Jan Whitt, associate professor of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Mark W. Williams, associate professor of the department of geography, the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research and the environmental studies program, have been appointed as faculty co-directors for the Undergraduate Academy at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The appointments were announced by Michael Grant, associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education and are subject to approval by Chancellor Richard Byyny.
Whitt and Williams will share the director's position, previously held by Distinguished Professor of History Marjorie McIntosh, who led the effort to establish and direct the program during the past two years. McIntosh chose to step aside this summer to concentrate on her scholarly work.
"Jan's professional strengths in the social sciences and arts and humanities will nicely complement Mark's areas of expertise in the sciences to provide a broad range of faculty experiences upon which the UA students can draw," Grant said.
Whitt, a former newspaper reporter and editor, earned her doctorate in English at the University of Denver in 1985 and joined the faculty of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1988. Her research interests include media history, literary journalism, women's studies and the literature and culture of the South. She is currently writing a book about women in American journalism for Westview Press.
Whitt also lectures on a range of topics about teaching, including working with large classes, motivating students to write and encouraging diversity in the classroom.
Williams, a first-generation college graduate and Hispanic faculty member, earned his doctorate in biological sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
His special interests include utilizing his active research program in hydrology and biogeochemistry to enrich and enhance the experiences of undergraduate students and coupling modern technology with undergraduate education. He has been active in developing such programs in the geography department with support from the Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society program and the CU president's office.
Williams' highly successful career as a geographer is well supported by the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency and many other entities.
The Undergraduate Academy currently is comprised of approximately 200 undergraduate students from all majors across the campus and offers a lively intellectual community, targeted advising and a range of enrichment activities for unusually talented and committed students.
For more information, call Whitt at (303) 492-0461 or Williams at (303) 492-8830, or see the Web: .