May 29, 2025
SIU announces appointments for honors program, core curriculum
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Two longtime SIU Carbondale professors will take on new roles beginning in July.
Sheryl Tucker, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, today (May 29) announced that Charles M. Ruffer has been named director for the University Honors Program and Jeffrey Punske will be director of University Core Curriculum. The appointments follow internal searches for both positions.
“I am delighted to welcome Drs. Ruffner and Punske to the Academic Affairs leadership team as we look to expand our University Honors Program and modernize our University Core Curriculum,” Tucker said. “Both individuals are highly regarded across campus and bring institutional knowledge to their respective positions along with a progressive outlook on how to develop and serve today’s students. Thank you to the members of the search committees for their efforts to identify outstanding candidates for these positions and to Drs. Rob Lopez and Julie Dunston, who served as committee chairs.”
Punske, an associate professor in linguistics in the School of Languages and Linguistics, will begin his new duties on July 1. Punske has been with SIU Carbondale since 2014, starting as an assistant professor, and he is a director of undergraduate studies. He also has an appointment as associate professor in the School of History and Philosophy.
Punske has taught classes that include the history of the English language, syntactic theories, morphology, formal semantics and intercultural communication. Punske has served as president of the SIUC Faculty Association and chair of the Faculty Senate’s Undergraduate Education and Policy Committee. Part of his research agenda examines university pedagogy, including ongoing work on the role of linguistics in university general education.
Before coming to SIU Carbondale, Punske served in faculty positions at Kutztown University and the University of Oklahoma. He earned his doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in linguistics, all from the University of Arizona.
Ruffner, a professor of forestry in the School of Forestry and Horticulture, will start his new duties on July 14. Ruffner has been at SIU Carbondale since fall 1999, starting as an assistant professor.
While at SIU, Ruffner has taught courses in forest measurements, wildland fire management, historical and disturbance ecologies, and pyrogeography as well as ag and art in Ireland, a study abroad experience. He has led student groups to Ireland, Scotland and Bavaria and completed two overseas sabbaticals, including a semester in Ireland and one year in Afghanistan, where he served as a U.S. Department of Defense Civilian Expedition Workforce employee attached to a Mississippi National Guard Agribusiness Development Team in Zabul Province.
Ruffner serves on the Illinois Prescribed Fire Council board of directors and as a consultant to the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission (INPC) after eight years as an INPC commissioner.
Ruffner is a three-degree graduate of Pennsylvania State University, earning his master’s and doctoral degrees in forest resources and a bachelor’s degree in forest science.