The University of Texas at Dallas recently welcomed its newest cohort of endowed professors. “These outstanding educators serve as institutional leaders; conduct innovative research; mentor junior faculty, graduate and undergraduate students; and help to attract the very best and brightest individuals to our university,” said Inga H. Musselman, provost, vice president for academic affairs and the Cecil H. Green Distinguished Chair of Academic Leadership. “We are so impressed by what they have accomplished and look forward to their continued excellence.”
Four of the new endowed chairs were awarded to women.
Anny Castilla-Earls was appointed the Sara T. Martineau Endowed Professor at the university’s Callier Center for Communication Disorders. She joined the University of Texas at Dallas in 2025. Dr. Castilla-Earls was previously on the faculty of the University of Houston, where she spent 10 years as a professor of communication sciences and disorders. Prior to that, she was an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Fredonia. She studies how children with developmental language disorder (DLD) develop language over time, research that is reshaping how the disorder is understood and treated in early childhood. Professor Castilla-Earls earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from the University of Valle in Cali, Colombia. She holds a doctorate in speech-language pathology from the University of Toronto.
Caroline Jones was named the Eugene McDermott Distinguished Professor in the department of bioengineering. Prior to joining UT Dallas in August 2020, she was an assistant professor in biological sciences at Virginia Tech. Her research is focused on bridging cutting-edge engineering disciplines with immunology to prevent, diagnose, and treat immune-related disorders. Dr. Jones holds bachelor’s and master’s degree in biological and environmental engineering from Cornell University in New York. She earned a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Davis.
Kristen Kennedy is the Founders Professor in the department of psychology at the university. Dr. Kennedy joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Dallas as an assistant professor in 2012. She studies the factors that influence the cognitive trajectory of the aging brain with the goal of one day being able to stave off cognitive decline, such as that found in Alzheimer’s disease. Professor Kennedy is a graduate of Hendrix College in Arkansas, where she majored in psychology. She holds a master’s degree in clinical neuropsychology from Emporia State University in Kansas and a doctorate in psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Karen Rodrigue was named the Ashbel Smith Professor in the department of psychology. Her research centers on understanding the age-related changes in the human brain that occur in healthy aging and examining how those changes impact cognitive health across the adult lifespan. Dr. Rodrigue joined the faculty of UT Dallas in 2012 after four years as a postdoctoral fellow. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Loyola University, a master’s degree in general/experimental psychology from Emporia State University in Kansas, and a doctorate in psychology from Wayne State University.