UHV names interim associate provost
After seven years of serving the needs of University of Houston-Victoria students as a faculty member, Daniel White is stepping into a new role to help the university develop its curriculum and student success initiatives.
White, an associate professor of biology, recently moved into the position of interim associate provost for curriculum and student success after Beverly Tomek, the previous associate provost, accepted a position as the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Monroe County Community College in Monroe, Michigan.
“We are happy to have Dr. White join the Academic Affairs leadership team,” said Chance Glenn, UHV provost and vice president for academic affairs. “We are looking forward to working with him as we continue to create opportunities for success for our students.”
In this position, White will work with the university’s faculty and staff to serve the different academic needs of students. As UHV prepares for the fall semester, he will be working with the faculty curriculum committee to ensure that the correct courses are available for students as they work to complete their degrees.
During the summer, he also will be overseeing the university’s Summer Bridge Program, which offers first-time college students who are Texas Success Initiative incomplete an opportunity to take six credit hours at no expense to themselves during the summer in order to become better prepared for fall classes.
He also will be leading the Student Success Center, which helps UHV freshmen and sophomores through academic services such as tutoring. All of these programs have been running well, and White plans to focus on identifying which areas are operating well and what may need to be improved.
“I’m excited to be chosen to lead these important departments,” White said. “I look forward to the challenges that will come with this new role and the opportunity to learn more about this area of the university.”
White has a history of excellence in education. In 2021, he received the UHV Teaching Excellence Award, which is determined based on student nominations. Earlier this year, he also was named the Student Government Association Faculty Member of the Year. He’s also served on the UHV Faculty Senate.
White attributes part of his love of teaching to his family history. He is a third-generation teacher in a family full of educators. One of his favorite things about teaching is being able to interact with students from a variety of backgrounds and life circumstances. He especially loves having the opportunity to help students understand difficult concepts that they struggled with before.
“As faculty members, our primary focus should be on our students,” White said. “This role will allow me to have even more of an opportunity to meet the needs of the university’s student population, and I appreciate all the great work that the staff in the Student Success Center and other departments have done to help our students succeed.”
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 50 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.