Hullman one of six to receive promotions at Ashland University

03/08/2021 ASHLAND, Ohio --  Dr. Gwen Hullman was promoted to Professor and received tenure during a recent Ashland University Board of Trustees meeting. She was one of six faculty members to receive promotions.

Hullman, who joined AU faculty in 2018, serves as chair of the Department of Communication Studies. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from The Ohio State University, her Master of Arts in Communication Theory and Methodology from Cleveland State University and her doctorate in Communication Studies from Kent State University.

Hullman previously served as associate dean for Liberal Arts at the Metropolitan campus of Cuyahoga Community College and was a tenured associate professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. She has received multiple teaching awards and nominations from the National Communication Association, the University of Nevada, Case Western Reserve University and Kent State University.

Other faculty promotions included:

• Dr. Diane Bonfiglio, promotion from Associate Professor to Professor of Psychology. A graduate of Ashland University, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Bonfiglio also holds a Master of Arts in Psychology and a doctorate in Clinical Psychology, both from The Ohio State University. She joined the Ashland faculty in 2009 and teaches courses in introductory psychology, adolescence and health psychology.
• Dr. Nicholas Johnson, promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Chemistry. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Skidmore College and his doctorate from The University of Akron and joined the Ashland faculty in 2015. Johnson’s area of expertise includes the synthesis of novel inorganic compounds as well as multinuclear NMR techniques and he works with his students on research on the synthesis of inorganic compounds for biomedical applications. 
• Dr. Amy Klinger, promotion from Associate Professor to Professor. The director of the Educational Leadership Program and Chair of the Doctoral Studies and Advanced Programs, Klinger joined the AU faculty in 2008 and teaches graduate courses in educational leadership areas such as organizational management, instructional leadership, policy development, human behavior, resource management and community relations. She also is one of the country’s foremost experts in school safety and security and serves as Director of Programs for the Educator’s School Safety Network, a national non-profit organization that specializes in education-based training and resources for violence prevention and crisis response in schools.
• Dr. Jill Matthes-Baxter, promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor of Nursing. She joined the Ashland University faculty in 2016 and also serves as Assessment Coordinator while teaching courses on Pediatrics, Genetics and Nursing Concepts. Matthes-Baxter received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Kent State University, her Master of Science degree from Walden University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Case Western Reserve University.
• Dr. Jackie Owens, promotion from Associate Professor to Professor. The director of AU’s RN-to-BSN program, Owens joined the Ashland faculty in 2003 and has given International, national and regional presentations on topics related to nursing education.  The Editor-in-Chief of OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing; scholarly journal of the American Nurses Association, Owens began her career in nursing with a diploma from the Trumbull Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and went on to receive her BSN from Ashland and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Kent State University.

“Please join we me in congratulating and affirming the persistent scholarly work, service to AU and professions, and contributions to teaching and learning of each of our colleagues who have been promoted,” said Provost Amiel Jarstfer. “I want to also acknowledge the careful work of the departments, colleges and the institutional tenure and promotion committee members in reviewing the portfolios of each of these faculty members as we followed the prescribed processes to reach this time of celebration.”

Ashland University is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) offers each of its student constituencies The Ashland Promise, including “teaching students how to think, not what to think”. Committed to affordability, the University now offers incoming residential freshman the Tuition Relief Scholarship, as well as a variety of new forms of financial assistance for both new and continuing students. ###