James Selig, Ph.D., MA has joined the Department of Biostatistics at the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health (COPH) as an Associate Professor. His primary appointment will be at the COPH, and he will also hold a secondary appointment in the College of Medicine.
An Arkansas native, Dr. Selig said that he was ready to come back home to be close to family, after about 10 years out of state. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Philosophy and a master’s degree in Applied Psychology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he also taught, before earning his Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology in 2009 at the University of Kansas.
The past five years, he had an academic appointment at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque in the Department of Individual, Family and Community Education.
Dr. Selig said that the opportunity to join the Biostatistics faculty “felt perfect and was exactly what I wanted in a faculty position.”
He is the author of book chapters on statistical techniques and modeling, in particular for quantitative methods, longitudinal studies, and research in the behavioral and developmental sciences. He is also a co-editor of the book, Modeling Dyadic and Interdependent Data in the Developmental and Behavioral Sciences, published by Routledge in 2008. Peer-reviewed publications include studies in educational psychology, child development, and statistical models.
As a researcher, Dr. Selig said that he is “open to collaborations from across campus,” but that he also “enjoys collaborations with people in areas I know something about, not necessarily that I do research in those areas, but do find it very satisfying when I know something about the variables and research questions.”
Dr. Selig will be teaching two classes this academic year, Applications of Microcomputers to Data Management this semester and Analysis and Categorical Data Analysis in the spring. He also will be the statistician for a new project of the Arkansas Prevention Center, which is based in the COPH. The aim will be to develop and implement a scalable approach to enhancing hypertension control through a collaborative consortium of state health department practitioners, COPH faculty, and key community partners in the Arkansas Delta region.
Marquise Williams has joined the College as an Administrative Specialist III in the Dean’s Office. He comes to us from Fidelity National Information Services and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to his new job, having worked for a number of years in administrative support. Mr. Williams sends out various emails college wide and handles myriad responsibilities for the Dean’s Office, besides manning our front desk. It is great to have him as part of the COPH team.