2 new chairs begin roles at Southeast; Hill replaces Bowen in university studies post

Southeast Missouri State University welcomes two new department chairs this fall and a new director for the University Studies program.

Pam Parry

Pam Parry has been named the new chairwoman of the Department of Mass Media, and Sumanth Yenduri has been appointed the new chairman of the Department of Computer Science.

Their new roles were effective Aug. 1.

Parry replaces Karie Hollerbach, who stepped down as chairwoman of the Department of Mass Media and will continue as faculty in the department.

Sumanth Yenduri

Yenduri replaces David Probst, who had been serving as interim chairman of the computer science department. Probst will continue serving as chairman of the Department of Physics and Engineering Physics.

“Dr. Parry’s expertise will be a vital resource as the Department of Mass Media moves forward in the newly renovated Grauel Building and new state-of-the-art facility at the Rust Center for Media, as well as its recently conferred reaccreditation by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication,” Southeast provost Karl Kunkel said in a university news release.

Parry was interim chairwoman and associate professor at Eastern Kentucky University’s communication department prior to her employment at Southeast.

Computer-science department chairman Yenduri was previously an associate professor and administrative fellow at Columbus State University.

“I hope to contribute to the University’s mission by increasing our enrollment and degree offerings, enhancing the quality of our curriculum, developing our reputation nationally and internationally, and most of all, supporting our students and faculty,” Yenduri said in the news release.

Hamner Hill

The new director of University Studies is Hamner Hill, department chairman of political science, philosophy and religion at Southeast.

Hill replaces Wayne Bowen, also a former Cape Girardeau city councilman, who left Cape Girardeau this summer to take a position with the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

Hill is responsible for guiding the ongoing development of the University Studies program, the core program of courses required to earn a four-year degree at Southeast.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

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