University of West Georgia

July 2020-July 2021

Director of Civic Engagement, University College

Management Activities

  • Create and manage Center for Civic Impact and Leadership

  • Supervise team of Civic Engagement leaders

  • Advocate for and develop curricular civic engagement efforts

  • Seek and secure internal and external funding to support civic engagement efforts

  • Develop method of civic engagement assessment in the curriculum and co-curriculum

Highlights

  • Develop and deploy a strategic plan for increasing civic engagement in the curriculum and co-curriculum

  • Secured $25,000 in external support in first semester of the position

July 2017-July 2020

Chair and Professor, Department of Political Science

Management Activities

  • Lead and evaluate seventeen faculty members and one administrative assistant in operations of the Department.

    • Charge and staff four governance committees within the department

    • Support departmental needs through advocacy efforts within the College of Social Sciences and the University

  • Supervise and assess more than thirty courses across four degree programs

    • Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

    • Bachelor of Science in Political Science

    • Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership

    • Master of Public Administration

  • Advance mission of the department as aligned with College of Social Science and University strategic goals

    • Lead efforts to recruit and retain students to graduation

    • Develop and initiate new programs to maintain market relevance

    • Support scholarly professional development among faculty

    • Develop scholarly development systems to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to participate in scholarly activities

Highlights

  • Revised major curriculum to improve student retention

  • Developed and deployed assessment systems for general education offerings and the major curriculum

  • Secured renewed accreditation by NASPAA for Master of Public Administration program

  • Increased Faculty research productivity 15%

  • Increased enrollment across programs by 92%

  • Produced the second Truman Scholar winner in UWG history

  • Faculty support of chair score increased from 3.6 to 4.2 on 5-point EngageWest scale

Leadership Activities

  • Served on College of Social Sciences and Division of Academic Affairs leadership teams

  • Advocated for additional resources to grow Master of Public Administration program

  • Mentored students and faculty