SEC Academic Leadership Development Program

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Dr. Charles Criscione, Professor and Associate Dean

Home College/School: Graduate & Professional School

Bio: Dr. Charles D. Criscione is Associate Dean in the Graduate and Professional School at Texas A&M University, where he leads strategic and programmatic initiatives to strengthen graduate education and thereby advance the university’s broader research and teaching missions. In this role, he oversees key administrative areas including Thesis and Dissertation Services, Graduate Committee Faculty nominations and membership, and English Language Proficiency Verification and Teaching Certification. He has also led major task forces and working groups to enhance institutional support for interdisciplinary graduate programs, create a university-wide Graduate Program Handbook template as a resource for faculty, staff, and students, and develop a LaTeX thesis and dissertation template that improves digital accessibility.

Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Criscione served as Associate Head for Academic Affairs in the Department of Biology, where he led and managed five undergraduate degree programs serving approximately 2,000 majors. He oversaw academic operations, supported curriculum and instructional planning, managed teaching assignments, provided administrative leadership for advising, and helped guide major academic transitions within the college.

Dr. Criscione is also Professor of Biology at Texas A&M University. He joined the faculty in 2008 as an assistant professor and has since advanced through the faculty ranks. His research focuses on the ecology and evolution of helminth parasites, with an emphasis on integrating population genetic approaches into parasitology. In recognition of his contributions, he received the 2023 Henry Baldwin Ward Medal from the American Society of Parasitologists, one of the field’s highest honors. 

Dr. Jeffrey Liew, Professor and Department Head

Home College/School: College of Education & Human Development

Bio: Dr. Jeffrey Liew is Professor and Department Head of Educational Psychology in the College of Education and Human Development at Texas A&M University. He leads an academic unit with more than 60 full‑time faculty, nearly 50 full‑time staff, close to 300 undergraduate majors, and over 350 graduate students, with responsibilities spanning departmental operations, budget and resource management, faculty affairs, academic programs, and strategic planning.

Previously, Dr. Liew served as Associate Dean for Research from 2020 to 2022, overseeing the College’s Research and Development Office and its pre‑and post‑award teams. He provided leadership for 10 research centers and 17 laboratories and advanced efforts to strengthen research infrastructure and productivity. Under his leadership, the College secured 43 million dollars in new awards in fiscal year 2021, the highest annual total in its history at that time. He earlier served as Associate Department Head from 2017 to 2020 and as Program Chair of Learning and Developmental Sciences from 2016 to 2017.

A developmental and learning scientist, Dr. Liew is nationally and internationally recognized for his research on social‑emotional development and emotional self‑regulation from early childhood through early adulthood. His work examines how emotion and self‑regulation support resilience, thriving, and flourishing in children, youth, and families. He has authored more than 150 scholarly publications with support from state, federal, and foundation funding, and since 2020 has been ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists. Dr. Liew is Editor‑in‑Chief of Early Education and Development, a Governing Council Member of the Society for Research in Child Development, and an elected Fellow of AAAS and APA. 

Vanessa Casado Perez, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development

Home College/School: School of Law

Bio: Vanessa Casado Pérez is Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Research at Texas A&M University School of Law, where she supports faculty scholarship, research programming, and institutional initiatives designed to strengthen the law school’s scholarly profile. In that role, she works with faculty across fields to develop research agendas, promote intellectual exchange, support conference and workshop participation, and build structures for sustained scholarly productivity. 

Professor Casado Pérez has also served the law school through a wide range of committees and administrative roles, including Appointments, Admissions, Faculty Development, Publications, Strategic Planning, International Programs, and the Dean’s Advisory Council. She has advised multiple student journals and organizations. Her administrative experience is complemented by her work organizing major academic programs and conferences. 

Nationally, Professor Casado Pérez has held significant leadership roles in the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, including service on the Board of Trustees, the Teaching Award Committee, Investment Committee, the Water Section Chair role for the 70th Annual Institute, and the planning committee for the Foundation/ABA Water Law Institute. She currently chairs the Executive Committee of the AALS Natural Resources and Energy Law Section. 

Dr. Jennifer A. Schleining, Clinical Professor and Department Head

Home College/School: College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Bio: Dr. Jennifer Schleining is a distinguished veterinary leader, surgeon, and educator at Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.

Since April 2023, she has served as the Department Head of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, where she coordinates departmental operations, cultivates faculty and staff success, and maintains strategic relationships with equine and livestock industry partners, TAMUS stakeholders, and donors while ensuring fiscal responsibility and advancing the college’s vision. Shortly after her appointment, she led the department through its first strategic planning process that served as the foundation for a refocus on our core missions of service, teaching, research, and patient care. Since that time, the department has seen exponential growth in successful faculty recruitment, research productivity, and student success with many faculty receiving university and national recognition for their accomplishments.

