Two Colleges, Two Academic
Programs Have New Leaders
July 15, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - Two of Western Kentucky University's colleges and two of its nationally recognized academic departments have new leaders.
Dr. John Bonaguro is the first dean of the College of Health and Human Services; Dr. Sam Evans
is the dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences; Dr. Pam Johnson is the director of the School of Journalism and Broadcasting; and Dr. John Reis is the head of the Engineering Department.
College of Health and Human Services:
Dr. John Bonaguro is dean of a new college at WKU that combines several health-related programs.
"It's an exciting time for our new college and it's a great opportunity to serve at the founding dean," 
said Dr. Bonaguro, who replaces interim dean Dr. David Dunn. "There is tremendous potential for the college to grow, to develop new programs and to provide service to the community."
There continues to be a growing importance in careers related to health and human services, he said.
Employment opportunities should remain strong especially in areas such as nursing, dietetics and nutrition, social work, public health and environmental health, he said.
"And we need to continue to emphasize the importance of promoting health and life time leisure activities," Dr. Bonaguro said. "The potential for collaboration between the departments in the College of Health and Human Services with constituents which we serve is unlimited."
Dr. Bonaguro had been at Ithaca (N.Y.) College since 1993 where he served as assistant/associate dean, acting dean and professor in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance.
His wife, Ellen, also taught at Ithaca and has taken a position in WKU's Department of Communication. Both John and Ellen are avid runners and plan to run the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12, their 29th wedding anniversary.
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences: Dr. Charles S. "Sam" Evans, a teacher education professor, has been at Western since 1990 and has held numerous departmental and 
University roles, including assistant and associate dean of the college.
The state's emphasis on education and Western's tradition of teacher education made the dean's job attractive and the next logical career step for him. "Western is growing in so many ways and has numerous ongoing initiatives in place and under discussion which makes it an attractive place to work," said Dr. Evans, who replaces Dr. Karen Adams.
As dean, Dr. Evans' goal is simple: "I want our students to be the employees of choice for any variety of agencies, businesses, industry or public schools."
Besides teacher education, the College of Education has numerous initiatives under way. "Not many colleges our size have the breadth and depth as exists in CEBS," he said, adding that the college received $17 million in external funding last year for its projects.
Dr. Evans received his bachelor's and master's degrees at Central Missouri State University and his doctorate at the University of Missouri. Before coming to Western, he was a faculty member at William Woods College in Fulton, Mo., and taught at the University of Missouri and in Caruthersville (Mo.) Public Schools.
"We came here in 1990 along with education reform in Kentucky," he said. "In terms of teacher preparation and P-12 student learning, Kentucky's reform efforts serve as a model for others."
School of Journalism and Broadcasting: Dr. Pam McAllister Johnson is the new director of the school and its Center for 21st Century Media (one of Western's programs of distinction).
"
This is a very strong program. It's ready to go to the next step which I think is national promotion," said Dr. Johnson, who replaces Jo-Ann Huff Albers.
Her goals are to maintain the program's level of excellence, promote that excellence nationally, create endowed chairs for each sequence (print, broadcasting, photojournalism, advertising and public relations) and remain at the forefront on professional issues such as media convergence.
"If we can have a photojournalism program that is the best in the country, I believe all our sequences can be the best in the country," Dr. Johnson said.
Dr. Johnson was the first African American to head a general circulation newspaper in the United States. For 13 years, she was president and publisher of the Ithaca Journal, a Gannett newspaper in upstate New York. She's also worked for several other print and broadcasting companies.
She has her master's and doctorate from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Dr. Johnson comes to Western from Kansas State University where she was the R.M. Seaton Visiting Professor in the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Her academic career includes positions at Pepperdine University, Cornell University, Norfolk State University, University of Missouri and University of Wisconsin.
Her work on affirmative action and diversity issues was recognized in 2001 with a Lifetime Service Achievement Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.
Department of Engineering: Dr. John Reis calls his new job "a wonderful professional opportunity."
"I've worked in industry, at research universities and at undergraduate-focused universities. I much 
prefer the undergraduate education focus," said Dr. Reis, who replaces Dr. John Russell.
Western's engineering focus on undergraduate learning and the program's potential for growth helped attract Dr. Reis to Bowling Green. "The philosophy here is fairly unique for engineering programs with its project-based learning approach for undergraduate education," he said.
That philosophy coupled with a new science and engineering building have Western's program poised for continued growth and success, Dr. Reis said. "We have a great faculty here and we have tremendous potential in all three engineering areas," he said.
In recent years, Western students have earned national recognition in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering competitions and have worked on campus and regional projects.
Dr. Reis, who had been a professor of aerospace engineering at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., has experience in five engineering disciplines – mechanical, nuclear, petroleum, environmental and aerospace.
He has a bachelor's degree from Oregon State University and a master's and doctorate from Stanford University. He also taught environmental and petroleum engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and worked as a researcher for Chevron Oil Field Research Company.
For more information, contact Academic Affairs at (270) 745-2296. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
