Congratulations to four A-State faculty members who have been promoted to "professor" Thursday, May 31, following recommendation from the administration and confirmation by the Board of Trustees during its meeting Thursday. Those promoted to professor and their academic disciplines are Steve Bounds, educational leadership; Sharon J. Davis, counseling; Shelley Gipson, art; and Xiankui Hu, finance. The promotion takes effect July 1.

A total of 17 faculty members were promoted to associate professor for the 2018-19 year, as approved Thursday by the Board of Trustees. Those promoted to associate professor are Claire Abernathy, theatre; Rejoice Addae, social work; Than J. Boves, wildlife ecology; Michael Bowman, media; J. Justin Castro, history; Jacob N. Caton, philosophy; Kristi Murray Costello, English; Kimberley Davis, special education; Joy Good, communication disorders; Anahita Izadyar, chemistry; Mark A. McJunkin, teacher education; Michele Merritt, philosophy; Jonathan Merten, chemistry; Vicent Moreno, Spanish; Christopher S. Peters, psychology; Cristy Phillips, physical therapy; and Susan Whiteland, art education.

Virginia (Jenny) Yates, administrative specialist II in the Department of Military Science, was recognized as 2018 recipient of the STAR award during the ceremony for distinguished staff performance. The STAR acronym, representing service, teamwork, attitude and reliability, fits her because of her care for the ROTC cadets, and her love of the program and the university. Many cadets have commented that she is like a mom to them.

A total of 19 members of the faculty will begin the next academic year with tenure, as determined through the PRT process and approved Thursday by the Board of Trustees. Newly tenured faculty are Claire Abernathy, theatre; Rejoice Addae, social work; Than J. Boves, wildlife ecology; Michael Bowman, media; J. Justin Castro, history; Jacob N. Caton, philosophy; Kristi Murray Costello, English; Kimberley Davis, special education; Joy Good, communication disorders; Zahid Hossain, civil engineering; Anahita Izadyar, chemistry; Michele Merritt, philosophy; Jonathan Merten, chemistry; Vicent Moreno, Spanish; Cristy Phillips, physical therapy; Rajesh Sharma, renewable energy technology; Pam Towery, nutritional science; Susan Whiteland, art education; and Amber Wooten, diagnostic medical sonography. Congratulations to all.

Dr. Shane Hunt, professor of marketing and R.M. "Bob" Wood Endowed Professor in Sales Leadership, is attending the National Security Seminar conducted by the U.S. Army War College. He is one of 160 business, government, academic and community leaders selected to participate in graduate-level discussions on national security topics in the capstone phase of the USAWC graduate program. For the students, the exchanges promote a deeper understanding of American perspectives.