Dr. Shawn Smallman, Professor of International and Global Studies, was named Interim Dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs (CUPA) on June 16, 2023.
Shortly after receiving his Master’s and Ph.D. in History from Yale University, Dr. Smallman joined Portland State in 1996 as an assistant professor in International Studies and University Studies. He has served in various leadership roles while at PSU, including Director of the International Studies program, Vice Provost for Instruction and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and Chair of the Department of International and Global Studies.
In addition to his leadership roles at Portland State, Smallman co-authored An Introduction to International and Global Studies with professor Kim Brown, which is in its third edition, and has written three other books, Dangerous Spirits: The Windigo in Myth and History, The AIDS Pandemic in Latin America, and Fear and Memory in the Brazilian Army and Society, 1889-1954.
Smallman’s research often focuses on the history, culture, and politics of Latin and South America, and he has recently undertaken fieldwork researching avian influenza in Southeast Asia. In addition to teaching introductory classes to International and Latin American Studies, Smallman also teaches classes on the Amazon RainForest, Digital Globalization, Cyberwar, and Espionage, Modern Brazil, and the Global Drug Trade.
Dr. Junghee Lee, Professor of Social Work, was named Interim Dean of the School of Social Work (SSW) on July 1, 2023.
Dr. Lee joined PSU in 2006 as an Assistant Professor of Social Work, after receiving her Ph.D. and master's degree in Social Work from Arizona State University. She has since significantly contributed to the PSU’s academic community in interdisciplinary coordination and international partnerships.
In addition to her position as a professor of Social Work, Lee is a senior fellow at the Center for Public Service in the Hatfield School of Government. She holds associate faculty positions in the Executive Master of Public Administration program and the Institute for Asian Studies, and was the director of the Ph.D. program for the School of Social Work from 2015 to 2023.
Lee is a first-generation Korean-American, born and raised in Seoul, before emigrating to the United States. She has spent countless hours fostering relationships between PSU and Korean organizations that offer global engagement and training to Portland State students. Notably, she established a groundbreaking three-year partnership with the Seoul Welfare Foundation that allowed PSU Master’s of Social Work and Ph.D. students to study Seoul’s welfare programs and delivery systems.
As Lee assumes her new leadership role, she said she finds inspiration in the vision of incoming PSU President Ann Cudd’s commitment to being present, attentive, and engaged with the PSU community. In her new position, Lee is committed to prioritizing student success and interdisciplinary collaboration, along with recognizing the vital role of the faculty and staff.
Dr. Tina Peterman, Professor in the College of Education, was named interim Dean of the College of Education (COE) on July 1, 2023.
Dr. Peterman completed her Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Psychology in 2003 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has been in higher education at public institutions for 18 years, and in academic leadership positions for the past seven years. She began her career as an Assistant Professor of Counseling Psychology at Washington State University, and moved to PSU, where she received tenure and was the Counselor Education Department Chair for two years and Associate Dean since 2017.
She is active within her professional discipline as a clinical rehabilitation counselor and a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in Oregon, and has worked as a vocational rehabilitation counselor, mental health counselor, and career counselor. In her private practice, she provides clinical supervision to counselors through the licensing board. She is also the past Chair of the National Career Development Association Credentialing Commission and served a term on the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors and Therapists.
Her academic scholarship focuses on career development for youth with disabilities, leading to numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and invited articles in internationally distributed publications. She has received more than 5 million dollars in grants from the U.S. Department of Education and is the Principle Investigator on the US Prep Project, which aims to transform university-based teacher preparation. In addition, she has served on the editorial board of the Career Development Quarterly since 2012.
Dr. Peterman was awarded a prestigious national ACE Fellowship for the 2022-23 academic year. As an ACE Fellow, she worked in the Chancellor’s Office at the University of Washington Tacoma. She focused on student success and retention, budgeting and fiscal management, enrollment management, university fundraising, and philanthropy.
Dr. Amanda Sugimoto, presently the Interim Associate Dean, will become the permanent Associate Dean of the College of Education.
Richard Johnson became the Interim Dean of the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health in July 2022, following the departure of Founding Dean David Bangsberg.
Dr. Johnson received his B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Washington, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Oregon Graduate Institute (now part of OHSU). He has been a faculty member at OHSU since 1985, and teaches in the areas of public health relating to climate change, drinking water availability, chemical and transport and transformation in the environment, and restoration of sites contaminated by industrial and other sources. His research interests involve forecasting of water quality in rivers to protect drinking water sources, development of diagnostic tools for groundwater restoration, and vulnerability of groundwater sources of drinking water.
Dr. Johnson did pioneering work dealing with the behavior of industrial solvents, such as trichloroethylene (TCE) in groundwater. He also played an early role identifying the impact of the gasoline additive MTBE on drinking water supplies.
With more than three decades of experience as a faculty member at OHSU, and seven years with the SPH, Dr. Johnson will provide an experienced hand as the national search for a dean unfolds. We are grateful for his expertise, support and energy as the leadership of the School undergoes this transition.
Michael Bowman was born in Seattle and grew up in the Seattle area and southeastern Alaska. He has a BS in Physics and a Masters in Library Science, both from the University of Washington. His first position was as the Physical Sciences Librarian at Rutgers University – Newark. He came to Portland State in 1992 as the Engineering Librarian and has also served as Science-Engineering Coordinator, Coordinator of Reference Services, Comics Librarian, and Assistant University Librarian. His scholarly focus is empowering users to find and organize the information they need.
Dr. Brenda Glascott, Professor of Humanities in the Honors College, was named Interim Dean of the University Honors College on October 1, 2023.
Dr. Glascott joined PSU leadership in 2017 through a national search for a director of the Honors College. Before that, she was an Associate Professor of English and the writing program coordinator at CSU San Bernardino. She holds a PhD in English with a graduate certificate in Composition, Literacy, Pedagogy, and Rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Glascott’s research area includes the history of women’s rhetorics and literacy practices, gender and rhetoric, and literacy studies. She is co-founder and managing editor of the peer-reviewed open-access journal Literacy in Composition Studies, which has recently marked its tenth anniversary.
Under her leadership as director, the Honors College has focused on successfully recruiting and supporting a diverse Honors student population. During her tenure, the student population in Honors has grown more racially and ethnically diverse, the percentage of first generation students in Honors has grown from 24% to 33%, and the college has become more accessible to transfer students, with 50% of the students in Honors entering as transfer students. Dr. Glascott has also led the college in developing student success support, such as an Honors writing center staffed with peer tutors, and leadership opportunities for students.