The Graduate School will be hosting three finalists for the dean position on campus between May 3 and May 9. All faculty, staff, students and interested members of the community are welcome and encouraged to attend each of the finalist’s campus presentations and their open forums to ask questions about their qualifications to lead the Graduate School. Feedback surveys will be provided next week.
Led by search committee chair Kevin Laudner, Dean of the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences, the eight-person search committee consists of faculty, staff and one student. See the full search committee listing below.
Meet the Candidates
Dr. Yueh-Ting “Y-T” Lee
Wednesday, May 3
Dr. Yueh-Ting “Y-T” Lee is a Professor of Psychology at Southern Illinois University (SIU) at Carbondale where he served as the Dean of the Graduate School (2015-2019). Since 2020 he has served as an academic leader for faculty members (e.g., as the Faculty Senate Standing Committee Chair and as the 2021-2023 Faculty Senate President to represent approximately 1500 faculty members) at SIU Carbondale.
Before he came to SIU, Dr. Lee had served as an administrator in various capacities, including Departmental Chair at Minnesota State University, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Associate Vice President at the University of Toledo, Ohio, and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Minot State University in North Dakota.
Dr. Lee received his BA in English and American Literature from Central South University in China and had graduate education in Psychology from Beijing Normal University before he immigrated to the United States. He received his Ph.D. in social psychology from Stony Brook University and completed his postdoctoral training and research at University of Pennsylvania in the early 1990s. He has authored and co-authored approximately 120 refereed journal articles and peer-reviewed book chapters and produced 12 scholarly books.
Dr. Lee has secured and implemented approximately $6.6M grants to support research, education and training and other projects. He fundraised approximately $9.0M (in various gifts and donations) for educational institutions and cultural communities–scholarships, fellowships, endowments, and capital campaigns.
Dr. Lee has supervised and advised over two dozen doctoral graduate students (Ph.D. students) on their dissertations and three dozen masters-level graduate students on their master’s theses. He has helped to develop and update academic various innovative graduate and undergraduate programs since 2000. He has served as a peer evaluator/site visitor for doctoral program accreditation for American Psychological Association and for institutional accreditation for North Central Association—Higher Learning Commission for the past 20 years.
- Campus Presentation | May 3, 2023 at 9 – 10 a.m. in University Center Room 303 and streamed online via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sf6IbQgYQo)
- Open Forum | May 3, 2023 at 10:15 – 11 a.m. in University Center Room 303
Recordings and evaluation forms will be made available after the presentation.
Dr. Frank J. Sansosti
Monday, May 8
Dr. Frank J. Sansosti is an accessible, person-centered leader able to foster a climate of operational excellence and professional integrity. In partnership with faculty, staff, and students, Dr. Sansosti creates solutions that support the organization’s mission while coordinating the implementation of distinctive academic initiatives that promote student success.
Currently, Dr. Sansosti is Director of the School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences at Kent State University (KSU). In his current administrative capacity, Dr. Sansosti coordinates a variety of impact-focused activities centered on community engagement, student access and support, program development, marketing, fundraising, mentorship, and advancement of strategic initiatives.
In this capacity, Dr. Sansosti has demonstrated successes in promoting multidisciplinary collaborations, advancing recruitment and retention, cultivating philanthropic gifts, leading successful accreditations, and improving culture and climate within a large, predominantly graduate academic unit. Dr. Sansosti serves in a variety of leadership roles at College and University levels and remains active in governance within the state of Ohio. His academic career has centered on the provision of evidence-based instruction to students with disabilities within naturalistic, inclusive contexts, emphasizing “how-to” knowledge for translating research to practice within applied contexts, his work having been recognized at local, state, national, and international levels.
Before joining the faculty at Kent State University, Dr. Sansosti worked as a school psychologist and autism consultant for the District School Board of Pasco County in West Central Florida. While in this role, he provided coaching and technical assistance for early intervention and best-practice approaches for students with disabilities in inclusive settings. In addition, he was instrumental in developing and implementing a multi-tiered system of support that used team-based problem-solving as a vehicle for addressing student educational needs.
Dr. Sansosti holds doctoral and master’s degrees in school psychology from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh. He maintains National Certification in School Psychology (NCSP) and continues to serve as a consultant to state departments of education and graduate preparation programs abroad. He is Editor of the Journal of Applied School Psychology and an editorial board member or ad-hoc reviewer for eleven other journals in special education/psychology.
Outside of his professional work, Dr. Sansosti enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, as well as engaging in a variety of other hobbies such as photography, music, cooking, wine-making, gardening, archery, boating, hiking, and a variety of active outdoor sports.
- Campus Presentation | May 8, 2023 at 9 – 10 a.m. in University Center Room 303 and streamed online via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geYJem70ve0)
- Open Forum | May 8, 2023 at 10:15 – 11 a.m. in University Center Room 303
Recordings and evaluation forms will be made available after the presentation.
Dr. Karen S. Myers-Bowman
Tuesday, May 9
Dr. Karen S. Myers-Bowman is a family scientist specializing in family life education. Her research interests include parent-child communication – especially about difficult topics such as war/peace and sexuality; families across cultures; human sexuality and sexuality education; qualitative research methodologies; and effective teaching methodologies.
She has published her work in journals such as Family Relations, Child Welfare, Journal of Family Theory and Review, Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Feminist Teacher, Early Childhood Education Journal, and Health Care for Women International.
Dr. Myers-Bowman received her MS and PhD in Child Development and Family Studies at Purdue University. She served as a faculty member in the Department of Child Development and Family Science at North Dakota State University in Fargo, ND from 1994-1998. She then moved straight south to Manhattan, KS and held a faculty position in the School of Family Studies and Human Services from 1998-2017. She joined San Diego State University in 2017.
Dr. Myers-Bowman has served in many leadership roles throughout her career. She began at SDSU as the Chair of the Department of Child and Family Development and held that position until becoming the Senior Associate Dean in the College of Education in January 2019. Before joining SDSU, she provided leadership in many capacities while at Kansas State.
Most notably, she served as the unit/program leader for Family Studies/Family Life Education and Consultation continually from 1999 through 2015 in the School of Family Studies and Human Services. In this capacity, she directed both undergraduate and graduate (MS and PhD) programs, with averages of 600 and 100 students enrolled respectively. She also chaired the Task Force for General Education that led to the creation of a new GE program for the campus of over 20,000 undergraduates, the K-State 8. Dr. Myers-Bowman also has provided leadership within the National Council on Family Relations in many capacities over the last several decades.
Karen grew up in Elgin, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. She met her husband (Clay Myers-Bowman) while they were students at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana. They have two adult sons and a granddaughter and have hosted 10 year-long high school exchange students from around the world. She enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, music, theater, movies, reading, and social events.
- Campus Presentation | May 9, 2023 at 9 – 10 a.m. in University Center Room 303 and streamed online via YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HC3WAQqnOM)
- Open Forum | May 9, 2023 at 10:15 – 11 a.m. in University Center Room 303
Recordings and evaluation forms will be made available after the presentation.
The committee members are:
- Kevin Laudner, Dean of the Helen and Arthur E. Johnson Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences
- Tabatha Farney, Associate Dean & Associate Professor, Kraemer Family Library
- Alisha Castellanoz Meyer, Graduate School Student Engagement and Retention Coordinator, Office of the Graduate School
- Tom Christensen, Professor, Department of Physics and Energy Science. Prior UCCS Provost
- Janel Owens, Associate Professor and Associate Chair, Chemistry & Biochemistry
- Steve Miller, Associate Director of Admissions Operations
- Lindsey Visscher, UCCS student
- Michael Corl, Associate Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Science