Trustees approve appointments

The SIU Board of Trustees on Thursday, Sept. 8, approved a number of appointments:

Robert L. Clinton

Robert L. Clinton, a political science professor,is the new full-time chair of his academic department. An expert on public law and political theory, he took over as acting chair in December 2004.

Clinton takes the helm from Uday Desai, who chaired the department for a decade and returns to teaching following his sabbatical last year in Malaysia.

Clinton began teaching at SIUC in 1985 and directed the graduate program in his department from 1995-99. He previously taught political science at a variety of universities and community colleges in Texas. He spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Malta.

Clinton holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Texas Tech University (1974 and 1977, respectively) and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985.

Susan M. Ford, associate professor of anthropology, became chair of her department Aug. 16.

Ford, a full-time faculty member since 1980, replaces Jonathan Hill, who is on sabbatical this semester. She will serve a three-year term.

A physical anthropologist, Ford's research focuses on the functional anatomy, biogeography, and evolutionary relationships of South American monkeys. Her professional memberships include the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, the International Primatological Society and the American Association of Anthropologists.

Ford, a native of Fayetteville, N.Y., earned her bachelor's degree from Roanoke College in Salem, Va., and her doctoral degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Darren E. Sherkat

Darren E. Sherkat is the new full-time chair of the sociology department, where he is a full professor and former director of the department's graduate studies program.

He takes over for Thomas C. Calhoun, recently promoted to associate provost for academic affairs at SIUC.

He joined the faculty in 2001 after teaching 10 years at Vanderbilt University's departments of sociology and religious studies.

Among his current research interests are the sociology of religion, social movements, medical sociology, environmental sociology and sociological theory.

Jane L. Swanson

Jane L. Swanson, professor of psychology, officially became department chair last week after assuming the interim role of chairperson in July.

Swanson, whose research interests include career development and vocational psychology, is only the fourth person in the department's 50-year history to serve as chair.

Swanson came to SIUC in 1986.

She is a fellow of the Division of Counseling Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

She holds doctoral and master's degrees from the University of Minnesota and a bachelor's degree from Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) College, all in psychology.

Vincent J. Webb

Professor Vincent J. Webb is the new director of SIUC's Center for the Study of Crime, Delinquency and Corrections.

Webb brings several years of program building and administrative experience to the Center. From 1975 to 1995 he chaired the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he also served as director of the Center for Applied Urban Research. While at UN-Omaha, Webb developed and implemented programs awarding master's and doctoral degrees in criminal justice.

From 1996 to 2003, he chaired the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University West. For the last two years, prior to coming to SIUC, Webb developed and implemented the Arizona State University Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety.

Webb received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a doctorate in sociology from Iowa State University.

Billie Jo Hamilton

Billie Jo Hamilton, SIUC's director of financial aid since May 20, is now the full-time director.

Hamilton came to the position with a broad range of experience in student financial aid, including administrative positions at Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State) in Springfield, University of Tennessee-Memphis and the University of Kansas Medical Center.

At SIUC, Hamilton says she continues to try to improve processing for student financial assistance, to get more information on the Web and to increase communication with students through e-mail.

"The other issue," Hamilton said, "has to do with finding additional sources of funding for students. State aid has not gone up, federal aid is not going up and tuition and fees keep increasing."

Pinpointing the area of highest need -- and what can be done to assist those in that category -- will be Hamilton's focus. "We need to make sure there is no financial barrier for students to come here for school," she said.