Northwestern Welcomes Eight New Faculty

August 20, 2019

2019-2020 New Faculty Members

New faculty members begin the 2019-2020 academic year at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. Pictured left to right in the front row are Lindsey Cherry, instructor of English; Mickey Jordan, director of technical theatre and Herod Hall facilities manager; Candace Byrd, instructor of psychology; and Victoria Hendricks, instructor of English. Second row left to right, Erica Miller, instructor of mass communication; Dr. Piper Robida, assistant professor of biology; Dr. Robert Vest, associate professor of Spanish; and Sarah Fry, instructor of criminal justice/sociology.


Northwestern Oklahoma State University recently welcomed eight new faculty members to campus to begin the 2019-2020 school year. Seven new faculty members have been hired in the School of Arts and Sciences, and one is in the School of Education.

Short biographies of each faculty member from the School of Arts and Sciences are listed below:

Lindsey Cherry, instructor of English, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Master of Arts degree in English, both from the University of Central Oklahoma. She has served as an adjunct instructor at Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City and Redlands Community College, and as an instructional literacy coach at Canadian Valley Technology Center.

Sarah Fry, instructor of criminal justice/sociology, has a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology/sociology from Westminster (Missouri) College, and a Master of Arts degree in criminology from Pennsylvania State University. This fall she expects to complete her Doctor of Philosophy degree in sociology, also from Pennsylvania State University. She has worked as an instructor, research assistant, guest lecturer and teaching assistant at Pennsylvania State University.

Victoria Hendricks, instructor of English, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English language and literature, and a Master of Arts degree in English language and literature, both from Wichita State University. She previously served as a graduate teaching assistant in English composition at Wichita State University.

Mickey Jordan, director of technical theatre and Herod Hall facilities manager, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and theatre from Northwestern. His previous work experience includes:  shop foreman and graduate assistant for the fine arts department at Northwestern.

Erica Miller, instructor of mass communication, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication from Northwestern, a Master of Education degree in adult education from the University of Central Oklahoma, and a Master of Education degree in school counseling from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. She has worked as a marketing professional at Canadian Valley Technology Center.

Dr. Piper Robida, assistant professor of biology, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Metropolitan State (Colorado) College and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in biomedical science from the University of South Carolina. She has served as an adjunct assistant professor of biology at North Central (Illinois) College and postdoctoral fellow in allergy and immunology at Northwestern (Illinois) University.

Dr. Robert Vest, assistant professor of Spanish, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and history from Northern Michigan University and a Master of Arts degree in foreign languages and literature (Spanish) from Purdue University. He also earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in languages and cultures (Spanish), from Purdue. He has served as a graduate lecturer at Purdue and as an assistant professor of Spanish at Truman State (Missouri) University.

A short biography of the faculty member from the School of Education is listed below:

Candace Byrd, instructor of psychology, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology, a Bachelor of Arts degree in social sciences and organizational studies, a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in human resource management, and a Master of Education degree in community counseling, all from the University of Oklahoma. She previously served as an adjunct professor at Northwestern, an independent contractor for the Office of Juvenile Affairs, and an SCEP Psychology Student Trainee/Pathways Intern for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

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