TAMIU Marks History with First Woman Faculty Senate President

Texas A&M International University opened a new chapter in its history with the recent selection of associate professor of sociology Dr. Kimberly Folse as the first woman University Faculty Senate president.

Dr. Folse, part of the TAMIU faculty since 1999, will lead the 16-member Faculty Senate, charged with making recommendations to administration on issues relating to faculty members such as policy, salary, working conditions and contracts. She takes office in September, replacing outgoing Faculty Senate president Dr. Michael Landeck, professor of marketing.

"I feel great, excited and look forward to the challenge as first woman president of the Faculty Senate," Dr. Folse said, "I wish to serve the University with dignity and respect and want to thank the senators for voting for me."

Folse said that when she takes office, she will work to support faculty members so that they can continue raising the quality of teaching offered at TAMIU.

"Major areas that I am interested in include student retention addressed through quality teaching as well as providing technological, teaching, and research support to faculty," Folse said.

Folse, who prior to joining TAMIU was assistant professor of sociology at Southwest Texas State University, said she describes herself as a hard worker who prefers to get behind students to facilitate their success instead of relating to them in a top-down fashion.

"Students here are wonderful and if you take the time to provide clear guidance, they can go far," Folse said, "Their maturity level is incredible."

Folse holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. and a M.Ed. in vocational education, program planning and evaluation from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore. Her B.S. in home economics was also earned at Oregon State University.

She is a member of several professional organizations including Alpha Kappa Delta (The International Sociology Honor Society), American Sociological Association and the Southwestern Social Science Association.

Her academic work also includes serving as a managing editor and book review editor for Sociological Inquiry, The Office Journal of the Sociology Honor Society, Alpha Kappa Delta, authoring peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, book reviews, abstracts and dissertations. Samples of her major articles include "The Child Support Obligation, Non-custodial Parental Income and Compliance: Data Collection Strategies," published in the Journal of Social Service Research; "Hispanic Fathers and the Child Support Enforcement Experience," in the Journal of Multicultural Social Work; and "Child Support Services and Non-Welfare Families," in The Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare. Forthcoming articles include "The Poor Pay More: an Experiential Perspective," in Teaching Sociology; and "Long-Run Economic Consequences of Child Support For the Middle Class: A Computer Simulation," co-authored with Hugo Varela-Alvarez and appearing on the Journal of Socio-Economics.

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