USF Announces Faculty Promotion and Tenure Awards

Jane Bleasdale, department chair of the Leadership Studies program in the School of Education, was promoted to associate professor. She focuses on minority inclusion of students in Jesuit high schools, as well as on equity and inclusion in public schools and the experience of intersectional female leaders.

Jessica Blum-Sorensen, the program director of classical studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She specializes in imperial Latin poetry and the epic tradition.

David Guy Brizan from the Computer Science department received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. He works to help increase the accuracy of speech recognition systems by studying language processing and machine learning.

Sarah Capitelli, chair of the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages master’s program, was promoted to full professor. She examines how to better the environment of students in linguistically segregated schools. 

Zifei “Fay” Chen of communication studies received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She works to examine the reasons stakeholders are attracted to certain organizations in the digital world.

Hsiu-Lan Cheng of counseling psychology was promoted to full professor. She focuses on understanding the mental well-being and health of minorities affected by discrimination.

Stephanie Cooper from kinesiology received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She studies how exercise can improve the lives of neurodivergent people.

Xiaoya (Sara) Ding, who teaches finance, was promoted to full professor. She examines corporate and international finance, as well as asset pricing.

Daniela Dominguez, a professor and coordinator of the Marriage and Family Therapy program at USF’s Santa Rosa location, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She examines how to promote positive mental health for immigrants.

Sophie Engle, who teaches computer science, was promoted to full professor. She emphasizes on one-on-one inclusion in her classrooms as well as supporting diversity.

Emma Fuentes of the International and Multicultural Education program was promoted to full professor. She focuses on urban education, specifically Latino student experiences.

Amy Gilgan, working in the reference and information section of Gleeson Library, was promoted to librarian. She supports the School of Education and is passionate about transformative justice.

Cathy Goldberg, who teaches finance, was promoted to full professor. She researches entrepreneurship and accounting, specifically in emerging entrepreneurship.

Genevieve Negrón-Gonzales of leadership studies was promoted to full professor. She examines the intersection of immigration and education.

Louise Goupil of biology was promoted to associate professor. She focuses on the role of cysteine proteases in the free-living flatworm Schmidtea mediterranea as a potential model system for parasitic flatworms.

Aline Hitti, who teaches psychology, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She explores adolescent moral cognitive and social cognitive development in intergroup context.

John Koeplin, who teaches accounting, was promoted to full professor. He emphasizes ethical accounting and promotes Jesuit values in business education.

Danfeng Soto-Vigil Koon, co-director of the Transformative School Leadership program, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She studies how a just society is infringed upon by education law and policy.

Cary Lai, of the biology and biotechnology departments, was promoted to full professor. He researches the hedgehog signing pathway.

Brandi Lawless, who teaches communication studies, was promoted to full professor. She studies intercultural communication, specifically interactions and communication between people of different identities.

June Y. Lee, who teaches entrepreneurship and innovation, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She explores how institutional environments affect the firms that learn under them. 

Matthew Malensek, who teaches computer science, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. He explores atmospheric science and epidemiology, focusing on a systems approach to data science.

Leigh Meredith, a rhetoric professor, was promoted to associate professor. She researches identity and communication technologies, specifically looking at the intersection of old and new media.

M. Sedique Popal, coordinator of the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages master’s program, was promoted to associate professor. He focuses on code-switching in multilingual communities.

Ruchi Rangnath, a program coordinator for USF’s South Bay location in the School of Education, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She examines social justice teaching and learning within elementary classrooms.

Annette Regan, a co-director of the community public health concentration at USF’s Orange County campus, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She is a perinatal and pediatric infectious disease epidemiologist.

Jason D. Reynolds (Taewon Choi), who teaches counseling psychology , received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. He researches identity development, transracial adoption, social justice training, and racial and ethnic socialization.

William Riggs from public and nonprofit administration in the School of Management was promoted to full professor. He is an expert in smart transportation, housing, economics, and urban development.

Lauren Sassoubre, engineering co-chair, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She examines how to manage coastal resources and improve environmental health.

Shivani Shukla from the School of Management received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She studies security investment issues in supply chains.

Nicole Thometz-Tomoleoni, who teaches biology, received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She studies the effects of ice loss on ringed, bearded, and spotted seals.