La Fleur Small and Tammy Kahrig appointed to interim vice provost positions

Interim Wright State University Provost Douglas W. Leaman announced that two leaders from the university community have been appointed to interim vice provost positions.

La Fleur Small

La Fleur Small

La Fleur Small has been named interim vice provost for faculty affairs.

Small joined the Wright State faculty in 2004 and is a professor of sociology. She has served as chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology in the College of Liberal Arts and director of the Applied Behavioral Sciences Master’s Program.

In addition to these leadership roles, Small completed the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education (SOCHE) Leadership Fellowship Program and the cohort-based Wright Leaders Academy development program at Wright State.

Small earned her Ph.D. in the areas of medical sociology and epidemiology from the University of Miami. Her areas of research specialization include health care utilization, vulnerable health populations, international health, and HIV/AIDS.

“She brings a great deal of experience to the role that is particularly relevant at this time,” Leaman said. “She also brings a strong interest in faculty development and engagement.”

Small replaces Cheryl Meyer, who returned to her faculty position in the School of Professional Psychology. Meyer specializes in forensic psychology, the reproductive rights of women, suicide and family violence, and is sought out as an expert on mothers who kill their children. Meyer served in the vice provost for faculty affairs role since August 2019.

Tammy Kahrig

Tammy Kahrig

Tammy Kahrig was appointed interim vice provost for curriculum, instruction, assessment and institutional accreditation.

She has 28 years of experience in higher education. Kahrig has served as assistant dean for assessment and accreditation in the College of Education and Human Services since 2012. She provided leadership for assessment, program review, and accreditation activities across the college, and worked collaboratively with department chairs and faculty to align programs to state and national standards in order to earn and maintain state authorization and professional accreditation.

She also served as the institutional liaison to the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) for Wright State’s programs that prepare students for careers in P–12 schools and was selected to lead and serve on numerous ODHE and other statewide committees based on her expertise. Earlier this year, she was recognized by Chancellor Randy Gardner for her leadership regarding Ohio assessments used for teacher licensure.

Prior to joining Wright State, Kahrig worked on assessment efforts at Xavier University, where she served on the committee that led to Xavier’s reaffirmation of Higher Learning Commission (HLC) accreditation.

She has also been engaged with HLC accreditation activities since arriving at Wright State and has served as a peer reviewer for the commission since 2018.

Kahrig earned her Ph.D. in higher education administration with concentrations in college teaching and counseling, master of education in educational leadership and a bachelor’s degree in English education from Ohio University.

She replaces Carl Brun, who retired after 27 years of service to Wright State. Brun had previously served as chair of the Department of Social Work and was the first director of the Miami Valley Masters of Arts in Social Work Program. He was instrumental in many critical university initiatives over the years, most recently ushering through the completion of Wright State’s 2020 HLC assurance review.