Faculty Members Named Inaugural Provost’s Scholars
March 30, 2021
Angelo State University has introduced a new Provost’s Scholars Program that will allow qualifying faculty members “course release time” to take time off from teaching to conduct research and other scholarly activities.
To qualify for the program, faculty must submit proposals to the dean of the College of Graduate Studies and Research for review by the Provost’s Scholars Review Committee. The committee includes representatives of each of ASU’s academic colleges, the graduate studies dean and the director of sponsored projects. Proposals that make it through the committee review are forwarded to Dr. Don Topliff, provost and vice president for academic affairs, for final approval.
For the upcoming 2021-22 academic year, proposals from eight faculty members have been approved, and those faculty are now designated Provost’s Scholars. The inaugural group of Provost’s Scholars and their projects include:
- Dr. Loren Ammerman, professor of biology – research on the effects of white-nose syndrome on the Texas bat population
- Dr. Robert Dowler, professor of biology – preparing publications detailing four years of field research on the endangered plains spotted skunk in East Texas
- Dr. Manuel Garcia, assistant professor of engineering – research on water distribution systems design and performance
- Dr. Kevin Garrison, professor of English – research on the issue of deaf advocacy at ASU and in San Angelo
- Dr. Trey Holik, associate professor of physics – work on the design and manufacture of superconducting magnets for the next generation of particle accelerators
- Dr. Sarah Lynch, assistant professor of history – continuing preparation of two books for publication, “Medieval Education: An Epitome” and “The Medieval Year”
- Dr. Aldo Piñón-Villarreal, assistant professor of engineering – preparation of a water resource study for the Santa Elena Canyon Protected Area in the Big Bend Region
- Dr. Joe Satterfield, professor of geology – geologic mapping in the Santa Elena Canyon Protected Area in the Big Bend Region
Each of the Provost’s Scholars has been granted course release time for the upcoming fall 2021 and/or spring 2022 semester. The courses they would normally teach during those times will be covered by other faculty so that there is no negative impact on students.