BEESON DIVINITY SCHOOL - Key Persons


Alaina Hebert

Job Titles:
  • Metadata Librarian for Serials & Electronic Resources

Alan Long

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Alison Ingle

Job Titles:
  • Marketing and Communication Manager / McWhorter School of Pharmacy and School

Amanda Howard

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Psychology

Amanda S. Hilsmier

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Amanda Stone

Job Titles:
  • Technology and Education Learning Commons Coordinator / Teacher Education

Amy Allen

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Amy Benton

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Amy Coté

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Amy E. Hoaglund

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Assistant Dean / Teacher Education

Andrew B. Cundiff

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • Vice Chair

Andrw B. Cundiff

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Andy D. Birchfield

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Angela D. Ferguson

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of German
  • Education
Education; International Education; German Language and Culture; Language, Literature and Film

Anna Harper

Job Titles:
  • Cataloging Technical Assistant

Anna McEwan

Job Titles:
  • Dean and Professor

Anne Madison Adcock

Job Titles:
  • Marketing and Communication Manager, School of the Arts / Marketing and Communication

Annie DeVries

Job Titles:
  • Core Texts Director

Anthony Minnema

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of History

Anthony Overton

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, MSEM Graduate Program Director

Ashley George

Job Titles:
  • Communication and Media

B. Keith Putt

Job Titles:
  • Classics and Philosophy
  • Professor

Basil Manly

Job Titles:
  • President of the University of Alabama

Beck A. Taylor

Job Titles:
  • Samford 's 19th President
As Samford's 19th president, Beck A. Taylor is leading the university to remain vigilant in upholding the university's timeless values while preparing students to engage with an ever-changing world and ensuring that all of Samford's citizens are treated with love, dignity, and respect.

Becky Hyde

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Librarian and Processing Archivist & Special Collection Librarian

Beth Thorne Stukes

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Betsy Bugg Holloway

Job Titles:
  • Vice President for Advancement and Marketing, Professor of Marketing

Betsy Emmons

Job Titles:
  • Communication and Media

Bill Cleveland

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Bill Singleton

Job Titles:
  • Communication and Media

Brad Boswell

Job Titles:
  • Visiting Assistant Professor / Classics and Philosophy

Brad C. Bennett

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Brad Radice

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director of Broadcast Services

Brent Fielder

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Secretary
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • Trustee

Brian Hamm

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • History

Brian L Kelly

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Brian R. Toone

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Mathematics and Computer Science

Brian W. Gregory

Job Titles:
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Professor

Burns Kennedy

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Librarian and Archivist & User Services Librarian

Carla T. Waddell

Job Titles:
  • Librarian and Government Documents Librarian, Reference Librarian Chair, Reference and Research Services / Reference and Research

Carol Ann Vaughn Cross

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Geography and Sociology

Carter Schultz

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Vice President for University Marketing and Public Relations / Marketing and Communication

Catherine Craig

Job Titles:
  • Library & Information Systems Specialist

Cecelia A. Walker

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Celeste Hill

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Chad Awtrey

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Chair / Mathematics and Computer Science

Charles E. Workman

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Spanish

Charles Jackson Granade

Job Titles:
  • Charles Jackson Granade and Elizabeth Donald Granade Professor in New Testament

Charles T. Carter

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Charles W. Lancaster

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Charlotte D. Brammer

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Cheryl S. Cecil

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Librarian and Chair, Circulation

Chris Pursell

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, Professor / Chemistry and Biochemistry

Chrissy Ware

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant / Chemistry and Biochemistry, Physics

Christopher Tyler Burks

Job Titles:
  • Visiting Assistant Professor

Chuck Stokes

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor, Faculty Fellow, the Center for Worship and the Arts

Cindy Kennington

Job Titles:
  • Department Secretary, Propst Hall Building Coordinator

Clara Gerhardt

Job Titles:
  • Distinguished Beeson Professor, Character Scholar in Residence

Corey M. Johnson

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dakota Rice

Job Titles:
  • University Communication Manager

Dale J. Wilger

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry

Dana Basinger

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Dean

Dana Mungenast

Job Titles:
  • Director of Undergraduate Enrollment Management / Teacher Education

