Academic and non-academic promotions announced
Sept. 26, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- At its Sept. 20 meeting, Western Michigan University Board of Trustees approved a wide range of academic and non-academic personnel moves, including a number of high profile administrative appointments that had been previously announced.
New academic appointments approved by the board included the naming of Dr. Alexander J. Enyedi as professor and chairperson of the Department of Biological Sciences, effective June 24; Dr. Eileen B. Evans as associate vice president for research, effective Aug. 12, 2002 through Aug. 11, 2004; Dr. Arlen N. Gullickson as director of the Evaluation Center, effective Aug. 5; and Dr. Paul V. Pancella as chairperson of the Department of Physics, effective July 1.
New non-academic appointments included the naming of Lowell P. Rinker as associate vice president for business, effective July 1; and Jan Van Der Kley as associate vice president for finance, effective July 1.
The board also approved the previously announced appointments of Robert J. Aardema, interim dean and chair of the faculty, College of Aviation; Dr. Michael B. Atkins, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Jeffrey S. Breneman, vice president for legislative affairs and chief of staff; Dr. David A. Burnie, associate dean of the Haworth College of Business; Dean K. Honsberger, associate vice president for budget and planning; Carol L.J. Hustoles, vice president for legal affairs; Dr. Daniel M. Litynski, provost and vice president for academic affairs; Dr. Jack R. Luderer, vice president for research; Dr. Joseph G. Reish, dean of University Libraries and Dr. William R. Wiener, dean of the Graduate College.
In related action, the board approved a previously announced administrative professional development leave for Dr. Donald E. Thompson, vice president for research and dean of the Graduate College. Thompson is serving for two years as a National Science Foundation official in Washington, D.C.
Alexander J. Enyedi, a faculty member since 1993, is a specialist in plant physiology and an active researcher who has received numerous grants and published more than 30 abstracts and journal articles on his work. He was the recipient of a 2000 WMU Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. Enyedi came to the campus from Rutgers University's Center for Agricultural Molecular Biology, where he served as a post-doctoral research associate from 1991 to 1993. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Guelph's Ontario Agricultural College in 1981, a master's degree from the University of Guelph in 1985 and a doctoral degree from Pennsylvania State University in 1991. He has been serving as interim chairperson of his department since July 2001.
Eileen B. Evans has been associate dean of the Graduate College since July 2000. For the year prior to that, she served as assistant dean of the Graduate College. She joined the University in 1981 as an assistant professor of business information systems and has held a series of administrative posts since 1984, including serving as coordinator of the business college's Writing Lab and Freshman Writing Program, and associate director of the Intellectual Skills Development Program. She earned a bachelor's degree from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 1968 and master's and doctoral degrees from Purdue University in 1970 and 1976, respectively.
Arlen N. Gullickson has served as chief of staff of WMU's Evaluation Center since 1991, and he also is a professor of counselor education. Prior to coming to WMU, Gullickson had been a faculty member at the University of South Dakota since 1973, and he served as coordinator of the South Dakota Rural Science and Math School Without Walls Project. Since coming to WMU, he has directed a number of major evaluation research projects for such agencies as the National Science Foundation. He is the chairperson of the national Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation, which is housed at WMU. Gullickson earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Northern Iowa in 1963 and 1967, respectively, and his doctoral degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1971. He replaces the Evaluation Center's founding director, Dr. Daniel Stufflebeam, whose return to the faculty as a Distinguished University Professor also was approved by trustees at the Sept. 20 meeting.
Paul V. Pancella, an associate professor of physics, has been a faculty member since 1990. Prior to coming to WMU, he was a research associate at Indiana University's cyclotron facility for three years. He also worked for three years at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's National Center for Drug Analysis in St. Louis. He earned a bachelor's degree from St. Louis University in 1981 and master's and doctoral degrees from Rice University in 1984 and 1987, respectively. His research specialty is nuclear physics experimentation with polarized beams and targets. Pancella replaces Dr. John Tanis, whose return to the faculty was approved by the board at the meeting.
Lowell P. Rinker has been assistant vice president for business and assistant treasurer to the WMU Board of Trustees since 1992. He began working at WMU in 1972 as a grant accountant. He has served as a project fiscal analyst, manager of general accounting and the University's chief accountant. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from WMU.
Jan Van Der Kley, who has been assistant vice president for finance since 1993, has been a WMU staff member since 1983. A certified public accountant, she has served as director of internal audit and director of operations in institutional advancement. She earned both bachelor's and master's degrees from WMU.
Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 269 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu