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Fall 2022 New Faculty and Staff

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Dr. Tiffany Bates, ICL Lambuth

  • Current position: Clinical Assistant Professor at UofM Lambuth

  • Previous position: Assistant Professor at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

  • Teaching Area: Elementary Education

  • Research Area: teacher preparation and technology in the classroom

  • Fun fact: Dr. Bates loves DIY home improvement projects

 

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Dr. Crystal Cook, ICL

  • Current position: Assistant Professor of Elementary Education

  • Previous position: Family and Community Engagement Advisor, MSCS

  • Teaching/research area: elementary education;  English Learners and literacy acqusition, family literacy, and engagement in schools/community

  • Fun fact: Dr. Cook and her husband have been married 13 years and have two amazing daughters. She has been a strict vegetarian (NO MEAT) for over 20 years, and her husband is a very active hunter.

 

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Tonya Cooper, CREP

  • Current position: ​Business Officer I, CREP

  • Previous position: ​Administrative Associate II, Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • Fun fact: ​​Tonya thinks it's always important to end each day on a good note. So, every evening she spends at least 30 minutes with her favorite friends, Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia ("The Golden Girls").

 

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Dr. Dustin Hornbeck, LEAD

  • Current position: Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

  • Previous position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Texas

  • Teaching/research area: Teaching in principal preparation program and leadership and policy studies doctorate of education

  • Fun fact: Dr. Hornbeck played piano at a piano bar in Washington DC during grad school.

 

Whitney Horton

Whitney Horton, LEAD

  • Current position: Academic Advisor II

  • Previous position: Academic Affairs Coordinator - UTHSC
  • Job focus area: Advising, academic/student affairs

  • Fun fact: I’m a dog mom to a 16 year old Yorkie
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Dr. Olayinka Mohorn, ICL

  • Current position: Assistant Professor of Secondary Science
  • Previous position: High School Chemistry Teacher/University Supervisor

  • Teaching/research area: Culturally responsive science teaching,  Black feminist pedagogy in science education, Science identity construction in underrepresented students (K-12), STEM career preparation

  • Fun fact: Dr. Mohorn has always wanted to write a baby name book.

 

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Dr. Mehmet Ozturk, CEPR

  • Current position: Clinical Assistant Professor of Educational Research 

  • Previous position: Most recently, taught in New Haven, Connecticut

  • Teaching Areas: Research methods, applied statistics & educational/psychological measurement

  • Research Area: Educational psychology and schooling

  • Fun fact: Dr. Ozturk loves to read books on psychology, especially developmental psychology.

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Dr. Suman Rath, ICL

  • Current position: Assistant Professor of Special Education

  • Previous position: Doctoral candidate at University of Kansas

  • Teaching/research area: Understanding education policy, equity issues and how it is translated in practice

  • Fun fact: Dr. Rath loves playing the piano and enjoys music.
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Dr. Jennifer Renick, CEPR

  • Current position: Assistant Professor of Educational Psychology

  • Previous position: Ph.D. candidate/ graduate research assistant at the University of CA, Irvine

  • Teaching/Research Area: adolescent development, school climate and sense of belonging, community-engaged and participatory research methods

     

  • Fun fact: Dr. Renick likes to bake, especially to share with friends and family.