Chairs and Professorships Current Gifts Endowed chairs and professorships provide support for faculty members at West Texas A&M University. The endowments offer resources for enhanced teaching and learning opportunities that enrich the life of the University and strengthen the foundation of academic excellence. Endowed Chairs An endowed chair provides the University a valuable tool in recruiting and retaining exceptional faculty. Funds from the endowment allow WTAMU to reward scholarly excellence and encourage research while enhancing
program growth and development. Endowed Giving Policy. Professorships A professorship expands opportunities for exceptional faculty members by providing additional resources for teaching, research and professional activities and development. Faculty members benefit from the coveted title, and students glean from the professor’s academic insight and leadership.
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING  | The Ross W. Wilson Chair in Chemistry
Dr. Shiquan Tao, Appointment 2011-2013
The Ross W. Wilson Chair in Chemistry is the first endowed chair in the College of Agriculture, Science and Engineering. It was established by gifts from the late Ross W. Wilson, a 1938 graduate of WT, and the estate of Hazel Kelley Wilson to honor both Ora Mae Harris Wilson, a 1938 WT graduate and wife of Ross W. Wilson, and Dr. Charles A. Pierle, who taught chemistry at WT from 1922-1954.
Tao teaches chemistry I and II as well as analytical chemistry and instrumental analysis and advanced analytical chemistry. His research examines the development of fiber optic sensor technologies and applications of fiber optic sensors in environmental monitoring, food safety, disease diagnosis and industrial process monitoring. | COLLEGE OF BUSINESS  | Don Williams Professorship of Management
Dr. Andrew Li, Appointment 2010-2013
The Don Williams Professorship of Management honors Don Williams, a distinguished entrepreneur, Plainview community leader and supporter of excellence in education. Williams and the Joachim Foundation established the professorship in February 2010.
Li teaches courses in organizational behavior, human resources management and diversity management. His research interests include motivation at work, personal selection and work-life balance. |  | The Stanley Schaeffer Professorship of Business Ethics
Dr. Karyn Friske, Appointment 2008-2011
The Stanley Schaeffer Professorship of Business Ethics was established in 2010 by Schaeffer, a distinguished alumnus, business leader and philanthropist, to stimulate academic excellence and enhance an appreciation of ethical leadership for business students at WTAMU.
Friske teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in auditing and accounting, and her research interests include tax shelter issues, accounting ethics and education issues. |  | The Gene Edwards Professorship of Finance
Dr. Anne Macy, Appointment 2008-2011
The Gene Edwards Professorship of Finance was established by officers and employees of Bank of America in tribute to Edwards as a pioneer in the banking industry. The professorship was established in 1984.
Macy teaches courses in investments, portfolio theory, security analysis, corporate finance and a seminar in health care finance. Her research interests range from investments and health care finance to financial and economic education to industrial organization. |  | The Gene Edwards Professorship of Banking
Dr. Nick Gerlich, Appointment 2008-2011
Funds from officers and employees at Bank of America established a second professorship—The Gene Edwards Professorship of Banking—to recognize and honor Edward’s work in the banking industry. The fund was established in 1984.
Gerlich currently teaches a course in evolutionary marketing and seminars in marketing and in evolutionary marketing. In the area of research, Gerlich has interests in social media applications in marketing and education, new technology adoption, retail atmospherics, academic assessments and uses and gratifications of books, movies, music and other media. |  | The Phil Gensler Professorship of Computer Information Systems
Dr. Musa Jafar, Appointment 2009-2012
The Phil Gensler Professorship of Computer Information Systems was established in 2007 by friends and former students to honor Dr. Phil Gensler. His 20 years of professional leadership and dedication to students at WTAMU provided exceptional opportunities for graduates in computer information systems.
Jafar teaches courses in object oriented analysis and design, data mining methods, advanced web development in a database environment and database management systems, and his research interest focuses on data visualization and data mining. |  | The T. Boone Pickens Professorship of Management
Dr. Jonathan Shaffer, Appointment 2010-2013
The T. Boone Pickens Professorship of Management was established by Pickens in 2010 to stimulate academic excellence, enhance creative thought and challenge business students at WTAMU.
Shaffer teaches principles of management and a course in leadership. His current research project explores abusive leadership, personality and the hiring process. |  | The James and Mogie McCray Professorship of Business
Dr. Darlene Pulliam, Appointment 2008-2011
The McCray Professorship of Business was funded through a generous donation from James and Mogie McCray of Panhandle. The professorship was established in 2007.
