Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College’s (SMWC) Board of Trustees approved faculty promotions in late February. The promotions will be effective with the 2021-22 academic year, beginning July 1.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased and proud to congratulate these educators on their awards,” said Dottie King, Ph.D., president of SMWC. “As president of the College, I am so grateful for their contributions to our success!”
Janet Clark, Ph.D., vice president for academic and student affairs, added, “I thank them for their outstanding accomplishments in teaching, scholarship and service.”
James Brinson has been promoted to associate professor of ecology with tenure. He earned his BA and MA in science education from Indiana State University and earned a MA in biblical studies from Trinity Seminary. He earned his Ph.D. in biology from ISU. Brinson began his teaching at the College in 2018. Brinson is the program lead for the environmental science major with several published articles in the field of science education. He has made national presentations and won the College’s Pomeroy Award for Scholarship in 2020.
Larisa McHugh has been promoted to associate professor of music therapy with tenure. She has been teaching at SMWC since 2014 and has been instrumental in the success of the Music Therapy Education Distance program since inception, consistently growing enrollment and completion. She has held leadership positions in both regionally and nationally in the American Music Therapy Association and has presented regionally, nationally and internationally. McHugh holds a BA in music therapy from the University of Dayton and a MA in music therapy from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. She is currently a candidate for Ph.D. in psychology with specialization in consciousness, spirituality and integrative health from Saybrook University.
Michelle Ruiz has been promoted to associate professor of healthcare administration with tenure. Ruiz has a BA in philosophy and women’s studies and a MBA from Texas Tech University. She earned her Ph.D. in international business with a specialization in management from the University of Texas. She began teaching at SMWC in 2018 and has reorganized and revitalized the Master of Healthcare Administration (MHA) program. Ruiz has published two articles and has three more in progress. She has had several national presentations and won Best Paper in Track from 2020 Southern Management Association Conference.
Suad Sakalli Gumus has been promoted to associate professor of education with tenure. She began teaching at SMWC in 2018. Gumus was awarded a BS in elementary education, a MS in special education and a Ph.D. in special education from Indiana University. She created the Universal Design for Learning lesson plan handbook and is leading the CAEP accreditation activities for the education department. She has published two journal articles and made presentations at the D2L Brightspace Conference as well as making an international conference presentation. She is the author of a book chapter published in Turkey, Family Education 2nd edition.
Felicia Stewart was awarded tenure. Currently an associate professor, Stewart earned her AS, BS and MS in nursing as well as her doctorate in nursing practice from Indiana State University. She is a board-certified faith community nurse and a board-certified family nurse practitioner. She started teaching at SMWC in 2018 and created the curriculum for the MSN-FNP program. Stewart has completed four journal publications and a book chapter as well as numerous state and national level presentations.
Janet Clark has been promoted to professor. Clark, who serves as the vice president for academic and student affairs at SMWC, began teaching at the College in 2003. Clark earned a BS in chemistry from Millkin University and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Purdue University. Her accomplishments include the start-up of several academic programs including nursing, kinesiology, exercise science, graduate nursing and others.