COLUMBIA, S.C. (courtesy allenuniversity.edu) — Allen University is pleased to welcome new additions to its leadership team as it continues to experience steady growth. Dr. Eric Gamble, Vice President for Planning, and Information Technology; Dr. Gee Lockhart Sigman, Associate Vice President for Planning, Assessment, and Research; and Mr. Jasher Cox, Director of Athletics joined Allen University in September of 2021.

Dr. Eric Gamble, the new VP for Planning and Research & Information Technology, worked in the hi-tech industry for more than 15 years with Fortune 100 companies such as IBM and Oracle, and with venture capitalist funded startups in Silicon Valley. In addition, Dr. Gamble has held a variety of senior sales, application engineering, and systems engineering positions with Fortune 500 companies over the course of his career. He has managed technical relationships, implemented multi-million-dollar contracts, and served as a liaison between business and technical groups. Dr. Gamble specializes in managing projects to build-out last-mile connections for fiber-optic, and he’s highly skilled in process engineering/redesign, network design and implementation, and rapid database application development. Prior to joining the AU family, Dr. Gamble was employed as an Assistant Professor and Instructor of Management at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. Gamble’s academic credentials include a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; an MBA in International Trade from Johnson & Wales University; and a B.S. in Computer Systems Management from Johnson & Wales.

Dr. Gee Lockhart Sigman is Allen’s new Associate VP for Planning, Assessment, and Research. Her career spans over 20 years in higher education at 2-year, 4-year, public and private colleges, and universities. In her most recent role as Associate Provost for Institutional Research and Registrar at Converse College, Dr. Sigman automated processes in the Office of the Registrar, moved the college to an online catalog system, worked with faculty and staff to implement a new learning management system, and served as the Institutional Accreditation Liaison for the SACSCOC Fifth-Year Interim Report. Prior to her position at Converse, Dr. Sigman served as Director of Student Outcomes Assessment at Spartanburg Community College. Dr. Sigman’s academic credentials include a B. S. in Criminal Justice, a M. S. in Criminal Justice, and an Ed.D. from the University of South Carolina. She has earned additional graduate degrees from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary (Columbia, SC) and Emory University Candler School of Theology (Atlanta, GA).

Mr. Jasher Cox is the University’s new Director of Athletics. Prior to Allen, Mr. Cox served as Athletics Director at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, Tennessee. In his first year at LMU, Cox oversaw an athletics department that witnessed four teams ranked in the top-15 nationally in their respective sport (men’s basketball, men’s golf, softball, and men’s bowling) for the entirety of 2019-20, as well as a department growing in the number of sports being sponsored. Mr. Cox was a vital component in the process of adding field hockey and men’s and women’s wrestling to LMU’s athletics portfolio. Prior to LMU, Cox was an assistant athletics director at Tuskegee University where he managed all internal operations of the department, including coordinating game management, game operations, facility maintenance, home event scheduling, fiscal and personnel management, as well as special projects. Before arriving at Tuskegee, Mr. Cox was the assistant commissioner of the Horizon League in Indianapolis, Indiana. He also previously served as assistant commissioner of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in Birmingham, Alabama. Mr. Cox received his B.A. in Communication and Media Studies from Auburn University, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Strayer University.

In commenting on the new hires, President Ernest McNealey said, “We are fortunate and pleased to continue widening and deepening the talent in the leadership pool at the university. Not only are Dr. Gamble, Dr. Sigman, and Mr. Cox highly-credentialed and experienced to assume the positions they now hold, they embrace the philosophy all that can be imagined can be achieved.”

ANDERSON, S.C. (courtesy andersonuniversity.edu) — The Anderson University College of Education’s Doctor of Education in Leadership and Learning offers the flexibility working professionals need with a concentration in School and Community Leadership and a concentration in Curriculum and Instructional Leadership.

According to Dr. Julie Smart, the program’s director, doctoral students have the option to attend face-to-face at the University Center of Greenville or join remotely. She explained important factors that set the Anderson University Ed.D. program apart from other doctoral programs.

