Awards, Promotions, and Tenure

Tao Zhang, Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation
Promotion and Tenure

Dr. Tao Zhang earned his Ph.D. in Kinesiology at Louisiana State University (LSU) in 2009 with a concentration in sport pedagogy and psychology and a minor in applied statistics. Previous to his experiences at LSU, Dr. Zhang was a full-time lecturer and coach at Shanghai Institute of Physical Education and Shanghai Aquatic Sports Center in China, where he led his women’s rowing teams to win two national championships. He has made numerous research presentations at international and national conferences, authored/co-authored some refereed research articles and funded research projects. Dr. Zhang has been a reviewer for the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, Journal of American College Heath, Basic and Applied Social Psychology, American Educational Research Association (AERA) and AAHPERD conference abstracts, and 2008 International Convention on Science, Education and Medicine in Sport conference abstracts. He has also served as an editorial assistant for the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education.

Karthigeyan Subramanian, Associate Professor, Department of Teacher Education and Administration
Promotion and Tenure

Dr. Karthigeyan Subramaniam teaches graduate and undergraduate courses focused on science teacher education. His scholarship focuses on preparation of elementary and secondary science teachers as well as on educational technology and qualitative research methodology. Before coming to UNT in 2009, he was on the faculty of Penn State University-Harrisburg, where his position was in Elementary Teacher Education and Teaching and in the Curriculum Master’s Graduate Program. He has also been on the faculty of Adelphi University. His bachelor's degree is from the National University of Singapore, Republic of Singapore; his master's degree is from University of Florida at Gainesville; and his doctoral degree is from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Janelle Mathis, Professor, Department of Teacher Education and Administration
Promotion

As a literacy educator at UNT since 1997, Dr. Janelle Mathis focuses her teaching and research on children’s and adolescent literature, especially works that are multicultural and international. She teaches courses at all levels that either focus on literature in the classroom or are undergirded by children's and adolescent literature. Her research interests, which often focus on response to literature and critical content analysis, are in the areas of the transactional theory of reader response, socio-cultural contexts for literacy teaching and learning, and critical literacy. She received her doctorate at the University of Arizona in the Department of Language, Reading and Culture in 1994. She was a teaching assistant and adjunct at UA, and she also taught at Northern Illinois University prior to coming to UNT.

Carol D. Wickstrom, Professor, Department of Teacher Education and Administration
Promotion

After teaching in K-12 public schools for 25 years, Dr. Carol Wickstrom became a university faculty member in 2000. At UNT, she teaches literacy courses at the graduate and undergraduate level in the Language, Literacy, Bilingual and ESL Program. As director of the North Star of Texas Writing Project, she studies Culturally Mediated Writing Instruction in grades 6-12 English/Language Arts classrooms and supports teachers in these classrooms in their own teacher research. She received the 2009-2010 Faculty Teaching Excellence Award from the UNT College of Education, the 2011 Jean Greenlaw Literacy Award from the Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading, and the J.H. Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award in 2012.

Qi Chen, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Promotion and Tenure

Dr. Qi Chen engages in doing research and teaching in the area of quantitative methods. Her primary quantitative research interests include Growth Mixture Modeling (GMM), Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and the application of these methods in longitudinal data analyses and mediation analysis. She is also interested in the application of these methods in educational and family-based data. Her interested substantive areas include children’s psychosocial functioning and self-regulation, school-based prevention, teacher-student relationship and peer relations, and the intersection of family and cultural contexts in shaping Asian American adolescent development.

Bertina Combes, Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Promotion

Dr. Bertina Hildreth Combes has been a member of the UNT College of Education faculty since 1989. She currently serves as associate dean for academic affairs and research. She previously served as associate dean for educator preparation and academic affairs and was the coordinator for programs in special education from 2002 to 2009. Her research interests include educator preparation, transitioning of students with disabilities in to post-secondary setting and issues related to diversity in education. She is the inaugural recipient of the Ulys & Vera Knight Mentor Award, which recognizes faculty members who demonstrate excellence in mentoring students and faculty. Combes is also the recipient of other university awards including the President's Council Teaching Award, SGA Honor Professor and the Alton Thibodeaux Leadership in Diversity Award. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987 and her M.Ed. from the Southern University at Baton Rouge in 1983 and also studied at Louisiana State University. She received her B.A. from Oral Roberts University in 1980.

Rebecca Glover, Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
Promotion

Dr. Rebecca Glover earned her Bachelor of Arts in English, her Master of Science in Child Development and her Ph.D. in Human Development, all from Texas Tech. Her research interests include moral development and reasoning, cognitive development and lifespan development. She has been a member of the UNT College of Education faculty since 1995, having previously worked at the University of Arkansas and Weber State University.

Pamela Peak, Principal Lecturer, Department of Educational Psychology
Promotion

Dr. Pamela Peak earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary and Special Education from Stephen F. Austin University, and her Master of Education and Ph.D. in Special Education and Learning Disabilities and Assessment from UNT. Before joining the UNT College of Education faculty in 2007, she served as an elementary school teacher in the Lewisville, Irving and Lake Dallas ISDs.

Leslie De Jones, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Counseling and Higher Education
Promotion

Dr. Leslie De Jones earned her master's and PhD from UNT, where she discovered a passion for play therapy and for counseling children and families. After completing her PhD. she taught at the University of Central Florida for four years before joining the UNT faculty in 2009. She teaches master's-level clinical courses, serves as advisor for the undergraduate counseling minor program and is director of the Counseling and Human Development Center. As center director, she coordinates the academic, logistical, ethical and legal matters involved in the operation of an on-campus community mental health clinic. She is a Texas Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and a registered play therapist.