Four New Department Chairs Named in Fulbright College

Russell Cothren and Matt Reynolds

Clockwise from top left: Douglas Behrend, Department of Psychological Science, Mark Johnson, Department of Mathematical Sciences; Anna Zajicek, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice; Calvin White, Department of History.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Four departments in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences have elected new chairs. Leaders in the departments of history, mathematical sciences, psychological science and sociology and criminal justice assumed the posts over the summer.

Fulbright College also granted promotions and tenure to 20 faculty members.

Department Chairs

Calvin White, associate professor of history, joined the University of Arkansas in 2007. His research focuses on how class, respectability and the efforts of racial uplift intersect with the development of African Americans' religious traditions and racial identity after emancipation in the Arkansas and Mississippi Delta.

His 2012 book, The Rise to Respectability: Race, Religion and the Church of God in Christ, is among his many publications. He has been a Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program fellow and a Gilder-Lehrman Fellow at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York. He previously served as director of the African and African American studies program.

White received a Bachelor of Arts in history and Master of Arts in history from the University of Central Arkansas and a doctorate in history from the University of Mississippi.

Anna Zajicek, professor of sociology, has worked at the university since 1994. Her research interests include social inequality -- particularly as it applies to gender, race, age and class, institutional transformation, social policy, gender and race in the STEM disciplines, social change, and discourse.

She previously served the department of sociology and criminal justice as vice-chair, director of the graduate studies program and chair of the graduate program. Zajicek was named a Southeast Conference Academic Consortium Leadership Development Program Fellow and has published dozens of articles in some of the discipline's top journals.

She received a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in sociology from the University of Silesia in Poland and a doctorate in sociology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Mark Johnson, professor of mathematical sciences, joined the university in 1995. His research focuses on commutative algebra and algebraic geometry.

He has received grants from organizations such as the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation. He has served on the department's steering committee and as chair of the graduate program.

Johnson received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, a Master of Science in mathematics from Purdue University and a doctorate in mathematics from Michigan State University.

Douglas Behrend, professor of psychological science, has been with the university since 1989. His research interests include children's word learning, children's learning and sharing of privileged information and children's accent preferences.

He is head of the WordPlay Lab, the Department of Psychological Science's child language and cognition laboratory. He is the author or co-author of many scholarly articles. Behrend has collaborated with and mentored many students and has been involved in interdisciplinary projects with colleagues in a variety of fields. He served as department chair from 2003-2011.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and French from Kalamazoo College and a doctorate in psychology from the University of Minnesota.

Promotion and Tenure

Twenty Fulbright College faculty members were promoted this year. Eight assistant professors were promoted to associate professor and received tenure, seven tenured associate professors were promoted to full professor and five professors were promoted to the rank of Distinguished or University Professor.

Promotion and Tenure

• Matt T. Clay, mathematical sciences, associate professor 
• James J. Gigantino II, history, associate professor
• J. Laurence Hare, history, associate professor
• Lisa Ann Hinrichsen, English, associate professor
• Daniel Kennefick, physics, associate professor
• Angie Maxwell, political science, associate professor
• Martin Nedbal, music, associate professor
• Bret J. Schulte, journalism, associate professor

Promotion of Tenured Faculty

• Andrew J. Dowdle, political science, professor
• Matthew T. Feldner, psychological science, professor
• Mark Johnson, mathematical sciences, professor
• Benjamin J. Pierce, music, professor
• Susanne Striegler, chemistry and biochemistry, professor
• Suresh Thallapuranam, chemistry and biochemistry, professor
• Patrick G. Williams, history, professor

University or Distinguished Professor

• Kevin Fitzpatrick, sociology and criminal justice, University Professor
• Douglas D. Rhoads, biological sciences, University Professor
• Jerome C. Rose, anthropology, University Professor
• Jeannie Whayne, history, University Professor
• Kimberly G. Smith, biological sciences, Distinguished Professor