Dana Webster

Job Titles:
  • Circulation Assistant, Reserve Specialist

Daniel White

Job Titles:
  • Web Marketing Coordinator

Danielle Deavours

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor / Communication and Media

Danny Wood

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

David C. Garza

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry

David Frings

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director, Master of Science in Environmental Management

David Luginbuhl

Job Titles:
  • Director of Computer Science, Associate Professor / Mathematics and Computer Science

David R. Bains

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Dawn McCormack

Job Titles:
  • Dean

Demetria Shuford

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant to the Associate Dean

Denise J. Gregory

Job Titles:
  • Associate Provost for Student Success and Diversity, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry / Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Education, Science and Technology, Women in STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering, Math ) Fields

Diamond Nunnally

Job Titles:
  • Marketing and Communications Coordinator / Howard College

Dieter A. Waldvogel

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Don Bradley

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean, Professor / Geography and Sociology

Don Olive

Job Titles:
  • Chairman and Professor / Physics

Donna K. Fitch

Job Titles:
  • Digital Communication Specialist

Douglas C. Clapp

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, Professor / Classics and Philosophy

Dr. David W. Eldridge

Job Titles:
  • Senior Pastor, Dawson Memorial Baptist Church / Birmingham, Alabama

Dr. Gregg Morrison

Job Titles:
  • Investment Executive, McDonald Group, Inc

Dr. John Halsey Wood Jr.

Job Titles:
  • Director of Purchasing, Wood Fruitticher Grocery Co. Inc

Dr. John Wesley Beeson

Job Titles:
  • President of Meridian College
Ralph Waldo Beeson (1900-1990), son of Dr. John Wesley Beeson, president of Meridian College, graduated from Emory University in 1920. He joined Liberty National Life Insurance Company in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1921. After several years selling insurance, he switched over to automobile distribution at Ford Motor Company in 1923. Ultimately, he returned to Liberty National in 1926 and transferred to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1927 to serve as the assistant secretary at the company. In 1942, he began his service in the U.S. Naval Reserve for the duration of World War II. After the war he became a director at the Veterans Administration in Richmond, Virginia, helping to organize the Insurance Service in their branch offices. Beeson began supporting Samford University during the 1960s, after his brother, Dwight Beeson, became involved. As one of the greatest individual donors in Samford's history, Ralph Waldo Beeson's gifts to the university have provided for the establishment and endowment of Beeson Divinity School, the construction of Beeson Woods residential village, construction and equipment of the building for the School of Education, completion of an addition to the University Center, scholarships to Samford students pursuing ministry careers and much more. Beeson died in 1990, nine days short of his 90th birthday. Following Beeson's death, Samford President Thomas E. Corts called him "a titanic figure in the history of Samford University," adding, "All that Mr. Beeson did, he did out of a sense of profound Christian stewardship." Beeson left the school an estate gift of $56 million. Beeson said, "It's the Lord's money. He gave me the gift of making it. I am not smart enough to make that much money on my own. It's His money, and I am going to give it back to Him." At the entrance to Centennial Walk, a bronze statue of Beeson sitting on a park bench bears the following inscription: "In a spirit of love and Christian stewardship he gave away all that he possessed ... to the glory of God. In the halls of this university, and in the hearts of its sons and daughters,the Christian charity of Ralph Waldo Beeson lives on forever."