Pulliam teaches numerous courses in accounting including federal income tax accounting and taxation of business entities as well as seminars in accounting theory, tax research and professional accounting. Her research focuses on corporate taxation and tax policy. |  | The J. Pat Hickman Professorship of Marketing
Dr. De’Arno De’Armond, Appointment 2009-2012
The J. Pat Hickman Professorship of Marketing was established in 2008 by Happy State Bank in honor of J. Pat Hickman for his leadership and spirited entrepreneurial vision.
De’Armond teaches courses in personal finance, risk management, sales management, personal selling and advertising. In the area of research, De’Armond looks at the relationships between marketing, risk management and financial planning. |  | The Dr. Jerry D. Miller Professorship of Entrepreneurship
Jean Walker, Appointment 2011-2014
The Jerry D. Miller Professorship of Entrepreneurship was established in 2010 by Dr. Jerry Miller, an innovative former dean, to support continued student, faculty and community entrepreneurship activities at WTAMU.
Walker, a Sam Walton Fellow, teaches courses in business finance, financial management, personal financial planning and applications in free enterprise. She is currently researching and writing cases on McDonalds and on micro lending for use in finance classes. | COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SCIENCES  | John G. O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education
Dr. Nancy Cartwright, Appointment 2009-2013
The John G. O’Brien Distinguished Chair in Education was established in 2008 by members of the John G. O’Brien family, the Amarillo Area Foundation and the Don and Sybil Harrington Foundation. The chair honors O’Brien, who instilledin his family a profound dedication to strengthening public school education in the Texas Panhandle. It establishes a collaborative enterprise between WTAMU and the Amarillo Independent School District to create and implement a state-of-the-art professional development school model for teacher preparation—a model designed to ensure WTAMU students are well prepared to successfully teach in 21st century classrooms.
Cartwright is appointed jointly by WTAMU and the Amarillo Independent School District and collaborates with AISD staff to teach with current K-12 teachers. Her courses include an integrated language arts/social studies teaching methodology and classroom management with a secondary focus. She has numerous research interests that include development and support of professional and personal learning communities serving at-risk and first-generation students, social creativity, teacher/student learning action research, engagement or autotelic experiences for diverse learners and cognitive coaching for academic and career efficacy. |  | The Helen Piehl Professor of Education
Dr. Yvette Castillo, Appointment 2009-2012
The Helen Piehl Professorship of Education was established in December 2008 as a Centennial Leadership Gift from Helen Piehl, the 2007-2008 WTAMU Foundation president.
Castillo teaches a variety of courses ranging from human development and career counseling to psychopharmacology and assessment in counseling. Her research interests include the social and emotional experiences of females diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, the development of multicultural competencies in counseling students, the adjustment of post military individual and family trauma and the effects of the digital revolution on interpersonal relationships. |  | The Teel Bivins Professor of Political Science
Dr. Dave Rausch, Appointment 2009-2012The Teel Bivins Professorship of Political Science was announced in 2008 to pay tribute to Ambassador Teel Bivins of Amarillo for his visionary leadership and the many significant contributions he made in the field of political science. The professorship was established through gifts from Bivins’ family, friends and colleagues and the Mary E. Bivins Foundation.
Rausch teaches a number of courses in political science including American state and local governments, social research methods, religion and politics and European parliamentary governments. His research interests range from legislative studies and state and local politics to religion and politics and survey research methods. |  | The Teel Bivins Professor of American Politics
Dr. James Calvi, Appointment 2011-2014
The Teel Bivins Professor of Political Science was established in 2008, and its overwhelming support enabled the University to establish the Teel Bivins Professorship of American Politics in 2009. The professorship was funded through gifts from family, friends and colleagues of the late Ambassador Bivins and the Mary E. Bivins Foundation.
Calvi teaches courses in constitutional law, administrative law and a graduate course in judicial politics. He is the co-author of American Law and Legal Systems, now in its seventh edition, and his current research interest is in the study of the changing faces of political conservatism. | | | The Geneva Schaeffer Professor of Education and Social Sciences
Recipient to be named |
SYBIL B. HARRINGTON COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS AND HUMANITIES  | The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Endowed Professorship in Shakespeare Studies
Dr. Jeffrey Doty, Appointment 2009-2012
The Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 Professorship in Shakespeare Studies was established in 1995 through the generosity of Wendy and Stanley Marsh 3 to promote the teaching of Shakespeare at WTAMU, in Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle.
In addition to a course in composition, Doty also teaches Shakespeare, British literature to 1800 and comic film and literature.His research interests include literature and the public sphere, early modern theatre and political thought and how Shakespeare’s plays taught audiences forms of political analysis. | | | The Yvonne Franklin Endowed Chair in Music
Recipient to be named
The Yvonne Franklin Endowed Chair in Music was established in 2008 by James Franklin as a permanent and perpetual tribute to his beloved wife. | |
