Originally published September 23, 2016
The University of Texas at El Paso’s Marc Cox, Ph.D., has been named director of a new center formerly known as the UTEP Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETaL).
Cox, an associate professor of biological sciences, will manage the new campuswide center charged with identifying, developing and supporting faculty-driven initiatives that will not only enhance faculty, staff and student success but also UTEP’s role as a national leader in 21st century public higher education.
Building on CETaL’s solid foundation of faculty development during the past two decades, the new center will expand its focus to a broader set of faculty development initiatives that will strive for excellence at all levels within the institution.
Cox received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Missouri in 1997. He completed his Master of Science in public health at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1999 and his doctoral degree in molecular and cellular biology at Tulane in 2003.
In addition to his roles as director and associate professor, Cox is also deputy director of the BUILDing SCHOLARS Center, director of the Department of Biological Sciences’ Undergraduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry, and co-director of UTEP’s Toxicology and Cancer Cluster within the Border Biomedical Research Center.
“UTEP is unique in that we have maintained a strong focus on undergraduate education despite our robust growth as a research-intensive university,” Cox said. “Undergraduate students are participating at unprecedented levels in research and many other experience-based learning opportunities within all colleges on campus. What excites me the most about my new role here at UTEP is that I will be in a position to significantly contribute to strengthening that even further.
“Ultimately we have the goal of becoming a Tier One research university. We are well on our way to achieving that goal, and we will ultimately get there while retaining what makes us unique and maintaining a focus on our primary mission to educate.”