Bowling Green State University alumnus Rick Valicenti ‘73 has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts in recognition of his distinguished career in graphic design, typography and visual communication. The degree was conferred during a commencement ceremony on May 2.
A visionary leader in graphic design, Valicenti consistently delivers groundbreaking work that is recognized both nationally and internationally, including the prestigious National Design Award for Communication Design, presented at the White House in 2011.
As the founder of renowned studios Thirst Studio (3st), Moving Design and Thirstype, Valicenti is a member of the highly selective Alliance Graphique International and previously served as president of the Society for Typographic Arts, underscoring his exceptional stature and influence within the global design community.
Valicenti has also made an indelible mark on design education. He has shared his expertise at nearly 50 institutions of higher learning worldwide, presenting to over 30 professional associations and serving as an adjunct or visiting professor at six different schools. His commitment to inspiring, mentoring and empowering emerging designers has made a transformative impact on future generations, earning him admiration and gratitude from students, educators and colleagues alike.
A 1973 BGSU graduate, Valicenti has remained connected to his alma mater, returning to campus several times to share insights on creativity and AI with students and faculty, while supporting fundraising efforts for student scholarships. He founded the Valicenti Collaborative Teaching Initiative in 2017, enabling School of Art faculty to team-teach interdisciplinary courses and opening new possibilities for innovative education at BGSU.
Celebrating faculty accomplishments
Also at the BGSU Trustees meeting last week, the board recognized 30 faculty members with promotion or tenure status.
Trustees voted to promote seven faculty members to full professor, six to teaching professor, five to associate teaching professor, one to clinical professor and six to associate clinical professor. Additionally, one faculty member was granted tenure and promotion to full professor and four were awarded tenure and promotion to associate professor.
“We are proud to have world-class faculty at BGSU who are deeply dedicated to student learning experiences and outcomes while also conducting meaningful and relevant research across multiple disciplines,” said Ravi Krovi, provost and senior vice president at BGSU. “Faculty drive our academic mission and achieving promotion and tenure status highlights an unwavering commitment to teaching excellence and high-impact research that benefits students and society as a whole.”
The board of trustees also granted emeritus status to 31 faculty members who have retired or will retire from BGSU at the end of the summer 2026 term.
Promotion to Professor
College of Arts and Sciences
- Kimberly Coates, Ph.D., Department of English
- Yuning Fu, Ph.D., School of Earth, Environment and Society
- Rebecca Kinney, Ph.D., School of Cultural and Critical Studies
- Rebecca Mancuso, Ph.D., Department of History
- Thomas Mowen, Ph.D., Department of Sociology
College of Health and Human Services
- Lauren Maziarz, Ph.D., Department of Public and Allied Health
College of Musical Arts
- Eftychia Papanikolaou, Ph.D., Department of Musicology/Composition/Theory
Tenure and Promotion to Professor
College of Health and Human Services
- Evan Petersen, DSc, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy
Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor
College of Education and Human Development
- Heather Fye, Ph.D., School of Counseling, Higher Education, Leadership and Foundations
- Stefanie Livers, Ph.D., School of Inclusive Teacher Education
- Audrey Roberts, Ph.D., School of Counseling, Higher Education, Leadership and Foundations
College of Engineering and Innovation
- Jacob Shila, Ph.D., School of Aviation
Promotion to Teaching Professor
College of Arts and Sciences
- David Erickson, Ph.D., Department of Chemistry
- Chad Van Buskirk, MA, Department of English
College of Health and Human Services
- Cynthia Spitler, Ph.D., Department of Human Services
College of Musical Arts
- Cole Burger, DMA, Department of Music Education
Firelands
- Carol Puder, M.Ed., Department of Applied Sciences
- Cara Vickery, MsEd, Department of Applied Sciences
Promotion to Associate Teaching Professor
College of Health and Human Services
- Jaclyn Keen, Ph.D., Department of Human Services
Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business
- David Dewey, MBA, Department of Marketing
- Ryan Holley, MBS, Department of Marketing
- Ashik Iqbal (Posthumous), MBA, Department of Management
Firelands
- Jared Hillman, M.Ed., Department of Applied Science
Promotion to Clinical Professor
College of Health and Human Services
- Jennifer Kish, Ph.D., School of Physical and Occupational Therapy
Promotion to Associate Clinical Professor
College of Health and Human Services
- Emily Barnes, DCLS, Department of Public and Allied Health
- Laura Brubaker, MFN, Department of Public and Allied Health
- Angela Carriker, MSSA, Department of Human Services
- Joshua Halfpap, DSc, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy
- Emelia McCuen, DPT, School of Physical and Occupational Therapy
Firelands
- Sara Ondrick, MHA, Department of Applied Science
The retiring faculty recognized by the trustees included:
Professor Emeriti
- Richard Anderson, Psychology
- Ellen Broido, School of Counseling, Higher Education, Leadership, and Foundations
- Lawrence Coates, English
- Dena Eber, School of Art
- Dwayne D. Gremler, Marketing
- Beatrice Guenther, World Languages and Cultures
- Robert Huber, Biological Sciences
- Laura Landry Meyer, School of Applied Human Development
- Paul Morris, Biological Sciences
- Sharona Muir, English
- Thomas Muir, School of Art
- William O’Brien, Psychology Department
- Lubomir Popov, School of Applied Human Development (Posthumous)
- Jarus (Kevin) Quinn, Economics (Posthumous)
- Terry Rentner, School of Media and Communications
- Karen Root, Biological Sciences
- Kenneth C. Snead, Accounting and Finance
- Catherine Stein, Psychology
- Maureen Wilson, School of Counseling, Higher Education, Leadership, and Foundations
- Deborah Wooldridge, School of Applied Human Development
Teaching Professor Emeriti
- Allison Goedde, School of Counseling, Higher Education, Leadership, and Foundations
- Glenn Tiede, Physics & Astronomy
- Kim Waterfield, School of Art
Associate Professor Emeriti
- Doug Forsyth, History
- Robert Harr, Public and Allied Health
- Dale Klopfer, Psychology
- Geoffrey Meek, School of Inclusive Teacher Education
- Elizabeth Menard, Music Education
- Sheila Roberts, School of Earth, Environment & Society
- Karen Sirum, Biological Sciences
Associate Teaching Professor Emeritus
- Michael Slates, Accounting and Finance