“Most programs are either completely face-to-face or completely online. One of the things that differentiates our Ed.D. is that we are going to have that personal attention for students, whether they are able to come to the classroom or are needing to participate remotely,” Dr. Smart said.

Working in conjunction with the University Center of Greenville, Anderson University has a new “high flex” learning lab, equipped with tracking cameras, state-of-the-art microphones, new Promethean technology, and other supportive technology that allows for a complete integration of face-to-face students with online students.

Treating Doctoral Students as Individuals

Dr. Smart and her colleagues are committed to getting to know doctoral students and their specific goals and objectives in education so they can ensure a program is tailored to each student’s specific goals.

“When you cross the line from master’s into doctoral work, you’re becoming that junior colleague with the faculty at the university. We really want to see the students as our colleagues that are being trained, some of them teaching side-by-side with us one day,” Dr. Smart said. “In a nutshell we have tried to put the types of support in place that honestly students haven’t been able to receive at a larger institution. We want this to be a place where they feel supported and that they can achieve the goals they have with faculty supporting them every step of the way.”

Embedded Dissertation

Unlike many doctoral programs offered at other institutions that put the dissertation at the end, Anderson University’s Ed.D. program has an embedded dissertation. Doctoral students discuss the dissertation on the first night of class and work on it takes place throughout the program.

“We’ve already started working with our students to think about and train them on how to think about how to select a topic and how to think about how their topic will be connected to their overall field,” Dr. Smart said.

“We’re excited to offer a doctoral program using the embedded dissertation model. We truly believe our doctoral program is designed to facilitate success for our doctoral students who are teaching and leading in their schools and communities. This will allow them to complete their degree program and doctorate almost simultaneously in an incredibly efficient manner,” said Dr. Mark Butler, Dean of the Anderson University College of Education.

Concentrations

The School and Community Leadership concentration prepares candidates for leadership roles in K-12 public schools, private schools, educational non-profit organizations, or other non-traditional educational settings. In addition to the core curriculum, preparation in this concentration includes advanced research and study in human resources in education, finance for educational settings, assessment and evaluation for educational effectiveness, and theories of school and community leadership.

The Curriculum and Instructional Leadership concentration prepares candidates to lead curriculum development, innovative learning experiences and instructional best practices at the highest level. Preparation in this concentration will enhance candidates’ skills and/or potential for positions such as instructional coach, instructional coordinator, curriculum designer, or training development manager.

The Ed.D. program prepares students for careers that include training and development manager, instructional coordinator or coach, curriculum director/coordinator, postsecondary education administrator, postsecondary teacher, CEO/executive of non-profit organization and education director in religious settings.

As new doctoral students started the Fall Semester, Dr. Smart commented, “We have a really great span of students from a lot of different areas, a lot of different content areas, we have anywhere from elementary teachers to middle and high school teachers, we have a band director that’s come to get a doctorate with an emphasis on music, so we really just have a wide array of students who are in the program.”

Having recently joined the College of Education, Dr. Smart feels that providing leadership for new doctoral students is a dream job for her.

“Coming to Anderson University has been a great opportunity—to have, with this program, the ability to shape the program in ways that I really feel passionate about—about how educators should be taught how to become scholars, how to become researchers, how to become really impactful in their field,” Dr. Smart said.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (courtesy benedict.edu and tpinsights.com) — In 2015, then-Vice President Joe Biden made a major announcement while visiting Norfolk State University — the Department of Energy was dedicating $25 million over the next five years to build up cybersecurity education at 13 HBCUs and to diversify the larger cyber workforce. Now one year after the initiative ended, that money is having a lasting impact.

Key insights

• In 2015, Biden announced a $25 million, five-year initiative with 13 HBCUs, including SCICU members Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Morris College, and Voorhees College.
• The HBCUs, two national research laboratories and a school district created a cybersecurity consortium
• Jasmine Bowers, a former intern at one of the labs from the consortium, became the first Black person to get a doctorate in computer science from the University of Florida in 2020

On a brisk January day in 2015, then-Vice President Joe Biden made a major announcement while visiting Norfolk State University (NSU) — the Department of Energy was dedicating $25 million over the next five years to build up cybersecurity education at 13 historically Black colleges and universities and to diversify the larger cyber workforce. Now one year after the initiative ended, that money is having a lasting impact.

