Trustees approve promotions, tenure, emeriti status and sabbaticals for 2023-24

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the sun sets behind the jesse mercer statue on the atlanta campus
Mercer University photo

ATLANTA — Mercer University’s Board of Trustees, meeting on the Cecil B. Day Graduate and Professional Campus in Atlanta on April 15, approved promotions, tenure, emeriti status and sabbaticals for faculty from across the University.

Promotions, Tenure, Emeriti Status

School of Business

• Dr. Carol Cagle, promoted to associate professor emerita of business
• Dr. Kenneth Tah, promoted to associate professor of business, awarded tenure

College of Education

• Dr. Sharon Augustine, promoted to professor of teacher education
• Dr. Lucy Bush, promoted to professor of teacher education
• Dr. Sylvia Cain, promoted to professor of teacher education
• Dr. Jeffrey Hall, promoted to professor of teacher education
• Dr. Robert Marsh, promoted to associate professor of teacher education, awarded tenure
• Dr. Sybil Keesbury Martin, promoted to professor of teacher education
• Dr. Jane West, promoted to associate professor emerita of teacher education

School of Engineering

• Dr. Pablo Biswas, promoted to associate professor of industrial engineering/management, awarded tenure
• Dr. Ruiyun Fu, promoted to associate professor of electrical/computer engineering, awarded tenure
• Dr. Behnam Kamali, promoted to professor emeritus of electrical/computer engineering
• Dr. Joanna Thomas, promoted to associate professor of biomedical engineering, awarded tenure

College of Health Professions

• Jennifer de la Cruz, promoted to clinical associate professor of physician assistant studies

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Dr. Sara Appleby, promoted to associate professor psychology, awarded tenure
• Dr. Margaret Dee Bratcher, promoted to professor emerita of religion
• Dr. Thomas Bullington, promoted to senior lecturer of liberal arts
• Dr. Alana Alvarez Castro, promoted to associate professor of foreign languages and literatures, awarded tenure
• Dr. Linda L. Hensel, promoted to professor emerita of biology
• Dr. Emilianne Limbrick, promoted to associate professor of chemistry, awarded tenure
• Dr. Yuanting Lu, promoted to associate professor of mathematics, awarded tenure
• Scot Mann, promoted to professor of communication studies/theatre
• Dr. Lydia Masanet, promoted to professor emerita of foreign languages and literatures
• Dr. David Nelson, promoted to professor emeritus of mathematics
• Dr. Katharine Northcutt, promoted to professor of biology
• James Ogden, promoted to senior lecturer and technical director of theatre
• Dr. Shan Ran, promoted to associate professor of psychology, awarded tenure
• Chelsea Rathburn, promoted to associate professor of English, awarded tenure
• Dr. Joshua Rodefer, promoted to associate professor of psychology, awarded tenure

School of Medicine

• Dr. Stephanie Beavers, promoted to associate professor of internal medicine
• Dr. James Drummond, promoted to associate professor of biomedical sciences
• Dr. James Knapp, promoted to associate professor of biomedical sciences
• Dr. Anne Montgomery, promoted to associate professor of community medicine
• Dr. Devi Rajan, promoted to assistant professor of biomedical sciences
• Dr. Kamkani Maheshinie Rajapaksha, promoted to assistant professor of biomedical sciences
• Dr. Marjorie Smith, promoted to associate professor of internal medicine
• Dr. James Burke, promoted to professor of obstetrics and gynecology
• Dr. David Carney, promoted to professor of surgery and pediatrics
• Dr. Jarrod Dumpe, promoted to associate professor of surgery
• Dr. G. Waldon Garriss III, promoted to professor of internal medicine
• Dr. Miller C. Hamrick, promoted to associate professor of surgery
• Dr. Palmer Johnston, promoted to associate professor of pediatrics
• Dr. Chad Martins, promoted to associate professor of internal medicine
• Dr. Sandra E. Moore, promoted to professor of pediatrics
• Dr. Anuradha Pavuluri, promoted to associate professor of pediatrics
• Dr. Sandhya Ramayya, promoted to associate professor of family medicine
• Dr. Andrew Stack, promoted to professor of pediatrics
• Dr. Chadwick W. Stouffer, promoted to associate professor of surgery

College of Nursing

• Dr. Tammy D. Barbé, promoted to professor of nursing
• Dr. Natasha Laibhen-Parkes, promoted to clinical associate professor of nursing
• Dr. Humberto Reinoso, promoted to associate professor of nursing, awarded tenure

College of Pharmacy

• Dr. Jill Augustine, promoted to associate professor of pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical sciences
• Dr. Clinton Canal, promoted to associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences, awarded tenure
• Dr. Angela O. Shogbon-Nwaesei, promoted to clinical professor of pharmacy practice

College of Professional Advancement

• Dr. Nadia Barnett, promoted to associate professor of human services and psychology
• Dr. Arla Bernstein, promoted to associate professor of liberal studies
• Dr. Margaret Eskew, promoted to professor emerita of English
• Dr. Merrin Oliver, promoted to associate professor of human services and psychology
• Dr. Sabrina Walthall, promoted to professor of science

Sabbaticals

School of Business

• Dr. Geoffrey Ngene, fall 2023
• Dr. Antonio Savaria, fall 2023

School of Engineering

• Dr. Scott Schultz, spring 2024

School of Law

• Monica Armstrong Roudil, fall 2023
• Scott Titshaw, academic year 2023-24

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

• Dr. Jay Black, spring 2024
• Dr. Heather Bowman-Cutway, spring 2024
• Dr. Chamaree de Silva, academic year 2023-24
• Dr. Joseph Keene, fall 2023
• Dr. Clara Mengolini, spring 2024
• Dr. Amy Nichols-Belo, academic year 2023-24
• Dr. Martin Zhao, fall 2023

School of Music

• Amy S. Moretti, fall 2023

School of Theology

• Dr. Graham B. Walker Jr., fall 2023

About Mercer University

Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. With approximately 9,000 students enrolled in 12 schools and colleges, on major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; medical school sites in Macon, Savannah and Columbus; and at regional academic centers in Henry and Douglas counties, Mercer is ranked among the top tier of national research universities by U.S. News & World Report. The Mercer Health Sciences Center includes the University’s School of Medicine and Colleges of Nursing, Health Professions and Pharmacy. Mercer is affiliated with five teaching hospitals – Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center and Piedmont Macon Medical Center in Macon; Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah; and Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital and St. Francis-Emory Healthcare in Columbus. The University also has an educational partnership with Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer Medicine, the clinical faculty practice of the School of Medicine, is based in Macon and operates additional clinics in Sumter, Peach, Clay, Putnam and Harris counties. Mercer is one of only 293 institutions nationwide to shelter a chapter of The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society; one of eight institutions to hold membership in the Georgia Research Alliance; and the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. www.mercer.edu