Dean Allan Cole announced that several faculty colleagues will be recommended by The University of Texas at Austin President Jim Davis to the Board of Regents for promotion in May.
The three faculty members, including their promotions, are below:
Stacey Jordan, MSSW promotion to clinical associate professor
Molly Lopez, Ph.D. promotion to research professor
Thea Posel, J.D. promotion to clinical associate professor
Stacey Jordan has over 20 years of experience in public education and policy leadership positions. In the Office of the Dean, Jordan oversees the school’s strategy, policy, and daily operations. She teaches graduate courses in strategic partnerships and social welfare policy and serves as a practicum faculty liaison for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland, and as a faculty affiliate with the Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice.
Molly Lopez received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Texas A&M University and is a licensed clinical psychologist. Lopez has over 25 years of experience in program evaluation, project management, grant writing and research dissemination. Her research interests include mental health service systems, implementation of evidence-based mental health interventions and strategies for enhancing workforce competency. Lopez is the director of the School of Social Work’s Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health and the South Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center.
Thea Posel is a clinical assistant professor at the School of Social Work and the School of Law and the J.D./MSSW dual degree advisor for the School of Law. She has worked with capital defense teams in both Colorado and Texas, from pre-trial litigation preparation and consulting to state and federal post-conviction cases, and maintains an active legal practice in addition to her teaching course load. Posel’s areas of interest include jury selection, jury decision-making and mitigation investigation and presentation. Her legal career has focused primarily on Texas state court advocacy and consulting at the capital trial, appellate and habeas stages.