Last week, the Board of Regents approved tenure for 83 faculty members. One Duluth and three Twin Cities associate professors were chosen to present their work at its May meeting. View the complete list of newly tenured faculty members.

“We’ve chosen these faculty to be with us this morning because of their excellence in research, teaching, and service and also to illustrate the variety and breadth of the field-shaping scholarship at the University of Minnesota,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Croson.

The faculty promoted this year demonstrated intellectual distinction in their chosen field and have had their career accomplishments rigorously reviewed by their University and scholarly peers around the nation and/or world.

Marissa Benedict

Associate Professor, School of Music in the College of Liberal Arts, Twin Cities campus

As an associate professor of trumpet, Benedict has an applied studio of 19 students, including undergraduates ranging from BA, minors, music therapy, performance, and education majors to master of music and doctor of musical arts students. 

“Teaching at the University of Minnesota is one of the most rewarding aspects of my career,” says Benedict. “The insights and questions posed by my students, along with their commitment to excellence, make it most gratifying. While they gain knowledge from me, I too learn something valuable from each student. I look forward to helping them enhance their trumpet performance skills, develop critical thinking abilities, and, most importantly, witness their growth into accomplished young adults.”

After a 35-year performance and educator career in Los Angeles, Benedict still actively performs in Minnesota, subbing with the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. A very active and in-demand studio player, she can be heard on nearly 160 motion picture recordings, including most recently songs from Frozen II, Incredibles II, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Coco, Moana, Rogue One, and Spider-Man: Homecoming.  

“I am truly honored to have been awarded tenure, a responsibility I take very seriously,” says Benedict. “It represents more than just job security; it reinforces my dedication to teaching and mentoring my students, pursuing impactful research, supporting my colleagues, and fostering an inviting and engaging environment.”

Craig Hill

Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering in the Swenson College of Science and Engineering, Duluth campus

Hill has been at the Duluth campus for nearly six years and teaches fluid mechanics and sustainable energy systems courses, among others.

“If you asked my six-year-old daughter what I do, she would say I love to learn about waves and buoys,” he says.

Hill’s research focuses on challenges in marine environments such as how to make observations in cold climates like Lake Superior in the winter. It also involves analyzing how the waves on Lake Superior impact coastal communities and landscapes under climate change. Some of the data he collects is used to explore opportunities for marine energy technologies to power blue economic industries. This included Hill and his team designing energy converters that can harness energy from waves or currents.

“Receiving tenure is exciting because it allows me to keep pushing forward these goals towards contributing new forms of energy from marine environments, and to better understand how technology can aid in understanding our changing marine landscape across Minnesota,” says Hill. “Working with such talented and motivated students at the University of Minnesota Duluth is one of the best parts of being in this role, and I'm excited to see where our projects lead over the next few years."

Dereck Salisbury

Associate Professor, School of Nursing, Twin Cities campus

Salisbury teaches advanced human physiology and advanced human pathophysiology for doctor of nursing practitioner students.

As a clinical exercise physiologist, Salisbury and his team have conducted studies such as examining whether aerobic exercise paired with virtual-reality cognitive training can delay Alzheimer’s disease. In that study, he explains, “Our research participants are cycling on recumbent cycles and using an Xbox controller to navigate a realistic and ecologically-tailored virtual-reality environment where they also participate in cognitive games.”

Based on the success of that study, Salisbury and his team are implementing physical activity and exercise-focused programs in rural communities—important because physical activity is a mitigating strategy for Alzheimer's disease, which is more prominent in rural communities.

“When reflecting on tenure, yes I think it is an individual accomplishment, but it could not have been done without the help of caring mentors and collaborators that share the same common goals,” says Salisbury. “So I wish to express my gratitude to my mentors, collaborators, and team members for all of their hard work and support.”

Sade Spencer

Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology in the Medical School, Twin Cities campus

Spencer joined the University of Minnesota in 2018 where she created the Spencer Lab.

Her research focuses on examining what happens in the brain in association with substance use disorders (SUDs). Specifically, Spencer is focused on finding novel drug treatments for SUDs that don’t have treatments such as cocaine use disorder and cannabis use disorder.

She and her team are currently investigating a common type 2 diabetes drug, metformin, as a novel cocaine-use disorder therapy.

“We’re excited by the potential to translate and make lives better in the state of Minnesota and beyond,” says Spencer. “Something like metformin, which is this off-patent, widely available, very safe drug, can really reduce access barriers to substance use disorder treatment, which is something my team and I are very excited about.”