Ed Cherry

Job Titles:
  • Librarian and Systems Librarian

Edwin D. King

Job Titles:
  • Founder of Howard and Judson Colleges
General Edwin D. King (?-1862) was a planter, businessman and philanthropist based in Marion, Alabama. Present at the founding of Howard College, King was one of its first financial backers and trustees. King also aided in founding the Judson Female Institute (Judson College) and The Alabama Baptist. Edwin King was born in Georgia, to a wealthy family of planters that stretched from the tobacco plantations of Virginia and North Carolina to the prairie frontier of Alabama. King served in the Georgia militia during the War of 1812 and fought with General Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. King later received the rank of major general in the Alabama militia. After the war, King moved to Perry County, Alabama, in 1816, where his brother, Elisha F. King, had already established a large cotton plantation. Although Edwin also became a cotton planter with thousands of acres and hundreds of slaves, it was his investments in local businesses and schools that consumed much of his time. King served as trustee to the University of Alabama and served the Alabama State Baptist Convention in many capacities, whether as an officer or the chair of a committee. The president of the University of Alabama, Basil Manly, Sr., introduced King to Milo P. Jewett, an educator from Vermont who had moved south to establish a seminary for young women. King, along with Julia Tarrant Barron, helped Jewett found the Judson Female Institute in 1838 with King serving as its first trustee chair. Judson's first class included two of King's daughters. In 1841, King, Barron, Jewett and James H. DeVotie-acting on initiatives already set in motion by the state Baptist Convention-founded a similar theological institution for the young men of Marion and named it Howard College. King regularly donated funds to keep Howard going during its first decades, and served on its board of trustees. Another prominent Baptist of the nineteenth century, B.H. Riley, noted, "It is not too much to say that the denomination of the state is more indebted to Gen. E. D. King for the successful establishment and maintenance of its two schools that to any other. It is gravely doubted that they could ever have been successfully organized and maintained, through their shifting fortunes, but for the clear judgment and liberal purse of General King." Edwin D. King died in 1862 in Marion, and is buried in that city's cemetery. His son, Porter King, continued the family's connection with Howard by serving as a long-time trustee after the Civil War.

Elayne Whetstone

Job Titles:
  • Chemical Stockroom Manager / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Elizabeth G. (Betsy) Dobbins

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Wilton H. Bunch Interdisciplinary Faculty Fellow, Mann Center Fellow in Community Based Learning
  • Science and Technology, Environmental Science, Alabama Biodiversity

Elizabeth Jane Sanders

Job Titles:
  • Cataloging Technical Assistant

Elliott Dansby

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director of Admission
Education: M.S., Human Environmental Science, B.S., Biology

Emily A. Hynds

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean, Professor / Mathematics and Computer Science

Emily McCarty

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Classics and Philosophy

Eric Allen

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant / Administration

Eric Holsomback

Job Titles:
  • Marketing and Communication Manager / Moffett & Sanders School of Nursing

Eric Remington

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Physics

Erin N. Gilchrist

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Teacher Education

Frank Patane

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Mathematics and Computer Science

Fred Shepherd

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Geoffrey Wright

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Grace Baker

Job Titles:
  • Academic Advisor

Grant Gentry

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Grant Henley

Job Titles:
  • Professor
Grant Henley joined Samford in 2019 after teaching German on all levels of the undergraduate curriculum at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee and at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. His research interests include: theology and literature, German medieval literature, German Pietism, the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, German-Jewish literature, and postwar German novels. He is currently working on a book project that explores the influence and role of Christian rhetoric on German cultural renewal efforts during the Interregnum Period (1945-1949) in allied-occupied Germany. Before working in academe, Henley served as an evangelist with the Churches of Christ in Boston, Massachusetts and in Munich and Berlin, Germany. Grant and his wife, Amy, have been married 34 years and have two sons (Dan and Joel), and a daughter-in-law (Kara). They joined the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in 2016 and are active members in their local parish at Christ the King Anglican Church in Hoover, Alabama. In his free time, Henley enjoys tropical aquaria, bicycling and golf.

Gregory A. Kawell

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Mathematics and Computer Science

