Fulbright College Dean Candidates to Visit Campus, Give Public Presentations

The four final candidates for the position of dean of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas will visit campus over the next month for interviews and public presentations.

The candidates are Cynthia Y. Young of the University of Central Florida, Pamela E. Jansma of the the University of Texas-Arlington, Todd G. Shields of the University of Arkansas, and John W. Richmond of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Cynthia Y. Young is an associate dean for the College of Sciences and a professor of mathematics at the University of Central Florida, the second-largest university in the nation. She will give her public presentation at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in the auditorium of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development at the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

Young received her B.A. in mathematics education from the University of North Carolina and both her M.S. in electrical engineering and her Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the University of Washington. As an assistant professor she was selected by the Office of Naval Research for the Young Investigator Award to support her research in mathematical modeling of atmospheric effects on laser beams with interest in laser radar and laser communications systems. As an associate professor she was elected as a fellow of the International Society of Optical Engineers. In addition to atmospheric propagation studies, Young has authored multiple, college-level mathematics textbooks, and leads several NSF supported STEM education/research initiatives at UCF. She has over 60 books and publications and $6M in federal funding and has won awards for research, teaching, and scholarship of teaching and learning.  From 2005-2008 Young was the NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative for UCF.  Her primary areas of responsibility as associate dean in the College of Sciences involve oversight of assessment, research contracts and contracts, and faculty affairs.

Pamela E. Jansma became the eighth dean of the University of Texas-Arlington’s College of Science in August 2009. She will give her public presentation at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 10, in the Reynolds Center Auditorium.

Jansma has more than two decades of experience in higher education. As dean, she oversees a faculty of approximately 120 and an annual budget of $20 million. An accomplished administrator and faculty member, Jansma’s research interests include microplate tectonics and strain partitioning. She has published numerous articles in scientific journals, and her research has received funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense and NASA, among other sources. Before coming to UT-Arlington, she was dean of New Mexico State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. She previously was chair of the department of geosciences at the University of Arkansas and associate dean for research and academic affairs for the College of Arts and Sciences of Puerto Rico. She is a member of the Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union and Sigma Xi, an international scientific research society. She earned doctoral and master’s degrees in geological sciences from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree in geology from Stanford University. She was born in Tokyo, Japan, and also lived in Chicago, the Netherlands and Scarsdale, N.Y., while growing up.

Todd G. Shields is dean of the Graduate School and International Education at the University of Arkansas. His public presentation will take place at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, in the Reynolds Center Auditorium.

Shields’ administrative experience spans nearly 15 years and includes tenures as associate director for the J. William Fulbright Institute of International Relations, chair of the department of political science, founding director of the Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society, interim associate dean for the President J. William Clinton School of Public Service, interim dean of Fulbright College and dean of Graduate School and International Education. His research interests lie broadly in applied statistics and American elections.  He has published dozens of journal articles and is the co-author or co-editor of four books, including The Persuadable Voter: Wedge Issues in Presidential Campaigns, the winner of the Robert E. Lane award for the best book in Political Psychology awarded by the American Political Science Association in 2009. He is also the co-author of Money Matters: The Effects of Campaign Finance Reform on Congressional Elections and the co-editor of The Clinton Riddle: Interdisciplinary Perspectives of the 42nd President and New Voices in the Old South: How Women and Minorities Influence Southern Politics.  He generally teaches courses in research methods, applied statistics and survey research. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky.

John W. Richmond is a tenured professor in the Glenn Korff School of Music of the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he is serving in his third 5-year term as the director of the Glenn Korff School of Music. He will give his public presentation at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 17, in the Reynolds Center Auditorium.

Prior to his appointment as director, Richmond served as a professor and in various administrative capacities in the School of Music at the University of South Florida, Tampa. He earned a bachelor’s degree (summa cum laude) in music education from William Jewell College, a master’s degree in conducting from the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and a Ph.D. degree in music education from Northwestern University. In addition, he studied conducting and music education in Austria at the Vienna International Music Center and the Orff Schulwerk Institute (Salzburg). Richmond’s research focuses on arts education policy, legal issues in arts education and the philosophy of music education. He has appeared across North America, Europe, Africa and Asia as a guest conductor, speaker, clinician, consultant and soloist. 

Complete vitas for all of the candidates are available online at the Fulbright Dean Search page.