Dear Colleagues,
It is my privilege to announce that The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has honored two retired Tarleton faculty members with the title emeritus for their outstanding contributions and dedicated service.
Regents designated Dr. Mallory Young as Regents Professor Emeritus and Dr. Jill Burk as Professor Emeritus of Curriculum and Instruction at last week’s meeting.
Named a Regents Professor in 2011, Dr. Young enjoys national acclaim in women’s literature. She joined the university in 1983 and retired after 38 years of service. In 2005 she co-authored a collection of scholarly essays, Chick Lit: The New Woman’s Fiction, leading to scores of interviews, quotations and references in such publications as the Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post and The New York Times Book Review.
She initiated Tarleton’s first honors courses, developing and teaching one in freshman English composition. She also served as head of the Department of English and Languages and as an assistant to the university president. She received the Jack and Louise Arthur Distinguished Award for Teaching Excellence in 1990.
Dr. Burk, a former professor and dean of the College of Education, retired in 2014 following a stellar 29-year career at Tarleton and 17 years as a public educator in Texas and Kansas. She coordinated the university’s reading program and directed the Tarleton Center for Professional Development of Educators and the Effective Schools Project.
A Professor of Curriculum and Instruction, she secured more than $2 million in grants. She received Tarleton’s Distinguished Faculty Award in 2017.
Tarleton’s transformation to a comprehensive national public university and its growing prominence as a first-choice destination for anyone pursuing a higher education reflect passionate faculty like Dr. Young and Dr. Burk. Their combined 67 years of exceptional service and leadership inspire all of us to do more and become more.
My sincerest appreciation to them and to each of you for all you do to make Tarleton such a special place.
As always, bleed purple!
Dr. James Hurley
President
Tarleton State University
Box T-0001
Stephenville, Texas 76402
Office: 254-968-9100
University Homepage: www.tarleton.edu