SEPTEMBER 17, 2021 — Academic Affairs has awarded seven UTSA faculty members with endowed fellowships for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Kathryn Henderson, Jeffrey Howard, Kellie Lynch, Jae Yong Suk, Serife Tekin, Kenneth Walker and Kai Xu were selected to receive Lutcher Brown fellowships. The one-year, nonrecurring appointments provide substantive funding to help advance their research programs. The appointments are effective from September 1 through August 31, 2022.
“These newly tenured faculty have demonstrated an outstanding record of excellence in their scholarly activities and commitment to student success,” said Kimberly Andrews Espy, UTSA provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “It is my honor to be able to help accelerate the success of their research programs through this fellowship.”
“These newly tenured faculty have demonstrated an outstanding record of excellence in their scholarly activities and commitment to student success.”
Henderson is an associate professor in the Department of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies. Her research focuses on dual language bilingual education (DLBE) and the challenges and opportunities faced by DLBE teachers. She plans to use the funding from this fellowship to collaborate with UTSA community partners, making a meaningful impact on DLBE in local schools.
Howard is an associate professor in the Department of Public Health and lead researcher for the Consequences of Trauma Working Group at the Center for Community-Based and Applied Health Research. His research concerns traumatic injury, mortality, military/veterans health issues, climate change health impacts and other health disparities. He plans to use the funding from the fellowship to advance his research on drug and alcohol mortality and maternal mortality, with the goal to improve prevention and intervention efforts.
Lynch is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She conducts research in experimental social psychology,with a specific focus on gender-based violence. She intends to use the funds from her fellowship to support her research on improving community responses for gender-based violence victims. Lynch is also a recipient of the UTSA President’s Distinguished Achievement Award in Research Achievement.
Suk, an associate professor in the Department of Architecture, conducts research on daylighting, architectural lighting, discomfort glare, building energy performance, occupant comfort, building façade systems and sustainable architecture. A LEED Accredited Professional of the U.S. Green Building Council and National Qualified Architectural Engineer for the Human Resources Development Service of Korea, Suk plans to use his fellowship funds to further collaboration opportunities in his research.
Tekin is an associate professor in the Department of Philosophy and Classics and director of the Medical Humanities program. Her research seeks to expand mental health care by engaging the first-person narratives of those suffering from mental disorders with clinical psychology research. Tekin plans to use the funding from this fellowship to advance her research program, making a lasting impact on the lives of those with mental disorders and providing a resource for pedagogical training. Tekin will be the visiting fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh in 2022.
Walker, an associate professor in the Department of English, researches rhetoric, rhetorical science, technical communication, and ecological and environmental humanities. He intends to use his fellowship funds to support both existing research projects and current graduate students. He also hopes to build a foundation for transnational research and study abroad programs. Walker is a member of the interdisciplinary team that won the 2021 President’s Distinguished Achievement Award for Innovation and Impact.
Xu is an associate professor in the Department of Management. Her research involves international strategy and corporate governance, with a specific focus on the application of institutional theory in an international context, family firm international strategies and corporate governance issues in emerging economies. Xu plans to use the funds from the fellowship to bolster her research efforts and student mentorship. Xu received the 2020 Dean’s Distinguished Research Award and the Journal of Operations Management 2020 Ambassador Paper Award.
The Lutcher Brown Fellowship was established in 2020 with funds from the Lutcher Brown Endowment for Academic Excellence to help recently tenured faculty accelerate the success of their research. The fellowship is a one-year, nonrecurring honorific appointment. Fellows are nominated by academic leadership and selected by the provost through a competitive process.
UTSA’s 81 endowed chairs and professorships recognize the scholarship and research of the institution’s highest achieving faculty scholars. Endowed faculty members use the funding they receive from these appointments to support their existing and new scholarly activities as well as student academic success.
