The university will be hosting two finalists for the inaugural Vice Provost and Associate Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs position on Wednesday, May 7 and Thursday, May 8. All faculty, staff, students and interested members of the community are welcome and encouraged to attend each of the finalist’s campus presentations and ask questions about their qualifications to lead the college. The campus presentations will be open to all campus constituents.

See the full search committee listing below.

Wednesday, May 7 | Joanne Addison

Joanne Addison is a tenured Professor of English at the University of Colorado Denver, with over 25 years of experience in higher education, faculty governance, and academic leadership. She holds a Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Writing, and Linguistics from Purdue University and has dedicated her career to advancing faculty development, innovative pedagogy, and institutional policy.

Dr. Addison has held several leadership roles, including Chair of the CU Denver Faculty Assembly, Director of the ESL Academy, Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Denver Writing Project, and Chair of the Faculty Council for the CU System. She has also served as a Faculty Fellow at the Center for Faculty Development and currently co-facilitates CU Denver’s Academic Program Viability and Curricular Innovation Working Group. In addition, she is participating in a yearlong AAC&U Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. Dr. Addison has supervised faculty and staff in various capacities and has served on numerous search committees, ranging from administrative assistants to the President of the CU System. She also has extensive experience working with tenure, reappointment, and promotion committees.

Dr. Addison’s research focuses on literacy studies, particularly the intersection of writing and educational technology. Her current work utilizes the experience sampling method to explore how AI shapes writing processes among international students and those enrolled in core curriculum courses. This research aims to provide valuable insights into faculty development and inform institutional policy.

A strong advocate for innovative teaching and risk taking, Dr. Addison designed one of the first fully online undergraduate degrees in the CU System and, most recently, received approval for a certificate in Writing and Editing with AI. Dr. Addison has consistently worked across administrative and academic units, leveraging a collaborative team approach to achieve institutional goals and drive meaningful change. She is committed to supporting both IRC and tenure-track faculty at all stages of their careers, particularly during challenging times.

Resume
Cover Letter

• Campus Presentation Time and Location: Wednesday, May 7 from 10-11 a.m. (MT) in UC 302 via MS Teams
• View the Campus Presentation Recording here.

Submit a question for Joanne here
Evaluation Form due Tuesday, May 13 by 5 p.m.

Thursday, May 8 | Heather Littleton

Dr. Heather Littleton, PhD, is Director of Research Operations at the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience and Professor of Psychology at UCCS. Prior to joining the faculty at UCCS in 2021, she was a member of the faculty of the Department of Psychology at East Carolina University in North Carolina for 12 years, first as Assistant Professor, then as Associate Professor, and finally as Professor of Psychology. She earned her M.S. and PhD degrees in Clinical Psychology from Virginia Tech and has a B.A. in Psychology from Clemson University.

Her scholarship focuses on social cognitive factors in adjustment following trauma, as well as on leveraging technology to deliver evidence-based trauma prevention and intervention programming. Much of her scholarship is centered on the experiences of survivors of interpersonal violence, and more recently on the interpersonal violence experiences of individuals with minoritized identities, including LGBTQ+ individuals. She has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, and her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

In addition to her experience as Director of Research Operations at the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, she served as Chair of the Personnel Committee of the Department of Psychology at East Carolina University for seven years. In that role, she played a pivotal role in all Psychology faculty personnel matters, including determining the composition of faculty search committees, communicating summary recommendations for faculty hires to the Dean, chairing all Promotion and Tenure and Promote Committees, mentoring faculty throughout the tenure and promotion process, and conducting annual evaluation of teaching faculty

Resume
Cover Letter

• Campus Presentation Time and Location: Thursday, May 8 from 10-11 a.m. (MT) in UC 303 via MS Teams
• View the Campus Presentation Recording here.

Submit a question for Heather here
Evaluation Form due Tuesday, May 13 by 5 p.m.

Full Search Committee

• Jackie Berning, Health Sciences Chair | Professor, Health Sciences 
• Kaley Espindola, Deputy Chief Human Resources Officer 
• Susan Taylor, Vice Provost & Associate Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education & Academic Planning| Professor of English 
• Jen Poe, Program Director of Research and Faculty Affairs
• Dave Anderson, Associate Professor & Chair, Chemistry & Biochemistry 
• Joel Tonyan, Faculty Assembly President, Director of User Experience & Associate Professor User Experience 
• Deann Barrett, Staff Council President, HR Director, LAS 
• Solveig Olsen, Teaching Professor | Music Program Co-Director Voice, Musical Theatre 
• Katy Hudson, Teaching Professor | BACJ Director, Criminal Justice 
• Peter Gorder, Associate Professor & Chair, Dynamic Systems and Control, Engineering Design 
• Christi Kasa, Professor, Teaching and Learning Director, Office of Inclusive Services  
• Matt Metzger, Associate Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Team Lead of Management