Previously, Dr. Schleining served as Associate Department Head for Educational Programs, where she coordinated teaching resources, faculty assignments, and course metrics while serving as liaison between the Professional Programs Office and departmental faculty. As the former Associate Director of the Office of Veterinary Continuing Education, she directed operations, organized regional and national conferences, managed accreditation requirements, and supervised staff and budgets. Dr. Schleining was recently recognized with the Iowa State University Stange Award for Meritorious Service in Veterinary Medicine, the highest award presented to distinguished alumni of ISU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Schleining- Cerfogli’s administrative philosophy emphasizes collaborative leadership, educational excellence, and building strong partnerships between academia and industry. Her strategic vision and operational expertise continue to advance veterinary education and clinical services at one of the nation’s premier veterinary institutions.

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2025-26 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Stephanie Harris, Professor and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (College of Arts & Sciences)
• Dr. Jason F. Huntley, Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Professional Development (College of Medicine)
• Dr. Fadi Khasawneh, Professor and Department Head (College of Pharmacy)
• Dr. Galen Newman, Professor and Department Head (College of Architecture)

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2024-25 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Tamika Gilreath, Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (School of Public Health)
• Dr. Phil Lewis, Professor & Interim Department Head (College of Architecture)
• Dr. Simon North, Professor & Executive Associate Dean (College of Arts & Sciences)
• Dr. Ramesh Vemulapalli, Professor & Executive Associate Dean (College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences)

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2023-24 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Adam Barry, Head of the Department of Health Behavior (School of Public Health)
• Dr. Ann McNamara, Associate Dean for Research & Creative Works (School of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts)
• Srividhya Ragavan, Professor of Law and Director of India Programs (School of Law)
• Dr. Lori L. Taylor, Head of the Department of Public Service & Administration (Bush School of Government & Public Service)

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2021-22 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Karen Kirkland, Associate Head of the Department of Nuclear Engineering  (College of Engineering)
• Dr. Lucas M. Macri, Associate Dean of Undergraduate & International Programs (College of Science)
• Dr. Frederick M. Nafukho, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (College of Education and Human Development)
• Dr. Tiffany A. Radcliff, Associate Dean for Research (School of Public Health)

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2019-20 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Carlos Blanton, Head of the Department of History (College of Liberal Arts)
• Dr. Clare Gill, Executive Associate Dean (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
• Dr. Shanna Hagan-Burke, Head of the Department of Educational Psychology (College of Education and Human Development)
• Dr. Sarah Witherspoon, Head of the Department of Mathematics (College of Liberal Arts)

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2018-19 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Mindy Bergman, Executive Director of Interdisciplinary Critical Studies, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences (College of Liberal Arts)
• Dr. Carol Bunch-Davis, Assistant Department Head, Department of Liberal Arts (Texas A&M University at Galveston)
• Professor Terri Helge, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs (School of Law)
• Dr. Scott Schaefer, Associate Department Head, Department of Computer Science and Engineering (College of Engineering)

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2017-18 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Michael D. Johnson, Associate Professor and the Walter Buchanan Faculty Fellow, Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution (College of Engineering)
• Dr. Michael A. de Miranda, Claude H. Everett Endowed Chair and Head of the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture (School of Education & Human Development)
• Dr. Joseph D. Ura, Associate Head of the Department of Political Science (Bush School of Government & Public Service)
• Dr. Heather H. Wilkinson, Associate Dean of Faculties for Faculty Development (Office of the Dean of Faculties)

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2016-17 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. David M. Cairns, Head of the Department of Geography (College of Geosciences)
• Dr. Cecilia H. Giusti, Associate Dean for Outreach and Diversity (College of Architecture)
• Dr. Mark B. Houston, Head of the Marketing Department (Mays Business School)
• Dr. Antonietta Quigg, Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies (College of Geosciences and Texas A&M University at Galveston)

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2015-16 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Ginger E. Carney, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Research and College
  Climate (College of Science)
• Dr. John E. Hurtado, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (Dwight Look College of Engineering)
• Dr. Violet Showers Johnson, Director of Africana Studies Program (College of Liberal Arts)
• Dr. Kathleen Kavanagh, Head of the Ecosystem Science and Management Department (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)

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2014-15 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Richard Kreider, Head of the Department of Health & Kinesiology (School of Education & Human Development)
• Dr. Kirsten Pullen, Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Performance Studies (College of Liberal Arts)
• Dr. David Threadgill, Director of the Whole Systems Genomics Initiative
• Dr. Douglas Woods, Head of the Department of Psychology (College of Liberal Arts)

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2013-14 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. George Cunningham, Associate Dean (College of Education & Human Development)
• Dr. Sumana Datta, Executive Director of Honors & Undergraduate Research, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
• Dr. Rosana G. Moreira, Assistant Department Head, Department of Biological & Agricultural Engineering (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
• Dr. John N. Stallone, Acting Head of the Department of Veterinary Physiology & Pharmacology (College of Veterinary Medice & Biomedical Sciences)

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2012-13 Program Cohort Members

• Dr. Michael Benedik, Interim Dean of Faculties and Associate Provost
• Dr. Blanca Lupiani, Associate Dean of Faculties
• Dr. César Malavé, Head of the Department of Industrial and System Engineering (College of Engineering)
• Dr. Cynthia Werner, Head of the Department of Anthropology (College of Liberal Arts)

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