Election for Faculty Grievance Committee

I am an associate professor of early childhood education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. My research focuses on the identities and teaching styles of Black male teachers in early childhood education and how they support the academic success, cultural competence, and sociopolitical awareness of Black boys in early childhood education. I have previously served on both the Student Grievance and Faculty Grievance committees at my previous institution.

I am happy to be considered for a position on the Faculty Grievance Committee. My three years as a member of the Committee of Counsel on Academic Freedom and (A1) considering appeals of promotion and tenure decisions are likely my best preparation for this committee. I served the University as an elected member of Faculty Council, Faculty Council Executive Committee, and Graduate Assembly and as Chair of the latter. I also have served on or chaired 7 other faculty committees (A2, A3, A5, A6, C10, C11, and C12). I am a champion of interdisciplinary research in my roles as the Director of the Population Research Center in the College of Liberal Arts (which serves faculty in 17 departments across campus) and as the Amy Johnson McLaughlin Centennial Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences.

I currently serve as Professor of Neuroscience and as a PI on an NIH T32 grant for predoctoral training in Neuroscience. My research interest focus on the roles of ion channels in the healthy and diseased nervous system. Before I was recruited to UT-Austin in 2020, I was a professor at the University Iowa and Assistant Dean for Research in the Carver College of Medicine. At UT-Austin, I have served on various committees in the College of Natural Sciences including the promotion and tenure committee and on the executive committee of the Institute for Neuroscience. I have also been involved in service in professional scientific societies including as a council member of the Biophysical Society and the Society for General Physiologists.