USU Uintah Basin Sees Several Faculty Promotions

VERNAL, Utah — Utah State University Uintah Basin had four faculty members receive promotions. Seth Lyman, Shana Geffeney, Mark Chynoweth, and Kim Hales have all been promoted.

"The continued success of our campus faculty with promotion is a compliment to our campus culture, faculty mentorship, and support for each other,” stated James Y. Taylor, Senior Associate Vice President. “Additionally, the fact that this campus provides incredible space for academic and scholarships through research, instruction, and engagement contributes to this success. I am indeed proud to be part of the USU Uintah Basin Campus."

Lyman was promoted from associate research professor to research professor. Lyman is a faculty member in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department in the College of Science. In addition to his role as a faculty member, Lyman is also the director of the renowned Bingham Research Center.

Lyman holds a doctorate degree in Environmental Science and Health from the University of Nevada, Reno and a bachelor’s degree in Conservation Biology from Brigham Young University. He was named the 2022 USU Uintah Basin Faculty Researcher of the Year and the 2020 UCAIR Person of the Year for his work combatting air pollution in the Uinta Basin. His research expertise is in atmospheric measurements, instrumentation and analysis.

Geffeney was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor with tenure. She is a faculty member in the Department of Biology in the College of Science and leads the Uintah Basin Research Internship program which provides summer research opportunities for undergraduates. In 2021, she was named the College of Science’s Undergraduate Mentor of the Year.

Geffeney holds a doctorate degree in biology from Utah State University, a master’s degree in biology from the University of Oregon and a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California Santa Cruz. Her research focuses on adaptive change in the nervous system by understanding the evolution of neurotoxin resistance in snakes, salamanders and octopuses.

Chynoweth was promoted from assistant professor to associate professor with tenure. He is a faculty member in the Department of Wildland Resources in the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Natural Resources. Chynoweth has been a faculty member since 2017. He was named the 2021 Quinney College of Natural Resources Teacher of the Year and the 2020 USU Uintah Baisn Outstanding Faculty of the Year.

Chynoweth holds a doctorate degree in biology from the University of Utah, a master’s degree in natural resources and environmental management from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and a bachelor’s degree in geography from the State University of New York at Geneseo. His research focuses on large mammal ecology and conservation in human-dominated landscapes.

Hales was promoted from lecturer to senior lecturer. She is a faculty member in the Department of English in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Hales has been a faculty member since 2012.

Hales holds a master’s degree in writing and rhetoric from Bowling Green State University and a bachelor’s degree in education from Bowling Green. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in English literature and cultural studies from Old Dominion University.

Operating campuses in Vernal and Roosevelt for more than 50 years, Utah State University Uintah Basin gives students the personalized attention and small class sizes of a small-town college with the resources of a large university, all in the backdrop of the outdoor oasis that is the Uinta Mountains and Ashley National Forest. With degree options ranging from associate to doctorate degrees and more than 125 programs available, as well as access to the renowned Bingham Research Center, USU Uintah Basin offers programs that help fuel local economies and empower individuals and their communities. Learn more at uintahbasin.usu.edu.