Four New Mexico Highlands University faculty members were awarded tenure at NMHU Board of Regents meeting Nov. 9 at the Rio Rancho campus.
They were Edward Martinez of the Natural Sciences Department, Erika Derkas of the Behavioral Sciences Department and Helen Blythe and Donna Woodford-Gormley of the English Department.
Martinez has been an assistant professor at Highlands University since August of 2005. Prior to that, he was an assistant professor of environmental studies at California State University-Sacramento from 2002 to 2005. Martinez earned a doctorate in environmental and natural resources sciences from Washington State in 2000. In 1994, Martinez received a bachelor of science degree in environmental science from Highlands University.
Derkas has been an assistant professor of sociology at Highlands University since the fall of 2003. Prior to teaching at Highlands University, Derkas was a visiting scholar from 2001-2003 at Loyola Marymount University, where she taught sociology. She earned a doctorate in sociology from the University of New Mexico in 2006. In 1995, Derkas received a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Humboldt State University.
Blythe has been an assistant professor of English at Highlands University since August, 2003. She earned a doctorate in English from Stanford University in 1998. In 1986, Blythe received a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand.
Woodford-Gormley has been an assistant professor of English at Highlands University since August, 2004. She was also an assistant professor at Shenandoah University in Virginia and, prior to that, she was an instructor at the University of New Orleans. Woodford-Gormley earned a doctorate in English from Washington University in 1999. In 1993, she received a bachelor of arts degree in English and Spanish literature from California State University-Northridge.