The College of Arts and Sciences is seeing a change in leadership as Dr. Barbara Cooke was appointed the Interim Assistant Dean for the college.
Dr. Cooke has been working at the university since August 2014. She started in the Department of History, Political Science and Philosophy to help assist with the start of the Criminal Justice Program. Before taking on the Interim Assistant Dean position, Cooke was the program director for Criminal Justice. She is also an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and continues to teach classes.
Dr. Dolores Guerrero, the dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, appointed Dr. Cooke because of her dedication to growing the program at the university.
“During her time with TAMUK, she has been actively engaged in building a program (Criminal Justice), establishing a collegial and collaborative relationship not only within her department (HPSP) but with the college and across the university,” Dr. Guerrero said. “She brings many skill sets that will be an asset to the college and university. She is a positive, collaborative and highly energetic individual with a passion for working with students. She understands the processes in the college and across the university. I look forward to her contributions to the dean’s office team.”
As the Interim Assistant Dean, one of Dr. Cooke’s key responsibilities will be leading the college’s recruitment efforts by working with the college’s recruitment committee, departments and enrollment management to identify, create and implement new strategies to increase enrollment.
Dr. Cooke has had a smooth transition into her new role and is looking forward to learning more about the many departments within the college.
“I am looking forward to getting to know more about all of the departments in the College of Arts and Sciences and working with the other colleges to achieve university goals. We are a very diverse college with so many different disciplines, so there is a lot to learn. We are also a very busy college with a lot of different student activities and various happenings, and I look forward to participating,” Dr. Cooke said. Dr. Cooke replaces Dr. Shannon Baker, who is now working full-time as the Interim Associate Vice President for Student Success.
“I have enjoyed making the transition to working in Student Success full time. This change allows me to focus more strongly on initiatives designed to help students discover their abilities, and to provide services and opportunities to assist students in achieving their goal of attaining a degree,” Dr. Baker said.