New Associate Provost Focuses on Faculty Recruitment and Development

The Office of the Provost at the University of Cincinnati has recruited an outstanding new administrator who will serve as associate provost. His job will include a focus on building on current faculty recruitment and development efforts.

Damion Waymer, who joins the UC community this week, comes from Texas A&M University. He brings with him a wide range of administrative experiences. 

“The energy surrounding UC is both exciting and contagious,” Waymer said. “This is clearly an institution that is on the move. One with an upward trajectory. I am looking forward to joining a nationally recognized and talented group of faculty, staff and administrators in their efforts to achieve meaningful strategic objectives such as those related to the Third Century Initiative. Small or large, I am excited to play my part in these efforts.”

Waymer previously worked at Virginia Tech as the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences (CLAHS) Diversity Fellow, where he was responsible for improving the climate for diverse learning communities and supporting the recruitment, retention and graduation of a diverse faculty, staff and student body.  

While at Texas A&M, he led successful faculty searches, which resulted in the hires of top, internationally recognized scholars — an experience he hopes to draw upon and replicate at UC. Waymer earned his PhD in Communication from Purdue University. 

Waymer’s research focuses on fundamental concerns about issues of diversity in general and issues of race, class and gender. Specifically, it addresses how these social constructions shape and influence the ways that various audiences receive, react and respond to certain messages. 

His work has appeared in several outlets including Management Communication Quarterly, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Inquiry, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journal of Communication Inquiry, Communication Quarterly, Qualitative Inquiry, and elsewhere.

Waymer will also serve as an associate professor in the Department of Communication. Dr. Steve Depoe, head of the Department of Communication, said he is looking forward to Waymer’s presence in the classroom.

"A&S Communication is excited to add Damion Waymer to our faculty,” Depoe said. “Damion has established an active research program in public relations, with a focus on culture and diversity issues as they relate to marketing and organizational communication, and has amassed a number of high-quality publications in top peer-reviewed journals. His scholarly interests dovetail nicely with existing strengths in our department. Our students will love him!"

Provost Beverly Davenport said she is thrilled to welcome Waymer, whom she first met at Purdue, to UC. 

“We are very fortunate to attract a nationally recognized faculty expert on diversity matters to lead our faculty recruitment initiatives, especially the Strategic Hiring Opportunity and Dual Career Assistance Programs,” Davenport said. 

The two successful recruitment programs serve as the hallmark of Davenport’s first two years at the university. In the past year alone, 40 percent of the record number of new faculty hires were women or under-represented minorities.  

Waymer will take over the leadership of these two programs from Robin Martin, who will leave the Office of the Provost to join the faculty in the College of Education, Criminal Justice & Human Services. Waymer is joined by his wife, Tiffany, and his son, Thaddeus.