Elon University Provost Steven House has named two longtime faculty members, Connie Book and Tim Peeples, to associate provost positions. Both begin their new duties on June 1, 2010.
Book, who currently serves as associate dean and associate professor in the School of Communications and faculty fellow/assistant to the president for strategic planning, will be the next associate provost for academic affairs. Book will oversee general studies, civic engagement, experiential education, curriculum committee, the Advising Center, Career Center, leadership program, planning/priorities, and academic support for athletes.
Peeples, who currently serves as associate dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, and associate professor of English, will be the first associate provost for faculty affairs. Peeples will oversee implementing the faculty scholarship initiative, faculty research & development, undergraduate research, the honors program, the national fellowships director, sponsored programs, the Lumen Prize, and the Institutional Review Board.
“Both Dr. Book and Dr. Peeples are outstanding teacher-scholar-mentors,” House said. “They have also provided exceptional leadership throughout the university. I am confident that the entire Elon community is extremely appreciative that Connie and Tim have agreed to serve in these important positions as we all work together to continue to enhance the teaching and learning experience at Elon.”
Connie Book – associate provost for academic affairs
Since joining the Elon faculty in 1999, Book has served as an assistant and associate professor, as department chair, and as associate dean for the School of Communications. She also serves as a faculty fellow, assisting President Leo M. Lambert in developing the university’s next strategic plan.
As associate dean she assisted in the preparation of the school’s accreditation self-study, facilitated two full curriculum revisions, assisted with the design and launch of the interactive media master’s program, and led and helped launch the Elon in Los Angeles summer program.
A former television producer and reporter in Baton Rouge, La., Book pursued her doctoral studies at the University of Georgia with a focus on cable television policy. She has published often on digital television, municipal cable policy and regulation.
Book is a four-time recipient of grants from the National Association of Broadcasters to study consumers and television. She is the winner of Broadcast Education Association research awards for six of the past eight years.
She authored “Digital Television: DTV and the Consumer,” published by Blackwell Press, and was a recipient of a 2007 Pew Internet grant to study international Internet governance policy. Book received Elon’s Ward Family Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2009.
Book has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Louisiana State University, a master’s degree in education administration and supervision from Northwestern State University, Natchitoches, La., and a doctorate in journalism and mass communications from the University of Georgia.
Tim Peeples – associate provost for faculty affairs
Peeples joined the Elon faculty in 1998 and has served as an assistant and associate professor of English, and as the first faculty administrative fellow, assisting President Lambert from 2004 to 2006. He has served as associate dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, since 2006.
Since coming to Elon, Peeples has led the creation of a nationally recognized undergraduate curriculum in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and served as the founding director of Writing Across the Curriculum. He received the Excellence in Service/Leadership Award from Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, in 2004.
Peeples was one of the central figures in the study and establishment of Elon University’s School of Law, as well as the university’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. He was instrumental in increasing the percentage of tenure-track faculty at Elon. In 2007 and 2008, Peeples co-chaired the Presidential Task Force on Scholarship, and has since assumed administrative oversight of implementation efforts.
Peeples’ research focuses on the intersections between classical rhetoric and contemporary professional writing, as well as writing program development and administration. He has published a book, “Professional Writing and Rhetoric: Readings from the Field,” which helps undergraduate and graduate students develop a humanistic perspective of professional writing.
Peeples has a bachelor’s degree in English from the College of Wooster, a master’s degree in English from Northern Arizona University, and a doctorate in English from Purdue University.