Fall 2026: Four Hunt Business Faculty Earn Promotion and Tenure

Why it matters

Milestones built on sustained faculty work.

Promotion and tenure recognize sustained contributions to teaching, research, and service. In 2026, four Hunt College faculty members earned promotions, tenure, or both, with milestones spanning accounting, management, information systems, and finance.

Accounting and Information Systems

Hettie C. Houghton

Distinguished Senior Lecturer in Accounting

Houghton has taught accounting at UTEP since 2009 after working in public accounting, where she specialized in governmental and not-for-profit auditing. Her teaching spans financial, managerial, cost, and tax accounting.

A two-time UTEP alumna with a BBA and Master of Accountancy, Houghton has received multiple Hunt College teaching honors. She also serves as faculty advisor for the Accounting Society and Beta Alpha Psi.

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Marketing, Management and Supply Chain

Prajya R. Vidyarthi, Ph.D.

Professor of Management

Vidyarthi studies organizational behavior, including workplace relationships, leadership, employee overqualification, and individualized work arrangements.

His research has appeared in the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Leadership Quarterly, and Journal of Management Studies. He also holds the Frank and Wilma Hanley Professorship in Business Administration.

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Accounting and Information Systems

Jie Yan, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Information Systems

Yan studies how technology shapes organizations and decision-making, with research spanning artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, fintech, online communities, and the business use of data.

His work has appeared in the International Journal of Information Management, Information & Management, and the Journal of Enterprise Information Management. Yan received the Hunt College Outstanding Research Award three consecutive years from 2022 through 2024.

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Economics and Finance

Linh Thompson, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Finance

Thompson's research examines corporate finance and the relationship between firms, people, and investment decisions.

Recent work has explored human capital disclosure and institutional ownership, local labor markets and corporate investment, and environmental, social, and governance performance among founder-led firms. His research has appeared in Finance Research Letters, the Journal of Financial Research, and the International Review of Economics & Finance.

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Faculty recognition

Congratulations to Hunt College's 2026 honorees.

Hunt College congratulates Houghton, Vidyarthi, Yan, and Thompson on these academic milestones and the work they represent.