President Jaime Taylor welcomes faculty, staff to new academic year

View President Taylor's full Faculty and Staff Convocation address.

Campus and classrooms are full of action as Lamar University opened the new academic year with a reception and convocation for faculty and staff on Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 8 a.m. in the Montagne Center. This year's convocation also featured a food drive hosted by Lamar University Staff Council aimed at benefiting the Cardinals Food Pantry, a free and anonymous food pantry located on-campus especially for LU students.

Hosted by Lamar University President Dr. Jaime Taylor, Faculty and Staff Convocation also provides an opportunity for LU employees to gather and reconnect before the start to the semester. In his annual convocation address, Taylor spoke about his excitement in starting the new academic year and delivered university updates including a one-time meritorious payment for eligible employees to be distributed later this year.

“Lamar University is hopping with activity and energy, and I hope you feel renewed and ready for the new challenges and opportunities that are sure to come this year. It is also extremely important to recognize everyone’s hard work this past year in helping to recruit students and in helping the University better manage its resources under challenging circumstances. For this reason, Lamar University will issue a one-time Meritorious Payment to employees who are eligible to receive merit pay.  A merit pool of 3% of base salary will be created for this with minimum and maximum payments of $1,200 and $3,500 respectively being made. Payments will be made in November, just in time for the holidays.”

Taylor and Dr. Dann Brown, newly named provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, also recognized faculty promotions for the new academic year:

Promotion to Professor
Dr. Bogdana Bahrim, associate professor of physics
Dr. Tracy Benson, association professor of chemical engineering
Dr. Chunda Chen, associate professor of economics and finance
Dr. Komal Karani, associate professor of management and marketing
Dr. Xiangyang Lei, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry
Dr. Christopher Martin, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry
Dr. Tim McCoy, associate professor of accounting & information systems
Dr. Amy Smith, associate professor of English and modern language
Dr. Suying Wei, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry
Dr. Vidisha Worley, associate professor of sociology, social work and criminal justice
 
Promotion to Associate Professor
Dr. Michael Azios, assistant professor of speech and hearing
Dr. Regina Hale, assistant professor of nursing
Dr. Maryam Hamidi, assistant professor of industrial engineering
Dr. Ping He, assistant professor of mechanical engineering
Stacey Knight, assistant professor of nursing
Dr. Eunjin Kwon, assistant professor of nutrition and hospitality services
Dr. Wen Liu, assistant professor of mathematics
Dr. Katherine Sprott, assistant professor of professional pedagody
Dr. Orrin Swift, assistant professor, School of Accounting & Information Systems
Dr. Cagatay Tokgoz, assistant professor of electrical engineering
Dr. Sylvestre Twagirayezu, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry
Dr. Jose Vega-Guzman, assistant professor of mathematics
Dr. Chun-Wei Yao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering
Dr. Xiao Zhang, assistant professor, School of Accounting & Information Systems