Liberal Arts dean finalists: First in a series
Twocandidates have presented their career qualifications for the UTRGV College of Liberal Arts dean position during an interview process open to UTRGV faculty and staff at the Student Academic Center on the Edinburg campus.
Jose Davila-Montes, interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts, presented on Nov. 4 the importance of ensuring students on the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses have the same access to education.
Davila-Montes has served as a professor in the Translation and Interpreting Department since September 2015. He also has served as the associate dean for assessment since April 2022.
His educational background includes a doctorate in Translation and Cross-Cultural Studies from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Davila-Montes also earned a Master of Arts in Spanish Literature from the State University of New York. He earned a bachelor’s degree in translation and interpreting from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, specializing in Spanish, English and Japanese.
He presented a chart for the Fall 2024 semester showing how in the College of Liberal Arts there are no “competing” course sections.
The chart included a spatial distribution of comparative students indicating that 31.9% of students reside in Cameron County while 60.1% in Hidalgo County.
The course sections for the CLA are allocated as follows: 17.8% in Brownsville, 52% in Edinburg and 27.9% offered online, according to the chart.
“Many departments are doing a great job in making sure … students [don’t] have to compete for a seat in a campus that is not theirs,” Davila-Montes said. “… If we are able to make this a little bit more proportional, chances are the quality of all majors will increase by being more regular because students talk among themselves more than they talk to us.”
He said having one person commuting, referring to the faculty, is better than having 20 students traveling from one campus to another.
Davila-Montes told the attendees he plans to have at least one full-time employee on each campus for each program in the College of Liberal Arts to help students with any questions they might have.
When it comes to research, he wants to make sure the college provides enough support for faculty and staff.
Peter-James Ehimika, director of Student Success Initiatives at UTRGV, asked Davila-Montes what strategies he would use to make sure student success remains inside the classroom.
Davila-Montes replied that the CLA “allows students to be better than anyone else.”
He said the reason companies “come to our region to hire graduates from marketing, from communication” is not because students are bilingual or have a degree; it’s because of the quality of their education.
William R. Donner, a professor and chair of the Sociology Department at UTRGV, presented his vision for the College of Liberal Arts Wednesdayat the Student Academic Center on the Edinburg campus.
Donner has held several positions in UTRGV, including being a professor and department chair in the Sociology Department since 2019.
He has been affiliated with the Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin since 2021.
Before that, Donner coordinated the Disaster Studies Master’s Program from 2013 to 2019 and the sociology program from 2015 to 2019.
Donner’s educational background includes a doctorate and master’s degree in sociology from the University of Delaware. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Millersville University.
One of his top priorities is making sure faculty and staff are heard by considering them in every decision-making process.
If selected, Donner plans on extending the culture of bilingualism, biculturalism and biliteracy.
“This is a real strength for us as an institution,” he said. “… We could be at the forefront of serving those populations. We could be at the vanguard by again harnessing these ideals and putting them into the institution in consistent ways.”
Cynthia Paccacerqua asked Donner about his plans to assist faculty members who are interested in research.
“I think there’s a place for everyone here,” he replied. “I think there’s a place for folks who want to teach. I think there’s a place for folks who want to do research. I think there’s a place for folks who want to focus on service.”
Donner said he will support those who want to do research.
“I’ll work with the chairs to say, ‘How do we get this faculty member who’s so interested in kind of moving up to do more research?’” he said. “… As long as there’s a commitment there to build that research agenda and there’s something concrete and you can describe it to me, then I’m all for supporting y’all.”
If selected, Donner said he plans on building high impact doctoral programs.
Alexandro Treviño, program manager in the Office of the Provost, read one of the questions from an attendee present via Zoom, asking Donner how he plans to fund those Ph.D. programs.
“Finding [non-governmental organizations], private businesses, government organizations whose interests kind of intersect with the focus of the themes of the Ph.D. programs so that they’ll be motivated to help out in funding those programs,” Donner replied. “… No matter how big or small, we have to go out and seek those funds. And again, it really is about connecting those programs to the interests of the community. So, I think that’s going to be one way in which we can kind of move forward.
Davila-Montes has been interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts since June 1.
Before Davila-Montes, Walter Diaz served as the founding dean for the CLA for nine years.
On Feb. 29, Luis H. Zayas, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, announced Diaz’s “intention to step down” as a dean and return to faculty.
Zayas sent a message to the UTRGV community on April 16 stating he was going to initiate “a national search to identify the next Dean for the College of Liberal Arts.”
Patrick Barr-Melej, the third candidate for the dean position, will present his career qualifications from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday in the Student Academic Center on the Edinburg campus. The presentation will also be available through Zoom for faculty and staff. The link will be sent before the presentation.
Along with the Zoom link, faculty and staff will receive a survey link for attendees to provide their feedback on the candidate after the presentation.
Barr-Melej has served as a professor of history at Ohio University since 2017. From July 2020 to October 2023, he served as executive director of the Center for International Studies at Ohio University.
In addition, Barr-Melej has held leadership roles such as Chair of the Department of History and Program-Assessment Faculty Fellow in the Office of the Provost at Ohio University.
Zayas told The Rider on a phone interview Tuesday that after all the presentations are done, he will meet with the search committee.
“We talk over the finalists and at that point it’s up to me to make the selection,” he said. “Typically, the committee provides me with their impressions and advice and then I … consult it with the president on the decision I’m about to make.”
Zayas hopes to have an announcement on the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts by early 2025.
“I would like to have someone in place by next summer so that they can have the summertime to prepare before everybody gets back,” he replied when asked when the candidate will officially assume the position of dean.
