UH-Clear Lake welcomes new faculty

University of Houston-Clear Lake’s School of Education welcomed returning faculty and introduced its newest members at the annual School of Education Fall Faculty Luncheon ushering in the 2008-2009 academic year. 
 
New to School of Education this fall are: Gary T. Schumacher, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership; Dr. Tonya Hammer, Assistant Professor of Counseling;  Dr. Sandra Browning, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education; Kent Divoll, Instructor of Curriculum & Instruction; and Terry Chvala, Lecturer in Early Childhood Education.
 
Prior to joining UH-Clear Lake Schumacher served as superintendent of the Monona Grove School District in Monona, Wisconsin. He received a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Administration from the University of Wisconsin, and also holds a Master’s Degree in Administrative Leadership and a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Psychology. He has taught at both the Master’s and Doctoral level; his experience includes online teaching as well. Schumacher was a candidate for Wisconsin Superintendent of the Year 2007 and received the Leadership in Learning Award from the American Association of School Administrators in 2003.
 
Hammer served three years as a case manager with Communities in Schools, the nation’s largest dropout prevention program. She received her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, and holds a Master of Arts in Psychology and Counseling from the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.
 
Browning, with 37 years experience in education, comes to UH-Clear Lake from Seguin ISD where she served for seven years as the Math-Science Instructional Officer PreK-12. She received a doctorate in Mathematics Education with an emphasis on Professional Development from the University of the Incarnate Word, and she holds a Master of Science from Stephen F. Austin University and a Bachelor of Arts in Teaching from Sam Houston State University. She has nearly 20 years teaching experience.
 
Divoll comes to UH-Clear Lake from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he served as an adjunct professor and as a teaching and research and assistant. He taught elementary school for six years in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Divoll will complete his Doctor of Education and School Improvement from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Spring/Summer ‘09. He holds a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction in Literacy Specialization from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and History from Westfield State College in Westfield, Massachusetts.   
 
Prior to joining UH-Clear Lake, Chvala, a National Board Certified Teacher, taught second and third grade for 10 years in the Detroit Public Schools. She has a Masters in the Art of Teaching from Marygrove College in Detroit, and received a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

Other new faculty members at the university include eight professors for the School of Human Sciences and Humanities. New professors include Assistant Professor of Family Therapy W. Jared DuPree; Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Jennifer Fritz; Assistant Professor of Latin American History Daniel S. Haworth; Assistant Professor of Literature Elizabeth Klett; Associate Professor of Criminology Elizabeth McConnell; Assistant Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology Scott McIntyre; Assistant Professor of Psychology Christopher Ward; and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology Chad Wetterneck.
 
New School of Business faculty includes Assistant Professor of Management Troy Voelker; Assistant Professor of Management Dorothy Kirkman; and Assistant Professor of Finance Ivelina Pavlova.
 
Finally, the School of Science and Computer Engineering added four new faculty members including Assistant Professor of Software Engineering Lei Wu; Assistant Professor of Engineering Management Ki Young Jeong; Assistant Professor of Computer Engineering Hakduran Koc; and Visiting Assistant Professor of Statistics Galen Papkov.