Emeritus Faculty - 2022

Dog-Jun (DJ) Seo, Civil Engineering 

Your colleagues in the School of Social Work, the administration of The University of Texas at Arlington, and myriad of former students wish to express their appreciation for your thirty-two years of mentorship, teaching and training, and scholarship. You have consistently been one of the most popular instructors in the school and have mentored other faculty both in social work and across the University who seek your help in assisting them in teaching skills and techniques. You were always available and willing to provide assistance.

Your advancement of social work reaches past the classroom. You are an expert in the theory and practice of mental health services and published many chapters on the subject in some of the most popular textbooks in the field. Your contributions will surely benefit students and alumni for many years in the future. Your collegiality and service to the school and the university and the tremendous positive influence you have had on your colleagues and the students continue to serve as an example for others; therefore the title of Professor Emeritus is hereby conferred upon you.

Charles Chiasson, Philosophy and Humanities 

The faculty, alumni, and students of the Department of Philosophy & Humanities and the administration of the College of Liberal Arts and The University of Texas at Arlington are honored to recognize your thirty-five years of extraordinary teaching, path-breaking research and dedicated service, your lifelong devotion to the pursuit of excellence in Classical Studies, and your generosity in sharing that devotion and its fruits with your colleagues, students, and the university, professional, and local communities.

The Department of Philosophy & Humanities is forever in your debt for your unwavering commitment to the mission of the Department, the achievement of excellence in all areas, and the well-being of its students and faculty. Your heart and mind will always be remembered and revered in the Department, the College, and the University.

For your dedication to teaching, contributions to the profession, and collaboration with colleagues, for your great successes in realizing the mission of the Department and College, and for your service to the University and to the study and practice of Classics, the title of Professor Emeritus is hereby conferred upon you.

Donald Frank Gatzke, Architecture 

The faculty, alumni, students, and administration of The University of Texas at Arlington are honored to recognize your decades of distinguished service to education, lifelong devotion to the principles of our profession, and role in establishing and nurturing the School of Architecture.

During your tenure as dean, you championed the school’s evolution into a nationally respected institution, the Master of Architecture program’s excellence was recognized by Design Intelligence as second in the region, consistently high scores became routine during our several accreditations, and you developed strong relationships throughout the profession. Further, you were instrumental in creating twenty-one endowment funds to support students, faculty, and school programs. Your leadership fostered the creation of impactful initiatives, including the Center for Metropolitan Density, the Property Repositioning and Turnaround Strategies certificate, the David Dillon Center for Texas Architecture, and the Digital Fabrication Consortium. Under you, the School of Architecture, the School of Urban and Public Affairs, and the City of Arlington established the Arlington Urban Design Center. You modeled community engagement with projects such as La Bajada Urban Youth Farm. While impressive, these are only a few of your many valued accomplishments as you also developed a strong relationship with the profession locally and nationally. 

For your dedication to administration and teaching, commitment to students and collaboration with colleagues in realizing the school’s mission, and for service to the University and the design fields, the title of Professor Emeritus is hereby conferred upon you.

Kenneth L. Reifsnider, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 

The Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering faculty and administration of The University of Texas at Arlington are honored to recognize your enduring scholarship and distinguished service to the education of future scientists and engineers, your international recognition which earned you induction into the National Academy of Engineering among others, your lifelong devotion to the principles of our profession, and your role in establishing the Institute for Predictive Performance Methodologies (IPPM).

Under your leadership, IPPM brought together faculty across the College of Engineering forming a multidisciplinary team of researchers working in areas spanning from computational composite mechanics to energy storage and multiphysics phenomena modeling. IPPM integrated research with education providing an exceptional environment for graduate students to work on timely and challenging research projects sponsored by industry and government funding agencies. With an annual research expenditure rate of $1 million on average, IPPM has made a stellar contribution to achieving our designation as a Texas Tier One university.

Your ever-willingness to step in and generously contribute your time and talent has impacted: graduate students enrolled in the state-of-the-art course you developed on high temperature, high-rate composite systems; senior teams in timely environmental capstone design projects; and freshmen in “Student Success” (UNIV-EN 1131). Thank you for sharing your experience, wisdom and best practices for academic success for students at all stages.

For your exceptional, internationally recognized scholarship, dedication to teaching, commitment to students, mentorship of colleagues in establishing and growing IPPM, and for your service to the University, the title of Professor Emeritus is hereby conferred upon you.

Norman Cobb, Social Work 

Your colleagues in the School of Social Work, the administration of The University of Texas at Arlington, and myriad of former students wish to express their appreciation for your thirty-two years of mentorship, teaching and training, and scholarship. You have consistently been one of the most popular instructors in the school and have mentored other faculty both in social work and across the University who seek your help in assisting them in teaching skills and techniques. You were always available and willing to provide assistance.

our advancement of social work reaches past the classroom. You are an expert in the theory and practice of mental health services and published many chapters on the subject in some of the most popular textbooks in the field. Your contributions will surely benefit students and alumni for many years in the future. Your collegiality and service to the school and the university and the tremendous positive influence you have had on your colleagues and the students continue to serve as an example for others; therefore the title of Professor Emeritus is hereby conferred upon you.

The faculty, alumni, and students of the Department of Philosophy & Humanities and the administration of the College of Liberal Arts and The University of Texas at Arlington are honored to recognize your thirty-five years of extraordinary teaching, path-breaking research and dedicated service, your lifelong devotion to the pursuit of excellence in Classical Studies, and your generosity in sharing that devotion and its fruits with your colleagues, students, and the university, professional, and local communities. 

The Department of Philosophy & Humanities is forever in your debt for your unwavering commitment to the mission of the Department, the achievement of excellence in all areas, and the well-being of its students and faculty. Your heart and mind will always be remembered and revered in the Department, the College, and the University.

For your dedication to teaching, contributions to the profession, and collaboration with colleagues, for your great successes in realizing the mission of the Department and College, and for your service to the University and to the study and practice of Classics, the title of Professor Emeritus is hereby conferred upon you.

R. Leighton McWilliams, Art and Art History

The Art and Art History Department is deeply grateful and appreciative for your many years of honorable and effective leadership and mentorship. As an administrator and professor, you accomplished many endeavors that elevated the department, college, and University to new heights. You assisted in doubling student numbers and bringing new programs such as the Master of Fine Arts. You managed the department’s unit effectiveness plan and the CASIM space audits, oversaw curriculum development, and supported the NASAD accreditation. Further, your service to the department and beyond led you to sit on countless committees serving as a steadfast advocate for the department and the wider University community. Through your creative acumen, you have shown your artwork locally, nationally, and internationally with innumerable solo and group photography exhibitions. This work also garnered many awards, including the Society of Photographic Education and “Best Photographer in 2012” from Fort Worth Weekly.

Your professional leadership put the success of students, staff, and faculty over all else. It is for these and too many other reasons to cite that The University of Texas at Arlington, along with the members of the Art and Art History Department, awards you the title of Professor Emeritus with our deepest gratitude and thanks.