She says, "It is such an honor to earn tenure at the University of Minnesota. The positive feedback and validation for the work from my peers and colleagues, both internal and external, provides motivation to continue innovating."

Newly tenured faculty

Duluth campus

College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

• Jason Torkelson, Associate Professor, Department of Justice Culture Social Change

College of Education and Human Service Professions

• Nomi Ostrander, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work,
• Mary Stenson, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Human Sciences

Labovitz School of Business and Economics

• Raluca Stan, Associate Professor, Department of Accounting and Finance

Swenson College of Science and Engineering

• Peng Fang, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering
• Craig Hill, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
• Turuna Seecharan, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
• Jacob Wainman, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Morris campus

• Yuxiang (Andrew) Hao, Associate Professor, Division of Education

Twin Cities campus

College of Biological Sciences

• Aaron Engelhart, Associate Professor, Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development
• Kathryn Fixen, Associate Professor, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology

College of Design

• Tejas Dhadphale, Associate Professor, Department of Design Innovation
• Naeun (Lauren) Kim, Associate Professor, Department of Design Innovation 

College of Education and Human Development

• Savana Bak, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
• Samuel David, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
• David DeLiema, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
• Justin Grinage, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction
• Ramon Vasquez, Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction

College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences

• Justin Johnson, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Economics
• Amelia Lindsey, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology
• Lindsay Pease, Associate Professor, Department of Soil, Water and Climate
• Heidi Roop, Associate Professor, Department of Soil, Water and Climate
• Jiwei Zhang, Associate Professor, Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering  

College of Liberal Arts

• Stephanie Arado, Associate Professor, School of Music
• Marissa Benedict, Associate Professor, School of Music
• Chotsani Dean, Associate Professor, Department of Art
• Michael Esposito, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
• Nick Estes, Associate Professor, Department of American Indian Studies
• Alexander Jabbari, Associate Professor, Department of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies
• Charles Kronengold, Associate Professor, Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature
• Tianxi Li, Associate Professor, School of Statistics
• Aaron Molstad, Associate Professor, School of Statistics
• Zozan Pehlivan, Associate Professor, Department of History
• Ioana Pribiag, Associate Professor, Department of French & Italian Studies   

College of Pharmacy 

• Jacob Brown, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Hongo Pang, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics

College of Science and Engineering

• Ryan Caverly, Associate Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics
• Michelle Calabrese, Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
• Ambika Bhagi-Damodaran, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
• Courtney Roberts, Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry
• Raphael Stern, Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering and Geo- Engineering
• Xinyuan Zheng, Associate Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Martina Cardone, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Changhyun Choi, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Nick Arnosti, Associate Professor, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
• Suo Yang, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Michael Coughlin, Associate Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy
• Andrew Furmanski, Associate Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy
• Zhen Liu, Associate Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy
• Nadja Strobbe, Associate Professor, School of Physics and Astronomy  

College of Veterinary Medicine

• Casey Johnson, Associate Professor, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences

Medical School

• Craig Bierle, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
• Tyler Bold, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
• Christina Camell, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics
• Scott Cooper, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
• Steven Graves, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
• Forum Kamdar, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
• Manda Keller-Ross, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
• Julia Lemos, Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience
• Sisi Ma, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
• William Mantyh, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology
• Anna Prizment, Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
• Jocelyn Richard, Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience
• Benjamin Saunders, Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience
• Gordon Smith, Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience
• Sade Spencer, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology
• Ann Van de Winckel, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
• Jing Wang, Associate Professor, Department of Neurology
• Jesse Williams, Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology
• Xiaoping Wu, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology

School of Dentistry

• Hooi Pin Chew, Associate Professor, Department of Restorative Sciences 

School of Nursing  

• Robin Austin, Associate Professor, Population Health and Systems Cooperative
• Cynthia Bradley, Associate Professor, Adult and Gerontological Health Cooperative
• Carrie Neerland, Associate Professor, Child and Family Health Cooperative
• Dereck Salisbury, Associate Professor, Adult and Gerontological Health Cooperative

School of Public Health

• Zinzi Bailey, Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Thierry Chekouo, Associate Professor, Division of Biostatistics and Health Data Science
• Andrew Fenelon, Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Jared Huling, Associate Professor, Division of Biostatistics and Health Data Science
• Kelly Searle, Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Sanaz Sedaghat, Associate Professor, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health
• Gillian Tarr, Associate Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences
• Steffen Ventz, Associate Professor, Division of Biostatistics and Health Data Science