So much of what CU Denver faculty members do focuses on our students and their success, as well as the innovative research and creative work that will change our communities. But on Tuesday, we had a chance to shine a light on their professional achievements during the annual Tenure and Promotion Lunch.
CU Denver Chancellor Kenneth T. Christensen, PhD, who was one of the 52 honorees, himself, welcomed the crowd and thanked them for their critical contributions to the university. “It is an honor to celebrate your accomplishments,” said Christensen. “This is one of the real seminal steps in your scholarship and professional journeys, and it is wonderful that you choose to have that journey here, and it is wonderful to see what you’ve accomplished so far.”
He encouraged honorees to reflect on the people that helped them reach this point—and to plan on mentoring the next generation of faculty. “It comes down to what we can do to support our assistant professors and our associate professors,” Christensen said.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Karen Marrongelle, PhD, spoke about how the event is a testament to the scholarly focus of the community. “It is just wonderful to be on a campus that is so dedicated to students and scholarship and the thriving region that we live in,” she said. She highlighted the incredible amount of work that it takes to reach these milestones. She also spotlighted that the day’s honorees represented more than 2,000 classes taught since 2010 and a cumulative 582 years spent at CU Denver. “You are making a difference in individuals’ lives and strengthening our community,” Marrongelle said.
After those statistics sunk in—proof of the impact that faculty have on our community—honorees had an opportunity to introduce themselves and share stories about the ways that they found success, support, mentorship, and friendship.
Here are this year’s honorees:
Tenured Faculty
Adriana Alvarez, School of Education & Human Development (SEHD), Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Education
Ashis Kumer Biswas, College of Engineering, Design and Computing (CEDC), Computer Science & Engineering
Edelina M. Burciaga, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), Sociology
Kenneth T. Christensen, CEDC, Mechanical Engineering
Louis Anthony (Tony) Cox, Jr., Business School (BUS), Business Analytics
Rachel S. Gross, CLAS, History
Kevin Hirth, College of Architecture and Planning (CAP), Architecture
Jafar Haadi Jafarian, CEDC, Computer Science & Engineering
Eric Jewett, College of Arts & Media (CAM), Film & Television|
Lisa C. Kelley, CLAS, Geography & Environmental Sciences
Yaning Liu, CLAS, Mathematical & Statistical Sciences
Erin Orrick, School of Public Affairs (SPA), Criminal Justice
David Rifkind, CAP, Architecture
Andrew Scahill, CLAS, English
Diana D. Schaack, SEHD, Early Childhood Education
Margaret L. Woodhull, CLAS, Master of Humanities/Master of Social Science Programs
Jing Zhang, BUS, Accounting
Promoted to Full Professor
Jody Beck, CAP, Landscape Architecture
Faye Caronan, CLAS, Ethnic Studies
Todd Ely, SPA
Laurel Hartley, CLAS, Integrative Biology
Kristin Kilbourn, CLAS, Psychology
David Liban, CAM, Film & Television
Mark Rabideau, CAM, Music & Entertainment Industry Studies
Krista Ranby, CLAS, Psychology
John Tinnell, CLAS, English
Alan Vajda, CLAS, Integrative Biology
Michael Wunder, CLAS, Integrative Biology
Promoted Instructional, Research, and Clinical (IRC) Faculty
Kelsey Brett, Auraria Library
Michael Brohman, CAM, Visual Arts
Deborah Bumbie Chi, Auraria Library
Howard Cook, CAM, Visual Arts
Robert Hobbins, BUS
Ashley Hoffman, CAM, Visual Arts
Cynthia Kennedy, BUS
Kwabena Kesse, BUS
Christa LeGray, CEDC, Bioengineering CIDE
Teresa McGinley, Auraria Library
Salahuddin McKloskey, Auraria Library
Sam McNitt, SEHD, ASPIRE to Teach Program
Jasmine Newell, CLAS, English-ESL
Gary Olson, CLAS, Mathematical & Statistical Sciences
Dmitriy Ostroviskiy, CLAS, Mathematical & Statistical Sciences
Mariana Prestigiacomo, Auraria Library
George Quansah, CLAS, Economics
Lori Ryan, SEHD, Early Childhood Education Program
Kodi Saylor, Auraria Library
James Walsh, CLAS, Political Science
Emily Wortman-Wunder, CLAS, English
Promoted International College of Beijing (ICB) Faculty
Matthew Klein, CLAS, English, ICB
Joseph Quarcoo, CLAS, Mathematics & Statistical Sciences, ICB
Tianwei Zhang, CLAS, Economics, ICB
