this, Dr. Counts served as faculty and taught at Oklahoma City University and Youngstown State University between 2010 and 2015. His research interests focus around income wages, social security, and factors affecting finance. His work has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, International Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance. Dr. Counts currently teaches the following courses within the accounting undergraduate program and the MPA program: Intermediate Accounting I, Federal Income Tax, and Energy Accounting.

“My interest in financial planning is what inspired me to specialize in tax accounting. Helping students to see how they can provide value-added services to clients is very rewarding. My passion is helping students get prepared for taking and passing the CPA exam.”

Director of Graduate Programs, UT Permian Basin College of Business
Professor of Marketing
saran_a@utpb.edu

Anshu Saran, PhD, is a professor of marketing within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating with his PhD from The University of Texas – Pan American, he joined UTPB in the fall of 2006. Prior to this, he served as faculty and taught at the APS University Rewa, Amity Business School Noida, and The University of Texas – Pan American. His research includes competing in the global marketplace, marketing strategies, social media ad marketing, and cultural differences in international business and marketing. His work has been published in the International Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing. Accumulating work experience for 12 years in different parts of the world, he served as chief operating officer for Tata International Ltd. along with other accolades in India. Dr. Saran currently teaches the following classes within the MBA program: International Business (on-campus and online) and Marketing Strategy.

“My research interests and experience in international business and marketing have supported my academic endeavors and helped me incorporate industry examples in the curriculum, creating value for students and supporting their job and career progression.”

Chair of Department of Management, Marketing, and Industrial Technology
Associate Professor of Marketing
PhD, University of North Texas
MEd, University of Windsor
MA, Heilongjiang University
gai_l@utpb.edu

Dr. Lili Gai has been an associate professor of marketing at UT Permian Basin since 2014. Her principal teaching and research interests include digital marketing, marketing research, retailing, and international marketing. Dr. Gai has published research articles in prominent journals including Journal of Business Research, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Journal of Global Marketing, and Journal of Marketing for Higher Education. Her research has been presented at academic conferences both nationally and internationally.

Assistant Professor of Marketing
zhang_j@utpb.edu

Jingbo Zhang, PhD, is an assistant professor of marketing at The University of Texas Permian Basin. She started in the role of adjunct at the College of Business in 2020 after being an instructor of marketing at the University of Arkansas. She has published research in the Journal of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunication and she has presented articles at the Society for Marketing Advances Conferences and the Annual International Society of Franchising Conference in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Zhang has attended the Annual International Society of Franchising Conference, the Annual Southeast Marketing Symposium, the Annual Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium, and the Society for Marketing Advances. Her professional memberships include the American Marketing Association and the Society for Marketing Advances. She is an editor for SAGE Open Publications.

“My enthusiasm is to create a great geographical market coverage indicator to guide retailing stores to locate/relocate a store and provide practical strategies about how to improve the market performance of an individual store. Sharing my research ideas and experiences with my students to help them prepare for future careers always makes me excited!”

Lecturer of Management and Marketing
ABD, Liberty University
MBA, The University of Texas Permian Basin
barron_k@utpb.edu

Katelin Barron, MBA, is a lecturer of management and marketing at The University of Texas Permian Basin. She started in the role of lecturer at the College of Business in 2013. Not only is Ms. Barron from Odessa, TX, she has taught the following courses for UT Permian Basin: Principles of Marketing, Energy Marketing, Principles of Landman, Business Communication, International Marketing, Strategic Brand Management, Sports Marketing, Management Concepts, Consumer Behavior, Sales Management, E-Commerce, Organizational Behavior, Marketing Strategy, Healthcare Marketing, Production Operation Management, Human Resources Management, and Project Elements. She has published articles in International Journal of Management Practice, the Journal of Global Responsibility, Society and Business Review, Management Research Review, and the Journal of Management Sciences. Ms. Barron currently serves as a member of the College of Business Scholarship committee and a member of the athletic committee for UT Permian Basin.

“My fundamental interest is centered on organizational behavior. This has allowed me to study various theories and analyze human behavior within an organizational setting. Moreover, when teaching strategic management and business communications, I can share the application of theories and how human behavior impacts an organization.”

Adjunct Professor
School of Nursing
bredimus_b@utpb.edu

Dr. Kit Bredimus is the Chief Nursing Officer at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas. Dr. Bredimus earned his Doctor of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership from Texas Tech Health Sciences Center. He is a nationally recognized nurse leader through his various presentations, podcasts, publications, and involvement in professional organizations. Dr. Bredimus was featured on the inaugural list of 20 under 40 by Midland Magazine and is a Texas Nurses Association’s 2020 Year of the Nurse Award winner. Nationally, Dr. Bredimus is a Modern Healthcare’s Rising Star in Nursing Award winner, the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Early Careerist Award winner, and runner-up for Nursing Management’s Hader Visionary Nurse Leader Award. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas Organization for Nursing Leadership, Texas Nurses Association, and Permian Basin Great 25 Nurses Recognition Program.

Dr. Bredimus is also an active member and volunteer with several national and regional professional organizations. He is a Master Certified Values Coach with a focus on transformational leadership and personal empowerment, a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and he holds multiple board certifications in nursing management and executive leadership, along with Emergency and Pediatric Emergency nursing. Dr. Bredimus is married to his high school sweetheart, Heather, and they have four children. He is active in his community, volunteering with several local non-profit organizations with a focus on helping children, especially those in the child welfare system.

Part-Time Faculty
School of Nursing
hall_m@utpb.edu

Dr. Hall has been a nurse since 1995 and has served in various formal nursing leadership roles since 2001. He has presented at national conferences, consulted on state legislature for the Texas Board of Nurse Examiners, and has consulted both nationally and internationally on nursing leadership. He been published in nursing journals for his research on pain management as well as his work on formal recognition programs like ANCC’s Pathway to Excellence.

Dr. Hall is the director of the Center for Advancing Professional Excellence at Midland Health. In his director’s role, he leads nursing education, mental health, patient safety, safe patient handling, clinical data analytics, the Nursing Intern Program, the Nursing Residency Program, the Nursing Fellowship Program, and the Professional Governance Programs. Dr. Hall also leads the formal recognition programs for the hospital including ANCC Magnet, ANCC Pathway to Excellence, ANCC Practice Transition Accrediting Program, AACN Beacon, and DAISY.

Part-Time Faculty
School of Nursing
leftwich_k@utpb.edu

Dr. Leftwich is an adjunct faculty member at UT Permian Basin’s School of Nursing. She has been a nurse since 1996 and is a graduate of Odessa College, Texas Tech University, and Capella University. Her nursing degrees focus on administration, leadership, and management.

She has served in various roles clinically and in leadership, including working bedside for 13 years before transitioning into a nurse educator role. She was the Director for Medical Telemetry and Medical Oncology for five years and had oversight of the Palliative Care Program. Dr. Leftwich currently serves as the Associate Chief Nursing Officer at Medical Center Hospital, where her oversight includes the Center for Women and Infants, Pediatrics, Medical Telemetry, Medical Observation Unit, and Medical Oncology, as well as Care Management and Utilization Review. She serves as the chair of the Clinical Ethics Committee and is the Nursing Chair for the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Adjunct Professor
School of Nursing

Ms. McQuitty has been a nurse since 2007. Prior to nursing, she worked as a surgical technologist for 10 years. Ms. McQuitty’s nursing career has been in Critical Care, Informatics, and Education. She graduated with her Associate Degree in Nursing from Odessa College in 2007, her BSN from Angelo State University in 2013, and her MSN from Western Governors in 2019.

Ms. McQuitty loves to travel to new places with the beach being her favorite. Family is very important to her, and she always wants to be surrounded by positive people so they can lift one another up.

Clinical Assistant Professor
School of Nursing
saldana_v@utpb.edu

Venessa Saldana is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse with board certification as a Family Nurse Practitioner by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She received her associate degree in respiratory care in 2009, bachelor’s in nursing in 2013, and master’s in nursing from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2019.

