Provost Baker announces dean hires for College of Health, the School of Engineering and the College of Education

We have filled the three open dean positions within the College of Health (COH), the College of Education (COE) and the School of Engineering (SOE).

Heather Ryan, Ph.D., has accepted the position of dean for the COE, and she will begin her work at UAA on July 1, 2013. Dr. Ryan comes to us from the University of Regina in Canada, where she's served as the associate dean of Student Services and Undergraduate Programs and as the chair of Educational Psychology since 2009. Prior to assuming the role of associate dean, Dr. Ryan served as a faculty member in Educational Psychology at the University of Regina since 2000. Dr. Ryan has also held faculty positions at the University of Alberta, Alberta College and at Massey University in New Zealand.

Dr. Ryan's recent research focuses on how improved access to distance education may improve success for university students with disabilities in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.

William Hogan, who has held the post of interim dean for the COH since fall of 2011, has accepted the permanent position of dean. In addition to serving as the first leader of the newly created College of Health, Bill has held several other leadership positions in the field of health care administration in Alaska, including CEO for Mat-Su Community Mental Health Services (now called Mat-Su Health Services) as the first director of the Division of Behavioral Health, as deputy commissioner of Family, Community and Integrated Services and as commissioner with the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, and most recently as a senior fellow for the Recover Alaska Initiative with the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority.

A graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, Bill also holds a Master of Science in Social Work from West Virginia University.

Tien-Chien Jen, Ph.D., has accepted the position of dean of the SOE, and he will begin his work at UAA on or around May 1, 2013. Dr. Jen comes from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, where he has served as the interim dean for the College of Engineering and Applied Science since 2010. In this position, Dr. Jen led the college through ABET accreditation, directed the development of the first online/hybrid programs, and initiated the development of two potential NSF Industry University Collaborative Research Centers. Prior to joining the faculty at UW-Milwaukee in 1997, Dr. Jen taught at Oakland University and served as an assistant research engineer at UCLA.

Dr. Jen earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from UCLA, specializing in thermal aspects of grinding. A recipient of several competitive grants for his research-including those from NSF, the Department of Energy and the EPA-Dr. Jen was elected as a fellow to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 2011.

Please join me in welcoming Drs. Jen and Ryan to the UAA community, and in congratulating Bill Hogan on his new appointment. Also, please join me in thanking Ed Mclain and Orson Smith for their service as interim deans.

-- Elisha "Bear" Baker
   Provost