Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor, recently announced the 2017 participants in the Chancellor’s Fellows Program at Troy University. From left to right, are: Dr. John Kline, director of the program; Fellows Dr. Dionne Rosser-Mims, Dr. Jeffery Wade Forehand and Dr. LaKerri Mack; Dr. Hawkins; and Fellows Lauren Cole and Dr. Carmen C. Lewis.
TROY – Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor of Troy University, has selected four faculty members and a member of the professional staff to participate in the University’s 2017 Chancellor’s Fellows Program.
Selected were: Lauren Cole, coordinator of career services; Dr. Jeffery Wade Forehand, associate professor and coordinator for community partnerships and practice for the School of Nursing in the College of Health and Human Services; Dr. Carmen C. Lewis, assistant dean of administration in the Sorrell College of Business on the University’s Dothan Campus and an associate professor of quantitative methods and information systems; Dr. LaKerri R. Mack, assistant professor of political science, public administration and criminal justice; and, Dr. Dionne M. Rosser-Mims, associate professor of adult education and associate dean in the College of Education.
The program is directed by Dr. John Kline, distinguished professor of leadership and director of TROY’s Institute for Leadership Development. Kline, a former university provost and senior executive in the federal government, is uniquely qualified to direct the program — a program Chancellor Hawkins believes will “help selected faculty and staff members move into positions of responsibility, prepared for the task of leading Troy University in the years ahead.”
The fellows were nominated by TROY deans, directors or vice chancellors and selected by the Chancellor to participate in the program. Recent graduates of the program include: Dr. Glynn Cavin, associate vice chancellor of TROY Online; Dr. Steven Taylor, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Dr. Denise Green, interim dean of the College of Health and Human Services; and Jim Smith, associate dean of student services from the University’s Montgomery Campus. Furthermore many former Fellows serve as vice chancellors, deans, associate deans and department chairs, as well as others in leadership positions at TROY.
“The Chancellor’s Faculty and Staff Fellowship Program enables qualified full-time faculty or staff to develop increased knowledge and understanding of the programs and operations of Troy University; furthermore, the fellows receive executive leadership, management and communication skills training,” said Dr. Kline. “Participants are selected based on their leadership potential and service to the University.”
Cole joined the University in 2011. She earned her Master of Business Administration from Auburn University Montgomery and her bachelor’s degree in nutrition and food science from Auburn University. She is a member of the University’s Retention Task Force, Trojan Café Advisory Committee, Disciplinary Committee and three committees dealing with initiatives through the University’s Strategic Plan. Cole was selected as one of the Troy Messenger’s “Top 20 Under 40” in 2015 and is a past participant in Leadership Pike. She and her husband, David, have two children.
Forehand has been a full-time member of the TROY faculty since 2012. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing from Troy University and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Alabama. He is currently working toward his Ph.D. in instructional leadership at the University of Alabama. Forehand is a Registered Nurse, an ANCC Board Certified Informatics Nurse, serves as a site visitor for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and is a member of the Alabama Council of Administrators of Professional Nursing Education Programs and the Alabama State Nurses Association. He and his wife, Ashlynn, have three children.
Lewis holds a Ph.D. from Florida State University in business administration, majoring in management information systems. She has published 12 peer-reviewed, refereed journal articles, two book chapters and 27 conference proceedings. Her service to the University includes membership on the Retention Task Force, the Integrated Advising System Task Force, the College Review Committee and the Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness Committee. Prior to joining the TROY faculty, she served as a programmer and integration analyst in information systems at the Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan. Lewis and her husband, Steve, have two children.
Mack received her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University in African American Studies and her Master of Public Administration and Ph.D. in public policy and public administration from Auburn University. In 2016, she earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from TROY. She has served as chair of the Alabama Political Science Association, is a member of the University’s Honors Convocation Committee, chaired the Speakers Committee for the 2017 Leadership Conference Celebrating African American History Month and served as faculty advisor to the M.I.S.S. Elite Society and the TROY chapter of the N.A.A.C.P.
Rosser-Mims has more than 17 years of experience in adult education in teaching, training and development. She received in Ph.D. in adult education and her Master in Public Administration from the University of Georgia. She was the recipient of TROY’s Wallace D. Malone, Jr., Distinguished Faculty Award in 2013. She has authored two books, many articles and book chapters and has delivered numerous conference presentations at the international, national and regional levels. She is co-founder and co-editor in chief of “Dialogues in Social Justice: An Adult Education Journal,” a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. She and her husband, DeCarlton, have a daughter.
The experience spans the spring and summer academic semesters during which the Fellows will have the opportunity to benefit from briefings and meetings with senior University officials and take part in field trips and visits to meet with state education officials, business leaders and state government officials, according to Kline.
During their tenure, Fellows undertake and complete a study of significance and importance to the University. The Fellows have already met twice with Dr. Hawkins and have begun their project investigating Open Educational Resources (OER) — low cost or no cost course materials that can be used in both online and classroom courses at Troy University. The group is collaborating with TROY Online in the study.