Welcome to Chair Teri Bladen

On July 1, Teri Bladen became the new Chair of the Utah Women in Higher Education Network (UWHEN) Board of Directors. Teri Bladen was elected to serve as Chair-Elect for the UWHEN Board of Directors and will become Chair in July 2021. She is the Director of Campus Recreation at Weber State University (WSU), where she guides her team in creating opportunities that inspire engagement in healthy, active lifestyles. Bladen has been involved with UWHEN since 2013 and served on the Mission and Bylaws subcommittee in the creation of WSU's UWHEN chapter. She has served leadership roles in state, regional, and national associations, and embraces the idea of women moving forward together. UWHEN welcomes Teri’s leadership and appreciates WSU’s strong support of the UWHEN mission!

Looking Ahead: Debbie Tahmassebi, Board Chair-Elect

Prior to joining Westminster College as Provost in 2019, Dr. Tahmassebi served as Dean, College of Arts and Sciences (approximately 2,600 students, 350 faculty members, 130 staff), at Santa Clara University from 2015-2019. Her contributions there include launching a new program to support inclusive excellence post-doctoral/post-MFA Fellows across all College departments including a consortium among the AJCU institutions, leading the development of a new virtual reality laboratory space in the Art and Art History building, supporting the development of a new Neuroscience major that became the 7th top major among incoming students in 2 years, and increasing fundraising to the College including 4x overall gifts and 7x in Dean’s discretionary fundraising in 3 years. Prior to that, she served as Associate Dean of Program Development in the College of Arts and Sciences, Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Special Assistant to the Provost at the University of San Diego. Her contributions included the development and support of new College programs and initiatives, oversight of assessment efforts, expansion of undergraduate research, and record growth in sponsored programs. In 2012-13, she was selected as an American Council of Education Fellow to work with President David Burcham at Loyola Marymount University.  

Dr. Tahmassebi joined the faculty at the University of San Diego in 1999. As an organic chemist with interests in the synthesis and structural analysis of biologically relevant molecules, she studied novel nucleosides and amino-acid derivatives. Dr. Tahmassebi has mentored several undergraduate students in her laboratory and coordinated the Pre-Undergraduate Research Experience program, an initiative which supports socioeconomically disadvantaged students to attend the University of San Diego and become involved in research early in their academic careers. She earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Washington and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of California, San Diego. 

Gratitude for Past-Chair Angie Walker

Walker currently leads Salt Lake Community College’s online education division as the Director of SLCC Online & eLearning Services and teaches as an adjunct faculty member for Southern New Hampshire University. Regarding her new role, Walker shared, “I’m excited and grateful to have the opportunity to serve as the Chair for UWHEN this coming year! This is an amazing group of women who continue to inspire me. We have a great year ahead of us as we focus on expanding access to UWHEN’s events and resources to support all women across our growing organization.” Previously, Walker has worked across university and college levels as an educational administrator, project manager, assessment and instructional designer, and teacher. Walker holds a Master of Arts in Art History from the University of Utah and a Master of Science in Education with an emphasis on Instructional Design from the University of Wisconsin - Stout. She also has a graduate certificate as a Higher Education Teaching Specialist from the University of Utah. Walker is passionate about creating a positive and supporting environment for women working in higher education where they can network, learn, and grow. (And, she does precisely that!)