Rogers State University will add several new full-time faculty members who hold doctoral degrees in preparation for the upcoming fall semester.
More than a dozen new faculty members will join the RSU faculty next fall to accommodate an escalating number of students and meet the demand of new degree programs. Most of the faculty members have Ph.D.s or the highest degrees available in their fields.
“We believe we have attracted some of the best and brightest faculty from across the nation,” said RSU President Dr. Joe Wiley. “It is important to have as many full-time, highly qualified faculty members on campus as possible to assist and support students during and after class.”
Some of the new professors are accomplished researchers, others are authors of books and articles in academic journals and many have decades of teaching experience at leading universities, Wiley said.
The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, the governing board for RSU, approved the addition of nine faculty members at its meeting on May 7. RSU expects to make more faculty appointments later this summer.
The latest RSU faculty appointments include Dr. Guido Arze, assistant professor of communications and fine arts; Dr. Robert Boughner, assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences; Dr. Jeffery Gentry, department head and associate professor of communications and fine arts; Dr. Sue Katz, assistant professor of mathematics and science; JoAnne Lalicker, instructor of communications and fine arts; Dr. Arthur Rogers II, assistant professor of communications and fine arts; Dr. Terry Sutton, professor of business; Dr. Hubert Tollison, interim department head and associate professor of business; and Dr. Monica Varner, assistant professor of social and behavioral sciences.
In addition, Dr. Barry Knight, professor of business, has announced his retirement and has been named professor emeritus in the RSU School of Business and Technology.
About the New RSU Faculty Members
Arze, a native of Bolivia, is the author of books on the economies and politics of several South American countries, including Bolivia, Peru and Panama. He began his career as a professor of business and economics at universities in Bolivia and Peru. In the U.S., he was a Spanish teacher in the Miami Dade County Public Schools, a lecturer at Florida International University in Miami and, most recently, assistant professor of Spanish at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. He received a doctoral degree from the University of Florida, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Florida International University, all in Spanish language and literature. He will teach Spanish courses at RSU.
Boughner is a specialist in learning and memory, and mathematical theories in psychology. He has written articles on animal learning and memory in several academic journals. He has taught at the University of North Texas, Texas Christian University and Tarrant County College. He received doctoral and master’s degrees from Texas Christian University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma, all in psychology.
Gentry has 14 years of teaching experience in forensics, theater and communications. He most recently served as assistant professor and forensics coach at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford and has taught at Ottawa University in Kansas and Colorado State University. He received a doctoral degree from the University of Oklahoma, a master’s degree from Colorado State University and bachelor’s degree from Eastern Montana College, all in communications. He is the author of several publications on college debate.
Katz is a microbiologist who has conducted extensive research on pathogens and genetic mutations. She most recently served as assistant professor of microbiology at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University in Glendale, Ariz. She also has taught at Doane College in Crete, Neb., and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. She served as a post-doctoral investigator in the Health and Safety Research Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. She received a doctoral degree in microbiology from the University of Kansas, a master’s degree in biology from Emporia (Kan.) State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Baker University in Baldwin, Kan.
Lalicker will teach Spanish at RSU. She holds a master’s degree in Spanish from Wichita (Kan.) State University and a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Tulsa. She has taught Spanish at Wichita State University, and Union High School and Clinton Middle School in Tulsa. She is pursuing her certification in English as a Second Language from Northeastern Oklahoma State University. She also serves as an interpreter.
Rogers is a specialist in 19th century British literature, the novel (history and narrative theory) and Russian literature. He most recently served as a visiting assistant professor at The Citadel and the College of Charleston in South Carolina. He also has taught at the University of Tennessee. He received a doctoral degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina and a bachelor’s degree from Duke University, all in English literature. He also received a certificate in Russian language and cultural studies from Leningrad State University in Russia.
Sutton has served on the faculty of the Harrison College of Business at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Mo., since 1972, where he is professor of economics. He also served as a visiting associate professor of economics at the University of Tulsa in 1980-81. In addition, he has taught at Angelo State University and Kansas State University. He has written several articles in major economics journals. He received doctoral and master’s degrees from Kansas State University and a bachelor’s degree from Pittsburg (Kan.) State University.
Tollison has been an associate professor of business at RSU since 2000. Previously, he served as assistant professor of management at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant. Before that, he taught business at the University of Central Florida. He received a doctoral degree in education from Texas A&M University, a master’s in business administration from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s degree from Regis University in Denver. His military service includes director of operations and company commander in the U.S. Army, and assistant professor of military science at the University of Central Florida. His areas of academic specialty include business management, production and operations, and purchasing and materials management.
Varner has served as a visiting professor on the RSU faculty since 2001. Her areas of academic specialty include criminology, social psychology, sociology of sports, violence towards women, and Native American culture and tribal law. Previously, she served as a sociology instructor at Northeastern Oklahoma State University in Tahlequah, East Central University in Ada and Seminole Junior College in Seminole, Okla. She is a licensed professional counselor and served as vice president, co-owner and private practice outpatient therapist at the Professional Counseling Group in Ada, Okla. She also has worked as a therapist at the Rolling Hills Psychiatric Hospital in Ada. She received a doctoral degree in sociology, a master’s degree in applied behavioral studies and community counseling and a bachelor’s degree in psychology, all from Oklahoma State University.