Before 2015, the DOE provided grants for small groups of HBCUs to do specific research in cybersecurity, but eventually it took a different approach.

“What [the Energy Department] wanted to do was to have one large consortium with all of the HBCUs they had worked with, plus a few additional ones,” Aurelia Willams, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Administration and the Executive Director of the Cybersecurity Complex at NSU, told The Plug.

So more than a dozen HBCUs, two national research laboratories and one South Carolina school district formed a cybersecurity consortium known as CECOR, with NSU serving as the lead HBCU.

Establishing a pipeline

Before the formation of CECOR, almost all of the 13 HBCUs offered computer science degrees, but no cybersecurity programs. At least three didn’t even offer computer science.

By the end of the initiative, all 13 schools offered at the minimum a cybersecurity concentration with many adding a new cybersecurity bachelor’s degree. The initiative impacted all five SCICU HBCUs – Allen University, Benedict College, Claflin University, Morris College, and Voorhees College.

The $25 million enabled the schools to develop the new curriculums and hire faculty to teach the courses. The two national labs who were a part of CECOR, Sandia National Laboratories and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, also helped with the curriculum. Among other things, they developed training in skills that students would need to work at the labs, like in the operating system Linux.

“It was just one of these gatekeepers that was limiting people’s abilities to perform or even get hired,” Celeste Matarazzo, cybersecurity researcher and co-principal investigator for CECOR at Lawrence Livermore, told The Plug about the lab’s Linux training program.

After identifying that need with faculty, Lawrence Livermore co-led a Linux bootcamp every spring with North Carolina A&T State University, one of the CECOR institutions.

NSU received about $5 million over the five years, with Sandia and Lawrence Livermore each receiving about $2.5 million. The remaining $15 million was split among the other CECOR institutions. Beyond hiring new faculty, the money was used to build labs, fund research, pay tuition for some students and send them to internships.

CECOR also worked with K-12 students to spark an early interest in cybersecurity. One of the CECOR members, the University of the Virgin Islands, held summer camps for middle and high schoolers to prepare them for a national cyber defense competition.

But curriculum creation and K-12 programs were just one part of the pipeline puzzle. CECOR also established robust internship programs with the two labs in order to develop a diverse workforce.

“Diversity in cybersecurity is essential,” Matarazzo said. “Because the threat is limited only by human creativity, right?”

“So we want people who bring different perspectives to problem solving, so that we can make sure we have the most effective cyber defense force,” she added.

To achieve that goal, Lawrence Livermore accepted anywhere from 10 to 26 interns specifically from the CECOR schools and Sandia hired between six to eight interns each summer, with some then being hired to work part-time through the whole school year.

Corithian Williams did exactly that. The NC A&T alum spent his first summer at Sandia in 2018 after graduating with his bachelor’s degree, but continued on part-time for the next two years as he pursued a graduate degree, also from NC A&T. After getting a master’s in computer science with a concentration in cybersecurity last December, Williams has been full-time with Sandia.

“They’ve really been there, they’ve supported me a long way,” Williams told The Plug about his time with the lab.

NC A&T was one of the few CECOR schools who had a robust cybersecurity curriculum before 2015, so it was more likely to have students who were ready for internships at the national labs. But to give students experience from the schools who were just developing a curriculum, NSU created its own internship program and brought other CECOR students into their labs for the summer.

By the third year of CECOR, this intra-consortium pipeline led to students from schools who had just built cybersecurity programs also getting accepted to the national labs, Aurelia Williams said.

A lasting impact

With CECOR only being funded for five years, the schools and labs kept in mind ways to make the spirit of the initiative last beyond the $25 million.

“Our whole goal was to make sure that CECOR was something lasting because funding like this never stays forever,” Tommie Kuykendall, program coordinator for CECOR at Sandia, told The Plug.

By creating curricula that gave students the classes and experience they would need to get hired at labs like Sandia and Lawrence Livermore and exposing them to research opportunities, CECOR helped usher a new group of HBCU students into the cybersecurity workforce.