Hannah Kennedy

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Teacher Education

Heather A. West

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of French

Hodges Chapel

This chapel is spoken of as "A Sermon in Stone" for its witness of the Gospel message through sacred art and architecture. The Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel was consecrated as a hallowed place of worship in 1995. It is dedicated to the glory of the living, Triune God for the service of his church and the furtherance of his kingdom. This chapel is spoken of as "A Sermon in Stone" for its gospel witness through sacred art and architecture to the Samford community, the greater Birmingham community, and the far-reaching places of the world. The visible prominence of Hodges Chapel at the center of the divinity school reminds us of the centrality of worship in all we do. When Beeson Divinity School was founded in 1988, one of Mr. Ralph Beeson's requests was that the divinity school house a "special" chapel. Though he did not live to see its completion, Mr. Beeson's wishes were fulfilled. Designed by architect Neil Davis, Hodges Chapel is a unique house of worship redolent with beautiful art and symbols of the Christian faith, which turn our attention heavenward beyond the chapel dome. In the fall of 2002, the chapel was officially named in honor of Andrew Gerow Hodges, who was a personal friend and advisor to the late Mr. Beeson. A variety of worship services takes place in Hodges Chapel throughout the year. The Beeson community and the wider Samford community gather each Tuesday during the semester for a weekly chapel service. Other events, such as endowed lecture series, take place in the chapel throughout the year. Hodges Chapel is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for tours, personal prayer and meditation. Beeson is an evangelical, interdenominational theological school, and the doors of Hodges Chapel are open to all visitors. Tours can be requested through the Office of the Curator (205-726-2227) or, for large groups, online. May Jesus Christ's invitation, "Come unto me all who are heavy laden, and I will refresh you," be found by all who enter this sacred place.

Hon. Karon O. Bowdre - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • Trustee
  • Vice Chair

Ignatius Fosu

Job Titles:
  • Chairman and Professor

Ingalls Hall


Ivy Alexander

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Faculty & Staff

Jack W. Berry

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Psychology

Jakyoung Kim

Job Titles:
  • General Education Coordinator

James H. DeVotie

Job Titles:
  • Benefactor
An impassioned advocate of education in frontier Alabama, Rev. James Harvey DeVotie played a pivotal role in the founding of Howard College. Not only did he propose naming the institution after the British reformer, John Howard, he also chaired the Alabama Baptist Convention's committee on education, which recommended the founding of the college, served on the school's first board of trustees, and was Howard's principal advocate and agent (fundraiser). "As an agent," one contemporary wrote, DeVotie was "gifted with a pleasing address, a fluent utterance and a heart running over with the tenderest sensibilities when he rises to address an audience" on funding missions of education. "His passionate appeals, seconded by his imaginative powers, are sure to arouse enthusiasm and secure large contributions." Born September 24, 1813, in Oneida County, New York, J. H. DeVotie was the son of an irreligious frontier farmer and a pious Presbyterian mother-the latter shaping his educational and religious values. He converted to Christianity in 1830, and the following year moved to Savannah, Georgia, and lived with a merchant uncle who was a devout Baptist. The young DeVotie rejected several of the tenets of his Presbyterian upbringing and was baptized via immersion on Sunday, December 4, 1831, by H. O. Wyer, the pastor of the church in Savannah. Immediately feeling the call to preach, DeVotie moved to High Hills Santee in South Carolina to study at the Furman Theological Institute and supplied the pulpit at nearby Camden. Following what he later described as an "unfortunate misunderstanding" with members of the faculty, DeVotie left the school after eighteen months. Nonetheless, in March 1833, he was ordained at Camden and assumed the pastorate of the church. By September 1834, DeVotie was in Montgomery, Alabama, initially preaching two Sundays each month at the Baptist church and later every Sabbath. The year in Montgomery proved to be a stormy one for the twenty-one-year-old minister, who found himself at odds with his congregation over a number of issues, including his marriage to a non-Baptist, Margaret Christian Noble, who was condemned for being too "devoted to fashion." This, along with DeVotie's Yankee brashness and youthful fervor, led to his dismissal in May 1835. Discouraged, he decided to quit the ministry, but the Rev. Alva Woods, president of the University of Alabama, persuaded DeVotie to accept the pulpit at First Baptist, Tuscaloosa, where he remained four years. In 1840, he became pastor of the thriving Siloam Baptist Church in Marion and worked tirelessly for Howard College during his fourteen-year tenure. He would later be given an honorary degree from the college. In 1856, he was called by First Baptist, Columbus (Georgia). During his tenure in Columbus, and later at the Baptist church in Griffin, DeVotie emerged as one of the most important leaders in the Georgia Baptist Convention. He died on February 16, 1891.