As a registered nurse, Ms. Saldana began her career with Midland Memorial Hospital as a staff and charge nurse in the Emergency Department for over seven years. She also has experience working in a primary care practice, urgent care, and aesthetic medicine as a Family Nurse Practitioner. Ms. Saldana has over 10 years of experience in urgent and emergency medicine. She also holds certifications in the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME).

Clinical Teaching Specialist
Department of Psychology
rathbun_s@utpb.edu

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Contact Professor Rathbun with inquiries regarding the online psychology program.

Assistant Professor
Interim Department Chair
Graduate Program Head
Department of Psychology
chen_w@utpb.edu

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Director of Counseling and Psychological Services
Lecturer
Department of Psychology
collier_t@utpb.edu

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Professor
Department of Psychology
olson_j@utpb.edu

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Click here to read more about Dr. Olson and his experience with UT Permian Basin’s psychology program.

Lecturer
Department of Psychology
piper_c@utpb.edu

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Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
vollet_j@utpb.edu

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Assistant Dean of Student Wellness and Assistant Professor
Department of Psychology
ausmus_j@utpb.edu

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Clinical Visiting Professor
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Psychology
rila_b@utpb.edu

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Administrative Assistant for Psychology & Social Science
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Psychology
Department of Social Sciences
perry_t@utpb.edu

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Associate Professor
Program Coordinator, Bilingual/ESL
Department Chair, Curriculum & Instruction
College of Education
salgado_y@utpb.edu

Dr. Salgado is an associate professor for the College of Education at UT Permian Basin. She also serves as the coordinator for the bilingual/ESL program and department chair for the Curriculum & Instruction department. She received her PhD from New Mexico State University, master’s degree from UT Permian Basin, bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University, and two associate’s degrees, one in childhood development from Central Arizona College and the other from Glendale Community College. Prior to her time at UT Permian Basin, Dr. Salgado served as a bilingual teacher with Ector County Independent School and worked extensively with families and children in the educational arena. Her research interests include paradigms that impact all areas of social justice, diversity, and equity and how they affect people and the social culture context they live in.

Assistant Professor
College of Education
davoodi_a@utpb.edu

Dr. Amin Davoodi is an assistant professor of bilingual and ESL education in the department of Language, Literacy and Special Populations at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He received his PhD in ESL, Technology and Teacher Education (curriculum and instruction) from Texas A&M University in 2021. His areas of research interest are educational equity for English language learners and home-bound students, TESOL, robot-assisted learning, and bilingual education.

Click here to visit Dr. Davoodi’s Google Scholar profile for a list of his publications.

Associate Professor
Department Chair, Educational Leadership
College of Education
badgett_k@utpb.edu

Dr. Badgett has served as a professional educator for more than 20 years, working with students at all levels from pre-kindergarten through graduate studies in a variety of roles that include teaching at the elementary, middle, and high-school levels, serving as a school counselor, serving in campus and district-level leadership roles, and teaching in multiple institutions of higher education. He has served in various roles since arriving at UT Permian Basin, including instructor, program coordinator, department chair, assistant dean, and in various roles that included district and campus-level leadership responsibilities at the K-12 charter school that is affiliated with UT Permian Basin. Dr. Badgett’s research interests include school effectiveness, school-business partnerships, improving leadership efficiency, and teacher retention.

Click here to read more about Dr. Badgett and his experience with UT Permian Basin’s educational leadership program.

Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership
College of Education
hernandez_e@utpb.edu

Dr. Arzu is Garifuna and originally from Belize, Central America. Prior to relocating to Odessa in 2021, Dr. Arzu spent over 30 years serving the Belizean education system as an elementary teacher, secondary school principal, adjunct lecturer, co-facilitator for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and also Quality Assurance Officer at the University of Belize. While in Belize, she was a member of several professional organizations, including the Belize Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (BAPSS), the Association of Principals of Government Secondary Schools (APGSS), and the Consortium for Belize Educational Cooperation (COBEC). Since transitioning to UTPB, Dr. Arzu continues to serve only on COBEC. Her professional interests include issues pertaining to teachers and principal leadership and ensuring that programs are quality assured. Her personal interests include connecting to nature and her spiritual being.

Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership
College of Education
uzat_r@utpb.edu

Dr. Uzat joined UT Permian Basin in January 2022 as a professor of educational leadership. He has worked as a district-level and high school administrator for thirteen years. Before joining UTPB, Dr. Uzat served as the Director of Special Projects at St. Paul’s High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He has also compiled a 441-229 record over 26 seasons coaching high school basketball. He earned his PhD in educational leadership from The University of Southern Mississippi and his academic areas of specialization include organizational culture and change, crisis management, cost-benefit analysis, and TQM methods in education.

Click here to read more about Dr. Uzat and his experience with UT Permian Basin’s educational leadership program.

Director of Graduate Programs, UT Permian Basin College of Business
Professor of Marketing
saran_a@utpb.edu

Anshu Saran, PhD, is a professor of marketing within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating with his PhD from The University of Texas – Pan American, he joined UTPB in the fall of 2006. Prior to this, he served as faculty and taught at the APS University Rewa, Amity Business School Noida, and The University of Texas – Pan American. His research includes competing in the global marketplace, marketing strategies, social media ad marketing, and cultural differences in international business and marketing. His work has been published in the International Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing. Accumulating work experience for 12 years in different parts of the world, he served as chief operating officer for Tata International Ltd. along with other accolades in India. Dr. Saran currently teaches the following classes within the MBA program: International Business (on-campus and online) and Marketing Strategy.

“My research interests and experience in international business and marketing have supported my academic endeavors and helped me incorporate industry examples in the curriculum, creating value for students and supporting their job and career progression.”

Associate Dean
Associate Professor of Accounting
UT Permian Basin College of Business
counts_r@utpb.edu

Roy Wayne Counts, PhD, is an associate professor of accountancy and associate dean within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating from Texas Tech University with his PhD in 2005, he joined UTPB from 2004-2010 and rejoined in Spring 2015. Prior to this, Dr. Counts served as faculty and taught at Oklahoma City University and Youngstown State University between 2010 and 2015. His research interests focus around income wages, social security, and factors affecting finance. His work has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, International Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance. Dr. Counts currently teaches the following courses within the accounting undergraduate program and the MPA program: Intermediate Accounting I, Federal Income Tax, and Energy Accounting.

“My interest in financial planning is what inspired me to specialize in tax accounting. Helping students to see how they can provide value-added services to clients is very rewarding. My passion is helping students get prepared for taking and passing the CPA exam.”

Chair of Department of Management, Marketing, and Industrial Technology
Associate Professor of Marketing
PhD, University of North Texas
MEd, University of Windsor
MA, Heilongjiang University
gai_l@utpb.edu

Dr. Lili Gai has been an associate professor of marketing at UT Permian Basin since 2014. Her principal teaching and research interests include digital marketing, marketing research, retailing, and international marketing. Dr. Gai has published research articles in prominent journals including Journal of Business Research, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Journal of Global Marketing, and Journal of Marketing for Higher Education. Her research has been presented at academic conferences both nationally and internationally.

Chair of the Accounting, Finance, and Economics Department
Associate Professor of Finance
PhD, The University of Texas at Arlington
MS, Texas Tech University
gormus_a@utpb.edu

Alper Gormus, PhD, is the chair of the accounting, finance, and economics department and an associate professor in finance. He is also a Jack D. Ladd Fellow and the coordinator of energy and finance programs. He has an MS in economics from Texas Tech University and a PhD in finance from The University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to his start at UTPB, he worked as faculty, teaching classes at The University of Texas at Arlington, Texas A&M University, and Texas Tech University. On the corporate side, Dr. Gormus has worked for several high-profile companies in various roles related to investments and financial analytics. His research interests include energy investments and international markets. His work has been published in several global academic journals including Energy Economics, Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Economic Letters, and Global Finance Journal. Dr. Gormus teaches Energy Investments, Investments, and Corporate Finance.

“I strongly believe student success must be the driving factor for all we do in academia. In terms of how I contribute, combining my industry experience with academics has always served me well in the classroom. While I have worked in numerous projects across many areas in finance and economics, a large portion of my research has been in energy investments. I was fortunate enough to publish my research in some of the top academic journals in the field and I try to bring that expertise into the classroom.”

