
Clockwise from top left: Dr. Jennifer L. Burris, Department of Physics and Astronomy; Dr. Rose Mary Webb, Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology; Dr. Tammy Wahpeconiah, Department of English; and Dr. Cameron Lippard, Department of Sociology.
BOONE, N.C. — Four new department chairs in Appalachian State University’s College of Arts and Sciences will begin their positions in fall 2018.
These include the college’s current associate dean, Dr. Jennifer L. Burris, who will chair Appalachian’s Department of Physics and Astronomy; Dr. Rose Mary Webb, who will become chair of the college’s Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology; Dr. Cameron Lippard, who will assume the interim chair position in the Department of Sociology; and Dr. Tammy Wahpeconiah, who will serve as interim chair in the Department of English.
Dr. William Anderson, professor in the university’s Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, and Dr. James Fogelquist, professor of Spanish in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, have been renewed by their departments to serve additional three-year terms as chairs.
“After internal and external processes, I am pleased to announce that two of our new chairs have been chosen by their colleagues and the two interim chairs appointed by the dean. I look forward to working with each of them as they step into these key leadership roles,” said Dr. Neva J. Specht, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
To learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences and its many departments spanning the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences, visit https://cas.appstate.edu.
About the Department of Physics and Astronomy
The Department of Physics and Astronomy’s curriculum has an applied nature that includes a core of fundamental physics courses and laboratory experiences. The department prepares graduates for a variety of scientific, teaching or engineering professions, as well as future educational endeavors. Learn more at https://physics.appstate.edu.
About the Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology
Appalachian’s Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology serves more than 1,000 undergraduate majors seeking the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, as well as 80 graduate students in three master’s programs (experimental psychology, school psychology, and industrial-organizational psychology and human resource management) and the clinical psychology (Psy.D.) doctoral program. Learn more at https://psych.appstate.edu.
About the Department of Sociology
The Department of Sociology offers a Bachelor of Arts and seven Bachelor of Science concentrations (applied research methods; criminology; families and intimate relationships; health and aging; power and social change; social inequalities; and individually designed, which requires departmental approval). The department also offers minors in sociology and health and aging, plus two online graduate certificates: aging, health and society, and sociology. Learn more at https://soc.appstate.edu.
About the Department of English
The Department of English at Appalachian State University is committed to outstanding work in the classroom, the support and mentorship of students, and a dynamic engagement with culture, history, language, theory and literature. The department offers master’s degrees in English and rhetoric and composition, as well as undergraduate degrees in literary studies, film studies, creative writing, professional writing and English education. Learn more at https://english.appstate.edu.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and unique location. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,400 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
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