Northwestern Health Sciences University announces faculty promotions

January 29, 2011 — For the first time since 2006, Northwestern Health Sciences University has promoted faculty members to the rank of professor. The four promotions were awarded to Lynne Hvidsten, DC, MBA; Jonathan Williams, DC, MEd; Roni Evans, DC, MS; and Mei Wang, PhD, TCMD, LAc.

“Since 2006, Northwestern has been revising the promotion process and criteria to be more consistent with those used by most college and universities,” said Bill Elkington, DC, professor at Northwestern and chair of the Full Professor Promotions Committee (FPPC). Northwestern’s faculty members are academically ranked as instructor, assistant professor, associate professor or professor, with professor being the highest academic ranking that faculty can achieve.

The process is led by the FPPC, which is comprised of professors, in collaboration with the faculty senate. The committee reviews applications and provides a recommendation to Michael Wiles, DC, MEd, MS, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northwestern. Mark Zeigler, DC, president of Northwestern Health Sciences University makes the final promotion decision.

The new criteria are modeled after the nation’s top healthcare institutions and are tailored to reflect and promote high levels of achievement in the various job functions that faculty members perform at Northwestern. “This was an intensive process,” said Wiles. “The Full Professor Promotions Committee did a terrific job and they set a new bar for achievement of the ultimate academic rank at Northwestern consistent with the best universities.”

Source: Northwestern Health Sciences University, www.nwhealth.edu/nwtoday/index.html