I am pleased to announce that Dr. Mary Virnoche will be joining the Vice Provost’s Office as the new Faculty Associate for Academic Programs and Planning.

During the upcoming academic year, Professor Virnoche will split her time between the Faculty Associate position and her eighth year as Chair of the Department of Sociology.  In her Faculty Associate role, Mary's work will focus on curriculum and policy, including the three new Executive Orders from the Chancellor's Office (EO1100, 1110 and 1071) and advising policy.

Professor Virnoche has been a faculty member at HSU since 2001 and has contributed to the governance of the University as Chair of the University Senate Academic Policies Committee, Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee, Chair of the committee responsible for the design the Integrated Curriculum Committee, and she Co-Chaired the committee responsible for the development of the Cultural Centers for Academic Excellence. 

Professor Virnoche’s scholarly research addresses the retention, graduation and overall student success of underrepresented and first-generation college students.  She has collaborated on NSF and other grants with colleagues in STEM fields including Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Biology. During her recent sabbatical, Mary and her colleagues presented at the Frontiers in Education meeting in Madrid, Spain a paper and workshop titled “Proven Practices that can Reduce Stereotype Threat in Engineering Education.”

In addition, Professor Virnoche also designed, in collaboration with an HSU undergraduate student, a major-based peer mentoring program focused on mitigating the “sophomore slump.”  Professor Virnoche continues to coordinate this training and support for major peer mentors from six other departments in all three colleges.

Please join me in welcoming Professor Virnoche as our new Faculty Associate for Academic Programs and Planning.

Sincerely,

Dr. Alex Enyedi