James R. Strange

Job Titles:
  • Charles Jackson Granade and Elizabeth Donald Granade Professor in New Testament

Jane Cobia

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Director, EdS Instructional Leadership

Jane-Marie Marlin

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Instructor / Teacher Education

Janie A. Kennedy

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Mathematics and Computer Science

Janis La Velle

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant

Jaroslaw Szurek

Job Titles:
  • Librarian and Music Librarian, Cataloging & Metadata Librarian Chair, Cataloging

Jay L. Wolf

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Jeanelle B. Day

Job Titles:
  • Professor
  • Teacher Education

Jeffery M. Leonard

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Jeffrey S. Powell

Job Titles:
  • Mathematics and Computer Science
  • Professor

Jennifer Ellis West

Job Titles:
  • English and Director of Core Rhetoric and Seminar

Jennifer L. Rahn

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Geography and Sociology
  • Science and Technology, Coastal Geography

Jennifer Layton

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Jennifer McClure Haraway

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Religion and Sociology, Congregational Research Strategist

Jennifer R. Taylor

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Librarian and Chair, Special Collection

Jennifer Speights-Binet

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Chair / Geography and Sociology

Jim Pounds


Joanna C. Bradley

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Joelle Youngblood

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant, Marketing and Communication / Marketing and Communication

John Cantelow

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

John E. Bell Jr.

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

John E. King Jr.

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

John Roland

Job Titles:
  • Development Officer / Howard College

Jonathan Davis

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Jonathan Den Hartog

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, Professor / History

Jonathan Fleming

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Geography and Sociology

Jordan Cissell

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Geography and Sociology

Jordan Shoop

Job Titles:
  • Circulation Assistant, Night Supervisor

Josh Reeves

Job Titles:
  • Director, Samford Center for Science and Religion
  • Science and Religion

Josh Williamson

Job Titles:
  • Delivery Coordinator

Julia Tarrant Barron

Job Titles:
  • Benefactor and Founder of Howard College
Julia Tarrant Barron (1805-1890) played an important role in Alabama Baptist history. She was born in South Carolina but moved with her family to the Alabama Territory at a young age. In 1828, she married William Barron, a prosperous businessman in Perry County. About a year later, Julia gave birth to their only son, John Thomas Barron. William died in 1832, leaving Julia with a large estate. Julia became one of the wealthiest women in Marion. She was well respected among the community and a prominent member of Siloam Baptist Church. Although little is actually known of Julia's specific church work, in 1840, Hosea Holcomb, a Baptist historian, described the women of Siloam Baptist Church as, "precious ones of the earth-such as an Apostle would commend: they follow Jesus, ministering unto him-and ‘have been succourers of many, and of myself also.'" In 1838, Julia invited General E. D. King and other Baptist leaders to her home to discuss organizing a Baptist school for young ladies. That year, she rented a building for the school and invited the newly elected school president Dr. Milo P. Jewett and his wife to stay with her free of charge. The school opened as the Judson Female Institute in 1839 with Julia's son, John Thomas, enrolled as one of the "young ladies." In 1841, James H. DeVotie, the pastor at Siloam Baptist Church, is believed to have discussed the idea of starting a college for men with Julia and other Baptist leaders. Although the specifics of her role in the founding of Howard College is not known, she is believed to have taken part in recruiting Samuel Sterling Sherman as the college's first president and is credited with being at the head of the donors list. The Alabama Baptist, a newspaper she co-founded, credits her as being the first donor to the new school. Julia's son, John Thomas, became one of the original 9 students to attend Howard College and was the first to graduate from the school in 1848. After graduation, he became a physician in Marion and continued to support Howard as a patron and a trustee. When the campus was destroyed by fire in 1854, J. T. Barron was listed on the roster of contributors as donating $2,000. However, tradition says it was Julia Barron who gave the land for the school to be rebuilt. During his presidency at Howard College, Dr. John C. Dawson asked Julia's granddaughter, Olive Barron Becker, to paint Julia's portrait for the school. The portrait now resides in the Special Collection department at the Samford University Library. It was presented to Howard College, now Samford University, in December 1945. In February 1946, an unveiling ceremony was held in Reid Chapel to commemorate Julia Barron's significant role in the history of Alabama Baptists and the university.

