Three Academic Departments to See New Leaders

June 4, 2019

Three academic departments at Northwestern Oklahoma State University will have new leadership beginning on July 1.

The Division of Business will welcome Dr. John Stockmyer as its new chair, replacing Dr. David Hawkins, who will remain on the faculty.

Stockmyer joined the Division at Northwestern in 2013 and specializes in marketing related studies. He previously led the business department at Eastern New Mexico University. Stockmyer earned his doctorate from the University of Missouri in 1999.

In the School of Arts and Sciences, the Department of Social Sciences will see Dr. Eric Schmaltz replace Dr. Kay Decker. Decker will continue teaching in the department.

Schmaltz has a doctorate in history from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and is an expert in modern European history. He joined the Northwestern faculty in 2005.

In 2010, he co-founded the NWOSU-Institute for Citizenship Studies and currently serves as its co-director. In 2014, Schmaltz was awarded the John Barton Distinguished Teaching and Service Award.

The Department of Psychology will see Dr. Jason Ferrell assume the chair position, replacing Dr. Leigh Kirby, who has served as interim chair since 2018.

Ferrell completed his doctoral work at the University of Texas at Austin in 2017 and joined the Northwestern faculty in 2018. Most of his research/teaching interests intersects psychology, education, language, communications, statistics, measurement, computer science and technology.

-NW-