2021-2022 Provost Faculty Fellows
The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce the selection of its 2021-2022 Provost Faculty Fellows. Four new Fellows will work alongside vice provosts and faculty colleagues in the areas of curriculum effectiveness and improvement; diversity, equity, and inclusion; community engaged scholarship; and communication for student success initiatives.
Provost Faculty Fellow positions are designed to lend faculty perspective to administrators while providing mentorship and administrative experience at the institutional level to faculty members seeking to explore leadership roles in higher education administration. “We are delighted to welcome a new cohort of Fellows and look forward to learning from their expertise. Every year, Fellows bring unique vision and energy, and we are grateful for their commitment to this work and to their colleagues,” said John Wiebe, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Incoming Fellows include:
Provost Faculty Fellow for Community-engaged Scholarship
Carleton Brown, Ph.D., assistant professor of educational psychology and special services, will support faculty community-engaged scholarship (CES) through workshops and talks related to CES competencies. Dr. Brown joined UTEP in 2015 with a doctoral degree in counselor education from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He currently serves on the Provost’s Community Engagement Council and works closely with the Center for Community Engagement. He has demonstrated expertise in effective community workshops at the College of Education, and advanced work-based learning techniques for students through the coordination of community-based internships, service learning opportunities, and community outreach.
Provost Faculty Fellow for Curriculum Effectiveness and Improvement
Jeff Olimpo, Ph.D., assistant professor of biological sciences, will focus on efforts in high-demand core courses, particularly on enhancing engagement through immersive experiences in the community, active learning, and key learning outcomes. Dr. Olimpo joined UTEP in 2015 with a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Maryland, College Park. He has been actively engaged in first-year student programming at the College of Science, most recently as the faculty lead on an introductory biology course reform that resulted in standardizing syllabi across two courses; incorporating active learning and inclusive teaching practices; and adoption of new low-cost, online textbooks.
Provost Faculty Fellow for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Calvin Stewart, Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering, will work to define strategic actions to institutionalize DEI. Dr. Stewart joined UTEP in 2013 with a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Central Florida. In addition to serving as PI and Co-PI on grants funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Air Force Research Lab, and Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies, Dr. Stewart recently formed the UTEP Black Affinity Group. The organization focuses on promoting the well-being and success of Black faculty, staff, and students, while advocating for full equity, recognition, inclusion, and emancipation of community members. Dr. Stewart is a well-known mentor to students at the College of Engineering, principally for his guidance with applying the S3 (student-scholar-scientist) Mindset, which involves internship, scholarship, and fellowship programs, and navigating graduate school. Dr. Stewart developed a 27-page guide for student researchers titled “Expectations for Directed Research”, with intentions on developing it into a book.
Provost Faculty Fellow for Communication for Student Success Initiatives
Richard Pineda, Ph.D., is an associate professor of communication and chair of the Communication Department. As a Provost Faculty Fellow, Dr. Pineda will inform and work collaboratively across campus to develop key messaging and branding to promote student success with an asset-based framework, particularly through the UTEP Edge, academic programs and services offered through the Entering Student Experience, and student transfers. Dr. Pineda joined the UTEP faculty in 2004 after earning a master’s in communication from UTEP in 1998. He earned a doctoral degree in communication from Wayne State University in 2003. Most recently, Dr. Pineda served on the UTEP Strategic Plan core planning team where he was tasked with organizing and structuring data and viewpoints from units across campus. He brings significant experience as a consultant on strategic communication planning, leadership preparation, and public communication training.
The incoming cohort will work alongside Ann Gates, senior vice provost for faculty affairs; Toni Blum, vice provost for curriculum effectiveness and improvement; Virginia Fraire, vice provost for student success and strategic initiatives; and Azuri Gonzalez, director of the Center for Community Engagement. The incoming cohort will succeed 2020-2021 Provost Faculty Fellows: Elvira Carrizal-Dukes, assistant professor of practice in Chicano studies; Elena Izquierdo, professor of teacher education; Norman Love, professor of mechanical engineering; and Ivonne Santiago, clinical professor of civil engineering. “We are grateful to our Fellows whose terms are coming to a close,” said Wiebe. “They have made strong contributions to leadership during a challenging time in our history.”