Julianne Sandberg

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Julie Collier

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Julie K. Jenkins

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Julie Sims Steward

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Kameron Brown

Job Titles:
  • Marketing and Communication Coordinator, Orlean Beeson School of Education / Marketing and Communication

Kara Chism

Job Titles:
  • Director, MSE in Instructional Leadership

Karen Freeman

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Certification Officer / Administration

Karen J. Birkenfeld

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, Teacher Education

Kate Scarborough

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Teacher Education

Katelyn Corder

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Kathy Acton

Job Titles:
  • Alumni Relations Coordinator

Kayla Wenth

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Instructor

Keith Kirkland

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Kelly C. Jensen

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Spanish

Kelly McCain-Mosley

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant / Teacher Education

Kendra Lyas

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant / Psychology

Kenyon Gradert

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Kevin M. Drace

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Kimmetha Herndon

Job Titles:
  • Librarian and Dean, Samford University Library

Krista Dillard

Job Titles:
  • Admission Counselor, Regional

Kristie Chandler

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Chair, Human Development and Family Science

Kristin A. Bakkegard


Kwadwo Antwi-Fordjour

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Mathematics and Computer Science

Lance Day

Job Titles:
  • Associate Librarian and Reference & Instruction Librarian / Reference and Research

Laura Hannah

Job Titles:
  • Senior Graphic Designer / Creative Services

Laura Schrock Crawford

Job Titles:
  • Visiting Assistant Professor

Lauren Marino

Job Titles:
  • Social Media Manager / Marketing and Communication

Lauren Waycaster

Job Titles:
  • Special Projects Coordinator

Lauren Young

Job Titles:
  • Librarian and Library Instruction Coordinator, Reference Librarian / Reference and Research

Lawrence J. Davenport

Job Titles:
  • Professor
  • Science and Technology, Alabama Botany and Wildlife

Lee Quinn

Job Titles:
  • Director of Debate and Instructor

Lee Trepanier

Job Titles:
  • Chairman and Professor

Lee Walsh

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant / Geography and Sociology and Political Science

LeeAnn G. Reynolds

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • History

Leslie Armstrong

Job Titles:
  • Academic Advisor

Leslie Sturdivant Ennis

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Linda H. Bachus

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Lisa Beckham

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Instructor

Lisa J. Battaglia

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Lori A. Northrup

Job Titles:
  • Librarian and Associate Dean Chair, Collection Management

Lynette Sandley

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

M. Brad Busbee

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Chair

Mackenzie Allen

Job Titles:
  • Admission Counselor
Education: B.A., Human Development and Family Science

Madison Barker

Job Titles:
  • Digital Marketing Specialist / Marketing and Communication

Marcie Harchuck

Job Titles:
  • Director of Graduate Admissions and Student Services / Administration

Margaret M. King

Job Titles:
  • Instructor of French

Marigene Chamberlain

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor, Language Study Abroad Coordinator

Marlene Reed

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Marvin Mann

With his generous 2022 bequest of $95 million for endowed student scholarships and $5 million for supporting the Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership, Marvin Mann provided the largest gift to the university by a single donor and the largest gift ever made to a higher education institution in the state of Alabama by a single donor. Mann, a first-generation college graduate and native of Springdale, Alabama, understood the meaning of hard work and treasured the value of his Samford education. Having grown up in the Great Depression, he began working at four years old, candling eggs at his grandfather's distribution business. After graduating from Samford in 1954, he worked for IBM for 32 years and went on to found Lexmark International, Inc. in 1991 where he served as chief executive officer and chairman until 1999. He was named Samford's Alumnus of the Year in 2004 and received an honorary doctorate in commerce from the university in 1993. "My father occasionally told stories of hitchhiking to and from Samford during the 1950s, so he must have highly valued his experience there, especially considering the effort he had to go through to attend," said Mann's son, Jeff Mann. "It's obvious that my father revered Samford University and its community. For anyone to provide a gift that represents decades of hard work, leadership and successful investing he must have had full confidence in the leadership and future of the institution." Mann was a beloved member of the Samford community. Aside from being named Alumnus of the Year, he was also the first recipient of the university's Ethics-in-Business Award in 2006. The award, which was later renamed as the Marvin Mann Ethics-in-Business Award, recognizes individuals who embody professional achievement and personal integrity, who display an uncommon commitment to leadership through service, and who have left their marks of influence on institutions and industries without compromising Christian virtue or charity.

