The College of Education (COE) would like to congratulate faculty members Norma Olvera, Lorraine Reitzel, and Kristi Santi on their recent promotions and tenure. Each of these individuals have made exceptional contributions to their fields, as well as, in the community.

Norma Olvera has been promoted to Professor at the College of Education. Olvera received both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Houston. She has served the University for 18 years and is the Health Program Chair and Director of the BOUNCE Program. Her research interests include 1) examining parental, cultural, psychological, and socio-environmental factors associated with childhood obesity in Hispanic and African American children and families, and 2) development and evaluation of community- and family-based childhood obesity treatments involving behavioral, nutrition, and exercise components, use of technology, and use of accelerometry.

Olvera has received several awards for her research and community outreach, including the Lifetime Faculty Award for Mentoring Undergraduate Research (2014) from University of Houston and Texas Society for Public Health Education Faculty Award (2014).

“Achieving full professor status is really a great honor and a privilege to be in the company of 3% of Hispanic female full professors in the United States,” said Olvera. “I am thankful to my family, friends, colleagues, and UH family for their endless support in reaching this milestone.”

Lorraine Reitzel has now received tenure at the College of Education. Reitzel serves as Co-Chair for the Department of Psychological Health and Learning Sciences (PHLS) and has been with the University since 2013. After receiving her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Florida State University in 2005, she continued her postdoctoral training at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Department of Health Disparities Research. Her research focuses on better understanding the social determinants of health and health risk behaviors - and the specific biopsychosocial mechanisms that account for disparities in health risk behaviors and health outcomes - with an emphasis on generating highly translational results that can be used to inform policy and intervention.

Reitzel is a Fellow of the American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB) and coordinates their Research Scholars Mentoring Program. She is also Director of the Social Determinants and Health Disparities Lab at the University of Houston.

“Tenure means that my contributions to the academy are valued by my university to a degree that they would be willing to commit to keep me around. I am deeply appreciative of the support I've received from the University of Houston - at all levels - as well as from my colleagues here,” said Reitzel. “A special thanks to Dr. Brad Smith and Dr. Consuelo Arbona who provided invaluable feedback on my dossier, and to my mentors and consistent supporters including but not limited to Dr. Ezemenari Obasi, Dr. Nathan Smith, Dr. Daphne Hernandez, Dr. Chakema Carmack, and Dr. Rosie Murillo.” 

Kristi Santi has also received tenure at the College of Education. Santi is an Associate Professor in the Special Education program and has been with the University since 2012. After receiving her Ph.D. in Special Education from Florida State University in 2002, she has continued in a wide range of research measures centered on students with disabilities. Currently, her research interests center around students with disabilities while focusing on the key areas: early reading instruction, language acquisition, English language learners with and without disabilities, coaching teachers in the K-12 setting and transition services for students moving from high school to college.

Santi has been published in numerous publications and professional development materials centered on reading instruction and comprehension. Dr. Santi’s most recent publication, Improving Reading Comprehension of Middle and High School Students is an edited book that is a part of the Literacy Studies Series published by Springer.

“Tenure is an important milestone in my academic career. I am excited to continue to work with a Special Populations program area that is dedicated to improving educational outcomes for high needs students through rigorous empirical research, training of scientists and practitioners, and community outreach,” said Santi. “I look forward to continuing collaborations on important research in the area of English Language Learners and Special Education with faculty inside and outside of UH, including faculty in COE, at TIMES (Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics), and in Communication Sciences and Disorders at UH, and at UT-Dallas and FSU, among others. I am glad to call UH home!”

“Each of these faculty members have made great contributions to their department and the College,” said Robert McPherson, dean of the College of Education. “They exemplify our College mission of community engagement while serving as exemplary mentors and advisors to their students.”