Many CECOR students have also gone on to pursue graduate degrees. Jasmine Bowers, a former CECOR intern at Lawrence Livermore, became the first Black person to get a doctorate in computer science from the University of Florida in 2020.

But CECOR had more intangible impacts, too. For the University of the Virgin Islands, it led to a collaboration with the national labs that continues to this day.

“The support provided by this grant has exposed and elevated UVI at the national stage,” Marc Boumedine, Chair of the Department of Computer and Computational Science at the University of the Virgin Islands, told The Plug. “This exposure affords Virgin Islanders the opportunity to demonstrate their preparedness to enter the workforce.”

At Sandia, human resources has gotten on board with the effort to increase recruiting from HBCUs, Kuykendall said.

But the work is not finished, though CECOR has ended. Black and African American employees made up three percent of Lawrence Livermore’s workforce and at Sandia, they made up two percent, according to a February press release from Lawrence Livermore.

Overall, CECOR created a new model for a diverse cybersecurity workforce.

“It enabled this model that enriched the relationship to be more than just a summer internship, but a collaboration with the faculty, students and the universities,” Matarazzo said. “This experience has been one of the highlights of my career.”

GREENVILLE, S.C. (courtesy today.bju.edu) — The School of Education announced that it is expanding its name to the School of Education and Human Services. The human services aspect comes from the new division in the School of Education — the Division of Educational, Child and Family Services.

Educational Studies Introduction

The School of Education has existed at Bob Jones University since 1947. “When you think of School of Education, you think of teacher preparation, which is what we have traditionally done,” said Dr. Brian Carruthers, dean of the School of Education and Human Services.

While developing teachers is important to the School of Education, it recently added two nontraditional (teaching in a non-classroom setting) majors: bachelor of science in educational studies and bachelor of science in child development. There are 69 students this semester in the non-traditional programs.

“These are students who still want to work with children. They want to work with families. They want to work with youth, but they don’t want to do it in the confines of a classroom,” Carruthers said.

Background to Educational Studies

Last year, the Division of Educational, Child and Family Services went through a division review. “One of the things that we noticed about our programs was that a lot of students didn’t know about them, and prospective students couldn’t find them,” said Dr. Julie Hartman, chair of the Division of Educational, Child and Family Services. “If we’re going to offer programs that focus on non-educational niches, people have got to know where to look.”

The division review proposed the name change to raise awareness of the nontraditional education programs.

The School of Education began researching nontraditional education majors in 2010. It noticed that some students wanted to work with children but didn’t like the classroom experience, weren’t interested in pursuing licensure and couldn’t make the jump to helping kids. As a result, juniors and seniors were leaving the University because they felt like they weren’t in the right place.

Initially, this caused the School of Education to rethink its program requirements. “It’s kind of weird when you get a whole bunch of licensed educators around the table talking about non-licensure,” Hartman said. The initial solution was to create an education program that had lighter requirements.

About 2015, Carruthers visited Arizona State University and discovered one of its newly-launched programs, educational studies. The program offered a core of education paired with other disciplines. This resulted in an educationally driven, interdisciplinary program. BJU soon launched its own educational studies program.

Educational Studies Today

The program enrollment expanded from two students to 70 within a year as students from other majors landed on educational studies, fulfilling their desire to work with children. “I have a feeling that there are students in other majors who are not in the right major, and they’re waiting to hear about this,” Hartman said.

“Wherever you find learning or educational services offered, you need an educator, but not necessarily a licensed educator,” Hartman said. The School of Education and Human Services has since found several areas needing non-licensed educators including the zoo, children’s museums, hospitals and after school literacy centers. “What we have found is the more we look, the greater the opportunities, but we haven’t been looking before because we’re licensed educators,” Hartman said.

Educational Studies Student

One student interested in nontraditional education is Zac Davis, a sophomore in educational studies with a concentration in community arts. While Davis enjoyed learning and sharing that information, he didn’t want to be a classroom teacher. Davis wanted to work in a museum or art gallery.

While many museum educators choose to pursue a degree in history or art, Davis went an alternate route. “A lot of history degrees focus on the research aspect and figuring things out whereas with educational studies you get more of that aspect of telling people, explaining things to them and knowing how to say it in a way that makes sense,” Davis said.

