Linda Winkler Named Vice President for Academic Affairs at UPT

TITUSVILLE, Apr 9 - Dr. Linda Winkler of Oil City has been named Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville.  Winkler will assumer her new duties on August 1 of this year.

Winkler is a professor of biology and anthropology at UPT.  She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Religion, a Master’s Degree in Anthropology, her PhD in Physical Anthropology, and completed an M.P.H (Masters of Public Health) degree in 2001. 

Winkler joined the UPT faculty as an instructor in biology and anthropology in 1983.  Since that time, Winkler served as faculty during the summer months between 1998 and 2004 in La Suerte Biological Field Station in Costa Rica and Ometepe Biological Field Station in Nicaragua researching howling monkeys. 

In the spring of 2005, Winkler was a member of the visiting faculty for the Semester at Sea Program.  During the summer of 2006, she served an adjunct appointment in the Amizade Service Learning Institute at West Virginia University.

Winkler has served on a number of committees during her tenure at UPT.  She was involved as an active member of the Faculty Senate from 1984 through 2005.  She has also served as an advisor for the UPT Travel Club and as a member of the Nursing Admissions Committee. Currently, she serves as an Honor’s Thesis Committee member and on the Study Abroad Advisory Committee.

Winkler is an active participant in educational research, including ecological and conservation issues related to human and non-human primates, new world monkey biology and behavior, anthropoid dental and skeletal development, human growth and development, primate functional anatomy, and human health and disease.

Winkler has been the recipient of various grants and awards from the National Science Foundation, Mellon Predoctoral Fellowship, L.S.B Leakey Foundation, Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society, and the University of Pittsburgh for her research on the craniofacial anatomy of the organgutan.

In addition, Winkler’s research has been recognized in numerous publications including American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Folia Primatologica, Orangu-utan Biology, American Journal of Primatology, International Journal of Primatology, and the Dental Anthropology Newsletter.

Both in 1996 and 1998 Winkler was nominated to Who’s Who Among American Teachers, and in 2005 Winkler received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Pittsburgh.

Winkler was integral in developing a community health course raising awareness of public health and AIDS in rural Tanzania while working as an Amizade Project Leader.  Since that time, she has been involved in creating a children’s AIDS book series in Swahili, which was developed for use in East Africa.  In January 2007, she served as a presenter at an AIDS Charity Ball at Duquesne University.

In addition, Winkler has served as a member of the executive board for the Dental Anthropology Association, as a member of the education committee for the American Society of Primatologists, co-chairman for various Symposiums for the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, and a member of the planning committee for the education committee of American Association of Physical Anthropologists. 

“Over the years, Winkler has proven herself to be a serious scholar, a dedicated teacher, and an active and creative participant in a variety of international educational programs,” says Dr. William A. Shields, President of UPT.  “She knows and understands the character of the Titusville Campus and is quite familiar with the operation of the University of Pittsburgh System.  I look forward to working with her as we develop new course offerings and programs for our students.”

Winkler will assume her new duties on August 1 of this year.

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