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April 2, 2004 > News > 24 faculty promoted

24 faculty promoted

By Audrey Walstrom | Thresher staff

Twenty-four faculty members have received promotions, which will take effect in July. The Board of Trustees approved the promotions when it met last week.

Provost Eugene Levy said a high-quality faculty is essential for a school like Rice, and the recently-promoted faculty members will enrich the education Rice offers undergraduates.

“The very best undergraduate students ought to seek — and increasingly do seek — an educational environment in which they can learn from faculty who are themselves actively engaged as leaders in expanding the boundaries of human knowledge and understanding, or who are among the ablest practitioners of their professional disciplines,” Levy said. “These individuals have the most penetrating understanding of their disciplines, and, generally speaking, the best ability to convey that understanding.”

Mikki Hebl was promoted to associate professor of psychology with tenure after six years at Rice. Hebl researches the expression of discrimination in society and the ways in which it might be remediated, with a particular focus in enhancing diversity in the workplace.

“I am really indebted to the graduate and undergraduate students with whom I do research and teach,” Hebl said. “They are a constant source of inspiration and an integral part of my research.”

Matthias Henze has been promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure in the religious studies department. Now in his seventh year at Rice, Henze specializes in the early history of biblical texts and has recently been working on early Jewish and Christian interpretations of the apocalypse.

“The University has always been very successful in identifying academic quality and has always supported faculty members very generously, myself included,” Henze said. “I have always felt supported by both my department and also the Dean of Humanities.”

Other faculty members promoted to associate professor with tenure are Gerald Dickens in earth science, Matthew Fraser in civil and environmental engineering, Daniel Mittleman in electrical and computer engineering, and Evan Siemann in ecology and evolutionary biology.

Enrique Barrera was promoted to the rank of professor. Barrera has worked in the materials science department for the past 14 years and his current research involves developing next-generation materials that utilize the properties of nanotubes. In 2002, Barrera received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math and Engineering Mentoring from the White House. He is also the recipient of the 2003 Education Award from the Hispanic Engineering Achievement Award Corporation. Barrera said he is pleased the university has recognized his scholarship.

“It’s a dream come true,” Barrera said.

Barrera said students should set goals and stick to them, as his success is a culmination of many years’ work.

“When you have an opportunity to achieve, it shows a genuine reason to work hard, get an education and continue to set new goals,” Barerra said. “I hope to be able to work even harder in the future.”

The other faculty members promoted to professor are Janet Braam and Michael Stern in the biochemistry and cell biology department, Vicki Colvin and Seiichi Matsuda in chemistry, Rudy Guerra in statistics, Carlos Jimenez in architecture, Lydia Kavraki in computer science, Jeffrey Kripal in religious studies, Elizabeth Long in sociology, Andrew Meade in mechanical engineering and materials science, Honey Meconi in music, Qimiao Si in physics and astronomy, and Jennifer West in bioengineering.

Jon Kimura Parker of the Shepherd School of Music was promoted to professor with tenure. Bruce Johnson of the chemistry department was promoted to distinguished faculty fellow. Marian Fabian of the biochemistry and cell biology department and Bernard Lindsay of the physics and astronomy department were promoted to senior faculty fellow.

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