He has taken a blend of education, history and psychology courses. “There’s a versatility there that I don’t think a lot of other majors have,” Davis said.

Davis’s tract is an example of what Hartman tells her students. “Trust your calling,” she said. “Maybe there isn’t a program that goes straight down the line, but there’s a way for you to address the calling that God has given you.”

For more information about the School of Education and Human Services, visit education.bju.edu.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (courtesy charlestonsouthern.edu) — Charleston Southern University’s Horton School of Music is expanding its music course opportunities by offering Gospel Choir each semester. With virtually no limit on capacity, students from any academic discipline can enroll.

Students will learn the history of traditional African-American gospel music and how it has become a progressive sound in the contemporary worship experience.

“This course supports and ties scholarly encouragement, diversity and theological efforts with a Christ-centered emphasis,” said Darrell Ravenell ’18, the director of the One Accord Gospel Choir for over 25 years. “Our objective is to give students an opportunity to sing and experience the culture of gospel music and its influences. Singers gather each week to express their love for Christ and foster unity and harmony on campus and in the surrounding community.”

One Accord alumna Dr. Tonya Houston ’91, assistant professor in CSU’s College of Education, said the choir became a home away from home for herself and fellow students 30 years ago.

“The Gospel Choir provided a safe space where we could use our God-given beautiful strong voices, rhythmic movements and syncopated expressions of praise and worship to usher the people of God into worship,” Houston said. The choir adopted the name “One Accord” while she was a member. During her junior year at CSU, Houston was voted in as Choir Director.

Reflecting on fond memories of her time as a student, traveling along country roads to churches and venues with her fellow choir members, Houston said she is overjoyed by this move to offer Gospel Choir as an elective course. “I am excited to see what God is doing,” she said. “I truly believe great things are in store.”

The class meets Monday and Wednesday evenings for a total of three hours. It is offered as a one-hour credit (MUSI 121-63); however, students who may have maxed credit requirements or may have taken the course already can enroll for “0” credit.

In addition to vocal performance, the choir also includes a three-piece band and dance troupe.

Ravenell, who has performed across the United States and toured European cities, said education is essential for a balanced outlook and an enhanced approach to certain conditions. “When learning is paired with experience, knowledge provides a more fundamental perspective on every claim,” he said. “In addition to developing a vocal presentation, this class will also assist students with developing a biblical conscience and a Christ-centered worship perspective that is inspirational—which formulates a biblical understanding of worship according to Scripture.”

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (courtesy claflin.edu) — The Carolina Cluster Career Pathways Initiative hosted its second virtual Carolina HBCU Professional Development Conference on August 24. The conference was held for the purpose of preparing participating students from historically black colleges/universities (HBCUs) for the Carolina Cluster’s third annual Career Talent Showcase scheduled for September 21, 2021, 1-4 p.m. The first HBCU Career Talent Showcase in 2019 was a live event at the Columbia (S.C.) Convention Center. However, both events were virtual in 2020 and they will be virtual again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Professional Development Conference is designed to provide students an opportunity to develop their skills in one-on-one engagement, personal presentations and building a brand, and gain familiarity with Brazen – the technology used to access the conference in addition to connecting students and potential employers for chat room interviews,” said Dr. Cathy Franklin, executive director of the Carolina Cluster Career Pathways Initiative.

The Carolina Cluster Career Pathway Program is a collaborative initiative between Benedict College, Claflin University, and Voorhees College designed to elevate student achievement and success by producing prepared and career-ready HBCU graduates coveted by employers and graduate programs.

In 2016, the Carolina Cluster Career Pathway Program received a $6 million grant from the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) under the UNCF® Career Pathways Initiative (CPI), to support the effort to design and implement programs that improve employment outcomes for graduates. The grant is funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. Claflin University ($3.3 million), Benedict College ($1.5 million), and Voorhees College ($1.2 million) received funding from the grant. A portion of the Claflin University grant ($1.8 million) is used to operate a jointly established State Coordinating Office to direct and monitor all Cluster activities.