Assistant Professor of Management
PhD, New Mexico State University
MBA, New Mexico State University
zare_m@utpb.edu

Mortaza Zare, PhD, is an assistant professor of management at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of instructor at New Mexico State University, a visiting instructor of Louisiana State University, and then assistant professor of management at UT Permian Basin’s College of Business in 2018. He has published research in Human Recourse Management Review, Human Performance, Academy of Management Proceedings, Tamara: Journal for Critical Organizational Inquiry, and the Philosophy of Management. He has presented papers in the Western Academy of Management, the Southwest Academy of Management, the Southern Management Association, and the Western Academy of Management. Dr. Zare has taught the following courses: Graduate Organizational Behavior, Undergraduate Organizational Behavior, Management Concepts & Organizational Theory, and Entrepreneurial Leadership.

Associate Dean
Associate Professor of Accounting
counts_r@utpb.edu

Roy Wayne Counts, PhD, is an associate professor of accountancy and associate dean within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating from Texas Tech University with his PhD in 2005, he joined UTPB from 2004-2010 and rejoined in Spring 2015. Prior to this, Dr. Counts served as faculty and taught at Oklahoma City University and Youngstown State University between 2010 and 2015. His research interests focus around income wages, social security, and factors affecting finance. His work has been published in the Journal of the Academy of Business and Economics, International Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance. Dr. Counts currently teaches the following courses within the accounting undergraduate program and the MPA program: Intermediate Accounting I, Federal Income Tax, and Energy Accounting.

“My interest in financial planning is what inspired me to specialize in tax accounting. Helping students to see how they can provide value-added services to clients is very rewarding. My passion is helping students get prepared for taking and passing the CPA exam.”

Assistant Professor of Accounting
nie_d@utpb.edu

Dongfang Nie, PhD, is an assistant professor of accountancy at the University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of assistant professor at the College of Business in 2019 after having served as a research assistant and teaching fellow at the University of North Texas. His educational background includes a Master of Accountancy, Master of Arts in economics, Master of Science in financial engineering, and a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance, all earned from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research interests include voluntary disclosures: non-GAAP reporting, management earnings forecasts, and auditing (fraud, bankruptcy, and audit committees). He has presented a conference paper at the American Accounting Association and has publications in Oil, Gas & Energy Quarterly.

“My interest in accounting comes from my business education. Accounting information, as a byproduct of business, plays an important role in business evaluation. Accounting information is the only public channel outsiders learn about a business. When I teach accounting, I always like to highlight the above important roles of accounting information and how students can make decisions based on accounting information.”

Assistant Professor of Accounting
xu_c@utpb.edu

Chunhao (Howard) Xu, PhD, is an assistant professor of accounting at The University of Texas Permian Basin. He started in the role of adjunct of the College of Business in 2020 after serving as a professor at Texas Tech University in 2019. His research interests include accounting information systems, auditing and data analysis; earnings management; financial statement disclosure; corporate governance; and tax archival. His research includes publications in the Journal of Information Systems, the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, Cold Regions Science and Technology, and the Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. He has presented at conferences including the Society for Marketing Advances’ annual conference. He has served as a financial advisor, international audit manager, and senior associate for an analytic forensic technology team.

Director of Graduate Programs
Professor of Marketing
UT Permian Basin College of Business
saran_a@utpb.edu

Anshu Saran, PhD, is a professor of marketing within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating with his PhD from The University of Texas – Pan American, he joined UTPB in the fall of 2006. Prior to this, he served as faculty and taught at the APS University Rewa, Amity Business School Noida, and The University of Texas – Pan American. His research includes competing in the global marketplace, marketing strategies, social media ad marketing, and cultural differences in international business and marketing. His work has been published in the International Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing. Accumulating work experience for 12 years in different parts of the world, he served as chief operating officer for Tata International Ltd. along with other accolades in India. Dr. Saran currently teaches the following classes within the MBA program: International Business (on-campus and online) and Marketing Strategy.

“My research interests and experience in international business and marketing have supported my academic endeavors and helped me incorporate industry examples in the curriculum, creating value for students and supporting their job and career progression.”

Special Education Program Coordinator
Department Chair – Literacy, Language, and Special Populations
Associate Professor
College of Education
rosenblatt_k@utpb.edu

Dr. Rosenblatt is an associate professor of special education and serves as the chair for the Department of Teaching and Learning. She earned her PhD in Exceptional Education from the University of Central Florida in 2009 and her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Florida State University. She was a middle school special education teacher in Tampa, Florida and Bethesda, Maryland for five years before returning to school for her PhD.

At UT Permian Basin, Dr. Rosenblatt teaches graduate-level special education courses and is the professional education and elementary education program coordinator. Her research interests include educational technology, teacher preparation, and high-incidence disabilities. She has published research on educational technology and mobile learning, factors that influence education professionals, and special education and inclusive practices in book chapters and academic journals. Dr. Rosenblatt has also presented her work at conferences across the United States and internationally.

Assistant Professor
College of Education
frates_a@utpb.edu

Dr. Frates joined UT Permian Basin in 2022 as an assistant professor of special education. She received her master’s degree in special education and her PhD in curriculum and instruction from Northern Arizona University. Her previous experience includes teaching college courses in special education and working in an elementary school setting as a special education teacher. Her research currently focuses on literacy instruction for students with extensive support needs who are also multilingual learners.

Assistant Professor
College of Education
jackson_h@utpb.edu

Dr. Jackson is an assistant professor of special education within the Department of Literacy, Language, and Special Populations at UT Permian Basin. She holds a PhD in special education with a specialization in instructional design, technology, and innovation from the University of Kansas. Dr. Jackson has experience in public and private education as an educator and administrator, with a background in math education. Her research interests include investigating instructional design frameworks and their implementation on affective dispositions of learners in K-12 and higher education. Dr. Jackson has served on multiple research projects to support UDL implementation by consulting with educators and facilitating educator preparation.

Chair of Department of Management, Marketing, and Industrial Technology
Associate Professor of Marketing
PhD, University of North Texas
MEd, University of Windsor
MA, Heilongjiang University
gai_l@utpb.edu

Dr. Lili Gai has been an associate professor of marketing at UT Permian Basin since 2014. Her principal teaching and research interests include digital marketing, marketing research, retailing, and international marketing. Dr. Gai has published research articles in prominent journals including Journal of Business Research, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Journal of Global Marketing, and Journal of Marketing for Higher Education. Her research has been presented at academic conferences both nationally and internationally.

Director of Graduate Programs, UT Permian Basin College of Business
Professor of Marketing
PhD, University of Texas Pan-American
MBA, Asian Institute of Management
saran_a@utpb.edu

Anshu Saran, PhD, is a professor of marketing within the College of Business at The University of Texas Permian Basin. Graduating with his PhD from The University of Texas – Pan American, he joined UTPB in the fall of 2006. Prior to this, he served as faculty and taught at the APS University Rewa, Amity Business School Noida, and The University of Texas – Pan American. His research includes competing in the global marketplace, marketing strategies, social media ad marketing, and cultural differences in international business and marketing. His work has been published in the International Journal of Business Research, Journal of International Business Research, and Journal of Global Marketing. Accumulating work experience for 12 years in different parts of the world, he served as chief operating officer for Tata International Ltd. along with other accolades in India. Dr. Saran currently teaches the following classes within the MBA program: International Business (on-campus and online) and Marketing Strategy.

“My research interests and experience in international business and marketing have supported my academic endeavors and helped me incorporate industry examples in the curriculum, creating value for students and supporting their job and career progression.”

Assistant Professor of Marketing
PhD, University of Arkansas
MA, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
MA, Inner Mongolia Normal University
zhang_j@utpb.edu

Jingbo Zhang, PhD, is an assistant professor of marketing at The University of Texas Permian Basin. She started in the role of adjunct at the College of Business in 2020 after being an instructor of marketing at the University of Arkansas. She has published research in the Journal of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunication and she has presented articles at the Society for Marketing Advances Conferences and the Annual International Society of Franchising Conference in Vienna, Austria. Dr. Zhang has attended the Annual International Society of Franchising Conference, the Annual Southeast Marketing Symposium, the Annual Mittelstaedt Doctoral Symposium, and the Society for Marketing Advances. Her professional memberships include the American Marketing Association and the Society for Marketing Advances. She is an editor for SAGE Open Publications.

