Faculty Leaders Celebrated During Cougar Chairs Leadership Academy Graduation
By Mike Emery, 713-743-7197
It was an event nearly three years in the making, but the Cougar Chairs Leadership Academy (CCLA) awards luncheon was well worth the wait.
Nearly 60 University of Houston faculty members were honored during the Sept. 20 event, which celebrated their successful completion of this career-enhancing program.
Presented by the Office of the Provost, CCLA cultivates and prepares faculty leaders through rigorous training seminars facilitated by Idahlynn Karre, noted expert in higher education leadership. CCLA seminars address real world issues within academia and the UH community, as well as critical areas of transformational leadership.
The recent luncheon showcased CCLA cohorts from 2020, 2021 and 2022. CCLA recognition events had long been delayed during the pandemic, and those faculty who completed the program were grateful to accept their framed certificates and finally celebrate their colleagues’ accomplishments.
“The network of colleagues I formed across the entire University has been an unparalleled experience, with long-term benefits,” said Emran El-Badawi, associate professor and program manager for Middle Eastern Studies. “It creates a cohesive community of future UH leaders and empowers them to be both colleagues and friends.”
El-Badawi was among the faculty comprising CCLA’s class of 2022. In addition to applauding the program, he is thankful to those who guided its progress — including CCLA founder and Provost Emeritus Paula Myrick Short — despite the challenges of the pandemic.
“I express my gratitude to Drs. Idahlynn Karre and Paula Myrick Short, who made CCLA work,” he said.
Nouhad Rizk, instructional professor and director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Computer Science, also appreciates the efforts of those who made this initiative possible. Rizk, a member of CCLA's 2021 class, is the first woman in her department to complete this program.
“CCLA provides an amazing opportunity to build the framework for unleashing an executive’s full potential, by increasing their emotional intelligence and becoming more conscious of their thought processes,” she said. “Through this program, my colleagues and I have developed the tools and confidence to create a powerful organizational tone that embraces change and new ideas.”
A list of CCLA participants is as follows:
CCLA Class of 2020
David Berntsen, College of Optometry
Bernhard Bodmann, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Samuel Brower, College of Education
Lindita Camaj, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Angelika Dimoka, C. T. Bauer College of Business
Medhat El Nahas, College of Technology
Julianna Fernandez, College of Pharmacy
Akash Grover, Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership
Janet Heppard, UH Law Center
Jessica Mantel, UH Law Center
Fatima Merchant, College of Technology
Volkan Muslu, C. T. Bauer College of Business
April Peters-Hawkins, College of Education
David Politzer, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts
Raul Ramos, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Benjamin Rayder, The Honors College
Samina Salim, College of Pharmacy
Amber Thompson, College of Education
CCLA Class of 2021
Roger Barascout, C. T. Bauer College of Business
Burak Basaran, College of Technology
Keith Butcher, College of Education
Jose Contreras-Vidal, Cullen College of Engineering
Jeronimo Cortina, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Shea Culpepper, College of Education
Tiffany Davis, College of Education
Birol Dindoruk, Cullen College of Engineering
Stacey Gorniak, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Kristen Guiseppi, UH Law Center
Billy Hawkins, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Rachel Helbing, UH Libraries
Tahir Hussain, College of Pharmacy
Monique Mills, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Luca Oliva, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Nouhad Rizk, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Kristi Santi, College of Education
Ariana Santiago, UH Libraries
MariVi Tejada-Simón, College of Pharmacy
Gina Warren, UH Law Center
Sissy Wong, College of Education
LeChauncy Woodard, Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine
Jie Zhang, College of Education
Graduating Class of 2022
Laura Cizek, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Sally Connolly, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Toya Conston, College of Education
Emran El-Badawi, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Wenli Gao, UH Libraries
Susie Gronseth, College of Education
Kristen Hassett, College of Education
Beena Joseph, College of Nursing
Lucy Kehinde, College of Optometry
Ashok Kumar, College of Pharmacy
Tiffany Legendre, Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership
Michael Myers, Cullen College of Engineering
Barbara Stewart, College of Technology
Katherine Turner, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts
Jonathan Williamson, The Honors College
Di Yang, Cullen College of Engineering
Weihang Zhu, College of Technology