The conference also included live presentations on leadership competencies, diversity and inclusion, the “elevator pitch,” and other topics. Representatives from BMW, GEICO, Brighthouse Financial, Savannah River, Stanley Black and Decker, Verizon, and Walmart will join Claflin faculty and members of the Cluster’s executive advisory committee to advise students on how to impress potential employers in meetings and job interviews.

According to Franklin, more than 800 students and 150 employers attended the inaugural talent showcase in 2019. Despite COVID-19, more than half the totals from the previous year participated last year.

“We hope our numbers will increase this year,” said Franklin who added that recruiters from graduate and professional schools will also participate in the talent showcase.

“The students need to recognize the value of their degrees regardless of their majors. We want students from Claflin and the other institutions to understand their degree is powerful and that companies have positions for them.”

For more information, please visit carolinacluster.com or contact Valeria Green at (803) 665-8861 or vagreen@claflin.edu.

HARTSVILLE, S.C. (courtesy coker.edu and medium.com) —

Dear MacKenzie Scott,
Your extraordinary commitment to help high-impact organizations that have been historically underfunded and overlooked is inspiring. The need for such investments cannot be overstated, and the impact cannot be understated.

I recognize that you have been doing your own research to identify such organizations, and I respect your process. I hope it is not too bold, but I really wanted to bring Coker University to your attention, as we are committed to so many of the goals and objectives you have laid out.

You’ve likely never heard of Coker. The best way to describe us is that we are small, with the potential to be mighty. We are a 100-year-old institution of higher education, originally founded as a women’s college with an unwavering commitment to gender equity, that is now making hard, yet necessary, changes to meet the evolving needs of our learners. We are a college that is making bold moves to both fulfill our mission and ensure our very survival.

Coker University is based in Hartsville, South Carolina. We have approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students who represent 33 states and 16 countries. Six in 10 of our students are female, reflecting our history of a women’s college for the majority of our existence. Half of our students are students of color, with almost a third of our total students African American. A growing number of our students are first-generation college goers.

I took over as president of Coker a year ago, knowing that we had a number of challenges ahead of us. After a year on campus, I can say I’m astounded by the spirit and commitment of the Coker family to do all it can to reimagine our college and overcome the challenges that have closed down far too many colleges like us. Earlier this year, we adopted a new strategic plan focused on student success, work environment and culture, vibrant communities, and financial health. This plan was developed by our faculty and staff, from the bottom up. It is a reflection of our aspirations as an organization, not what leadership is imposing on its employees. As a result, I am confident we will achieve all we have laid out for the next five years.

We are committed to developing an institution that ensures the success of our growing first-generation student population, doing more to make college more affordable, offering supports to students throughout their college experience, AND providing internships and job preparation services through our soon-to-be-launched career success center.

Coker is developing new degree programs and pathways to provide new opportunities to traditional and non-traditional students, providing opportunities for economic mobility for all learners. The diversity of our approach is reflected in our recent work to partner with industry to offer new degree pathways for those seeking to work in the pharmacy industry and our commitment to grow our School of Visual and Performing Arts and opportunities in the arts for undergraduates throughout the Southeast.

We are preparing to launch a new center to focus on women in leadership, a topic that is largely ignored at colleges in our part of the country, reflecting our roots as a women’s college and our efforts to support all learners at Coker. Our commitment to all students can be found in our unwavering commitment to DEI and to a diverse, respected student community.

Yes, we are undertaking many initiatives, perhaps too many for an institution of our size and with our budget challenges. But the entire Coker family is committed to doing whatever is necessary to ensure our long-term success and the success of each and every learner who arrives on our campus. Some of these efforts may fail, but many of them will work, making us a stronger institution with a stronger impact on the lives of those in need.

We like to talk about our Coker pride and being Coker strong. These are more than hashtags to those of us that call Coker home. They are part of our mantra. I would love nothing more than to have the opportunity to share with you why I believe in Coker University’s future, and why we can be a successful part of the incredible network you are assembling.

Take a chance on Coker University. We will make you proud by having an even larger societal impact on the South and the learners it should be serving.

Coker Proud,
Dr. Natalie J. Harder, President
Coker University