“My enthusiasm is to create a great geographical market coverage indicator to guide retailing stores to locate/relocate a store and provide practical strategies about how to improve the market performance of an individual store. Sharing my research ideas and experiences with my students to help them prepare for future careers always makes me excited!”

Lecturer
MBA, Ohio University
verlei_k@utpb.edu

Lecturer of Management and Marketing
ABD, Liberty University
MBA, The University of Texas Permian Basin
barron_k@utpb.edu

Katelin Barron, MBA, is a lecturer of management at The University of Texas Permian Basin. She started in the role of lecturer at the College of Business in 2013. Not only is Ms. Barron from Odessa, TX, she has taught the following courses for UT Permian Basin: Principles of Marketing, Energy Marketing, Principles of Landman, Business Communication, International Marketing, Strategic Brand Management, Sports Marketing, Management Concepts, Consumer Behavior, Sales Management, E-Commerce, Organizational Behavior, Marketing Strategy, Healthcare Marketing, Production Operation Management, Human Resources Management, and Project Elements. She has published articles in International Journal of Management Practice, the Journal of Global Responsibility, Society and Business Review, Management Research Review, and the Journal of Management Sciences. Ms. Barron currently serves as a member of the College of Business Scholarship committee and a member of the athletic committee for UT Permian Basin.

“My fundamental interest is centered on organizational behavior. This has allowed me to study various theories and analyze human behavior within an organizational setting. Moreover, when teaching strategic management and business communications, I can share the application of theories and how human behavior impacts an organization.”

Associate Professor and Coordinator of Industrial Technology
College of Business
morrison_r@utpb.edu

Dr. Morrison has more than two decades of industry experience as an entrepreneur in construction and aviation, as well as technology development, implementation, and support experience at multiple Fortune 500 multinational manufacturing companies. He holds two PhDs: one in business with a specialization in management and finance from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and another in technology management with a specialization in manufacturing systems from Indiana State University. Dr. Morrison also earned three master’s degrees in business and technology fields from Morehead State University and a Master of Science degree in accounting from Texas A&M University Commerce.

Associate Professor, Educational Leadership
College of Education
badgett_k@utpb.edu

Dr. Badgett joined the faculty of UT Permian Basin in August 2012 as an assistant professor of educational leadership. Dr. Badgett is also a certified school counselor and superintendent. Prior to coming to UT Permian Basin, Dr. Badgett served as an adjunct professor for University of Houston- Clear Lake as well as working in the Pasadena Independent School District.

Click here to read more about Dr. Badgett and his experience with UT Permian Basin.

Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership
College of Education
hernandez_e@utpb.edu

Dr. Arzu is Garifuna and originally from Belize, Central America. Prior to relocating to Odessa in 2021, Dr. Arzu spent over 30 years serving the Belizean education system as an elementary teacher, secondary school principal, adjunct lecturer, co-facilitator for Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and also Quality Assurance Officer at the University of Belize. While in Belize, she was a member of several professional organizations, including the Belize Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (BAPSS), the Association of Principals of Government Secondary Schools (APGSS), and the Consortium for Belize Educational Cooperation (COBEC). Since transitioning to UTPB, Dr. Arzu continues to serve only on COBEC. Her professional interests include issues pertaining to teachers and principal leadership and ensuring that programs are quality assured. Her personal interests include connecting to nature and her spiritual being.

Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership
College of Education
uzat_r@utpb.edu

Dr. Uzat joined UT Permian Basin in January 2022 as a professor of educational leadership. He has worked as a district-level and high school administrator for thirteen years. Before joining UTPB, Dr. Uzat served as the Director of Special Projects at St. Paul’s High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He has also compiled a 441-229 record over 26 seasons coaching high school basketball. He earned his PhD in educational leadership from The University of Southern Mississippi and his academic areas of specialization include organizational culture and change, crisis management, cost-benefit analysis, and TQM methods in education.

Click here to read more about Dr. Uzat and his experience with UT Permian Basin.

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