Provost Fellows

Past Cohorts

• Mark Moreno, Ph.D. Associate Professor, History My area is Student Success, tasked with studying factors involved in the lack of student motivation in class (not turning in work) -- which is more pronounced in the post-COVID pandemic world -- and reasons students drop out of the university altogether. To this effect, I am working with Sierra Jones and Jayson Douglas to develop training for peer-led focus groups centering on feelings of belonging among first-year students. My own training for this project is provided by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. In addition, I attended two conferences regarding student success and retention, and am also compiling related data. We hope to present our findings to the President, the Provost, the general administration, faculty members, and other groups by the end of the semester.

  Tami Morton, Ph.D. Assistant Department Head and Professor, Curriculum & Instruction As a Provost Fellow, I am honored to be assigned to working with university faculty in the areas of scholarship and creating a community of scholars. Through this lead, I have had an opportunity to begin the Lion’s Study. The Lion’s study is an incentive to share faculty books, projects, and research. This year we have launched into showcasing faculty scholarship in the Provost’s Office. It is exciting to see over twenty books displayed. In addition, a website has been created to showcase these same books digitally on its own webpage. In conjunction to the Lion’s Study and its webpage, I am finalizing my work with the community of scholars, which will be an exciting new initiative that features the research from our university faculty.

  Meifang Xiang, CPA, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Accounting and Finance As a Provost Fellow team member, I have worked on setting up a New Faculty Orientation and Onboarding Program, reviewed the Faculty Handbook and provided comments, and have attended the Provost Office meetings, Deans’ Council Meetings, the Administrative Council meetings. I work on students’ career development alongside the Office of the Student Career Development. Focusing on various majors, especially those that may be in at a disadvantage on the job market, we work on what can students learn from the major and what kind of job/career students can pursue. I also have discussions with Office of the Student Career Development about what we can do to help students have a smooth and successful transition from school to career.