By Elyse Pitkin
Hiram College is pleased to announce the appointment of Kelly NewVine, Ph.D., as the director of the School of Health, Education, Sustainability & Society.
“I am truly honored and excited to be the new director. I look forward to working with our students and faculty,” said Dr. NewVine.
Dr. NewVine first started working at Hiram in 2012 as a graduate assistant, working with the MAIS program and Weekend College to help faculty develop online courses. A year later, she served in the tenure-track faculty position in Hiram’s education department. “I try to meet students where they are and listen to their needs in the classroom,” said Dr. NewVine. “My office is open if students need to talk or need help with something. This relates to why I am excited about the role of director—I want to connect with students and faculty to help create a space within the school where they feel valued and heard.”
Vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, Rob Bohrer said, “Kelly was nominated by a peer for this position and has done excellent work on assessment among other things at Hiram. She is a thoughtful, conscientious person who is well-respected among her peers, and I have been impressed with her in all our interactions. In her new role, she will lead and represent the School of Health, Education, Sustainability & Society and work with campus leadership to continue to provide educational opportunities to our students.”
Dr. NewVine received her Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from Doane University. She eventually served as an education coordinator and head teacher for students who were court-ordered to residential treatment for mental health issues and drug and alcohol rehabilitation. From there, Dr. NewVine decided to work toward her doctorate in educational psychology from Kent State University. “At the time, there was not much out there on non-traditional teaching spaces, which was my teaching experience,” she said. “I knew that I wanted to teach pre-service teachers about various teaching opportunities that do not involve traditional classroom spaces, which is one of the reasons I love our educational studies program here at Hiram!”
Dr. NewVine looks forward to working on creating a student advisory board for the school so students can have input on events, activities, and how best Hiram can support them during their educational journey.
