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Servant Leadership Shines Within UT Tyler College of Education and Psychology

The faculty and staff of UT Tyler are passionate about the university and about what they do within their roles. The UT Tyler College of Education and Psychology prides itself on positively impacting others in the college, university and beyond. Examples can be seen throughout its faculty, staff and students.

Dr. Sarah Sass, current Faculty Senate president, and Sydni Blundell, outgoing Staff Senate president, are no exception.

“We value the opportunities for university leadership in which our staff and faculty serve to make UT Tyler a great place to work,” said Dr. Wesley Hickey, dean of the UT Tyler College of Education and Psychology. “Sydni and Sarah epitomize this type of servant leadership, and their impact resonates at both the college and university levels.”

Sass Sass is an associate professor of psychology and the coordinator of the Master of Science degree program in clinical psychology at UT Tyler. She joined the university in 2010. Her research promotes mental health by investigating interventions that reduce and prevent anxiety and depression. Learn more about Sass.

“It is an honor to serve as the Faculty Senate President this year at an exciting time in our university’s history with the merging of two strong campuses,” Sass said. “Shared governance on our campus is alive and well, and we are fortunate that our newly-merged Senate and administration currently enjoy a highly collegial working relationship, with administration meaningfully including faculty from the earliest stages of decision-making processes.”

A CEP alumna, Blundell is the special assistant in the CEP Dean’s Office. She received the 2020 Passion Award, which was established by the former University Staff Advisory Council and recognizes outstanding staff contributions to student success. Learn more about Blundell.

“I had the pleasure of serving as the Staff Senate president for the 2020-21 year,” Blundell said. “One thing that I really wanted to focus on was increasing communication with the staff-at-large and addressing concerns that came to the council’s attention. We expanded our reach by contacting all staff and inviting everyone to attend our meetings, which led to increased participation and communication.

"We also hosted staff development sessions for employees to join to learn more about resources across the UT Tyler campus. This initiative was well received, and we collected numerous positive comments," she added. "Overall, it’s been an incredible year, and I’m incredibly grateful to serve for and with amazing staff at UT Tyler! I can’t wait to see what the Staff Senate continues to accomplish this year!"

The UT Tyler College of Education and Psychology maximizes human potential by inspiring personal and professional growth. The CEP strives to prepare competent, caring and qualified professionals in the fields of education, psychology and counseling, while also advancing the knowledge base in those respective disciplines.

Learn more about the CEP and its programming.

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