Dr. Craig Nakashian, associate professor of history, has been elected 2017-18 president of the Texas A&M University-Texarkana Faculty Senate.
Dr. Richard Parsons, assistant professor of economics and finance, has been elected vice president. Dr. Luz Mary Rincon, professor of Spanish and bilingual education, has been named secretary. Dr. Nurul Alam, associate professor of biology, has been named to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
A member of the faculty in the College of Education and Liberal Arts since fall 2010, Dr. Nakashian teaches courses including Medieval Civilization, Sex, Swords and Sorcery: The Medieval World in Anglo-American Film, Augustus Caesar to Charlemagne, Crusades, Councils and King Arthur: Europe in 1215, and World Civilization I and II. His research interests include medieval England and France, religious and military culture, and chivalry and the church. He has published extensively on these topics and is the author of a recently released book, “Warrior Churchmen of Medieval England, 1000-1250 Theory and Reality,” and co-editor of another, “Prowess, Piety, and Public Order in Medieval Society.” He also serves as director of the University Honors program and coordinates the freshman convocation each fall.
A member of the College of Business faculty since 2013, Dr. Parsons teaches Business Planning, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Money and Banking, Business Forecasting, Corporate Finance and American Economic History. His research interests include labor and motivation, economic history, and the impact of regulation. He has published extensively on these topics and was recognized for this scholarly work at the 2017 Tribute to Scholars at A&M-Texarkana. Dr. Parsons also has extensive business and industry experience as a senior executive responsible for finance, planning and systems at Mars, Incorporated.
A noted scholar in the field of linguistics, Dr. Rincon has served on the faculty of A&M-Texarkana since 2005. She was instrumental in establishing the International Studies program at the university and in developing study-abroad and exchange programs for students. Her book, “Asi se habla el español de Bucaramanga,” offers a comprehensive view of the Spanish of the city of Bucaramanga, a major urban center in northeastern Colombia. In 2014 she was the recipient of the Chancellor’s Academy of Teacher Educators awarded by the A&M System in recognition of her teaching excellence. She is actively engaged in the community and is currently leading research on the trajectory to biliteracy of students in the dual language program in Mount Pleasant School District and in Texarkana Independent School District, where she has also served as member of the district’s strategic planning committee.
Dr. Alam has served as a Biology department faculty member since 2006. He also serves as the director of the Joint Admission Medical Program for A&M-Texarkana and adviser for the pre-health program. His research interests include microbial source tracking, molecular mechanisms of Human Factor H and environmental monitoring. He has presented his research findings at various national and international conferences and published expansively on these topics. Recently promoted to full professor, effective Sept. 1, Dr. Alam is a recipient of the A&M System Chancellor’s Student Recognition Award for Teaching Excellence.
“The Faculty Senate is a vital element of shared governance and helps to ensure that the university continues to serve the interests of students and scholarship, and I look forward to serving as an advocate for the faculty this year,” said Dr. Nakashian.
The Faculty Senate includes representatives from each academic college of the university. It considers, makes recommendations and passes resolutions concerning matters of general university interest.
Committees of the Faculty Senate include Curriculum, Education Technology, Academic Assessment, Academic Standards, Academic Rules and Procedures, Faculty Research Enhancement and Professional Development, and Faculty Status.