Mary E. McCullough

Job Titles:
  • Professor of French

Mary Yakimowski

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Director, EdD in Educational Leadership

Maureen A. Erb

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant / Mathematics and Computer Science

Mechelle Wilder

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Megan Connor

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry

Melissa Judge

Job Titles:
  • Certification Officer and State Liaison / Data Manager of Accreditation

Michael Clay Carey

Job Titles:
  • Communication and Media

Michael J. Janas

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Communication Studies, Wilton H. Bunch Interdisciplinary Faculty Fellow

Michael P. Dunn

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Miles Wright

Job Titles:
  • Executive Director of Creative Services / Creative Services

Milo P. Jewett

Job Titles:
  • Founder of Howard and Judson Colleges
Milo P. Jewett (1808-1882) was a clergyman and leading advocate for women's education in the mid-nineteenth century. Although he is counted as one of the founders of Howard College, he is better known for establishing its neighbor, Judson College, in Marion, Alabama, and serving as its first president. After leaving the South for political reasons in 1855, Jewett helped found Vassar College in New York. Born in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, in 1808, he graduated from Dartmouth College in 1828. He entered Andover Theological Seminary the following year and while there, began to lecture for the cause of common (public) schools in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. After seminary, Jewett moved to Ohio to serve as a professor at Marietta College; because it was a Presbyterian institution, Jewett obtained his preaching license from the presbytery. He married Jane Augusta Russell in 1833. In 1838, Jewett was baptized into the Baptist church and felt obligated to resign his post at a Presbyterian college. Six months later he moved to Marion, Alabama, where he oversaw the establishment of a seminary for young women with the support of the local Baptist church, Siloam. The seminary, called the Judson Female Institute, was named for Alabama's first female foreign missionary. It opened its doors in 1839, with Jewett as its president. During this time, proponents of Baptist education in Alabama resolved to open a theological college for men. In 1841, Jewett met with Julia Tarrant Barron, E. D. King and James H. DeVotie to discuss the matter, and during that meeting Howard College was founded. While at Judson, Jewett also helped to found, edit and print The Alabama Baptist, a weekly newspaper and church periodical. By the 1850s, it was clear Jewett's abolitionist beliefs did not fit in with the goals of the Southern Baptist Convention. Jewett resigned from Judson in 1855, and moved to Poughkeepsie, New York, where he advised Matthew Vassar in the development and chartering of Vassar Female College. Jewett was appointed the college's first president, but he never took the post due to disagreements with Vassar and the trustees. Jewett then moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained active in education until his death in 1882.

Mingwei Sun

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Molly Lockart

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Chemistry and Biochemistry

Monique Witherspoon

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean

Morgan Black

Job Titles:
  • Director of University Marketing, Marketing and Communication Lead, Brock School of Business and Cumberland School of Law

Mr. Clark Watson

Job Titles:
  • Counsel for Balch and Bingham / Birmingham, Alabama

Mr. Collin Hansen

Job Titles:
  • Co - Chair )

Mr. David F. Byers Jr.

Job Titles:
  • Co - Chair )

Mr. Denny Ragland

Job Titles:
  • Senior Vice President, Bryant Bank / Birmingham, Alabama

Mr. Don Menendez

Job Titles:
  • Chief Executive Officer, White Plume Technologies / Birmingham, Alabama

Mr. James S. M. French

Job Titles:
  • Vice Chairman and Director, Dunn Investment Company / Birmingham, Alabama

Mr. Mark R. Neaman

Job Titles:
  • President and Chief Executive Officer, Neaman Advisors / Chicago, Illinois

Mr. Randy Pittman

Job Titles:
  • Retired, Vice President of Advancement, Samford University / Birmingham, Alabama

Mr. Victor Hanson III

Job Titles:
  • Retired Newspaper Publisher / Birmingham, Alabama

Mrs. Dea Mathews

Job Titles:
  • Retired, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Samford University / Birmingham, Alabama

Mrs. Jennifer Rash

Job Titles:
  • President and Editor - in - Chief of TAB Media Group, the Alabama Baptist / Homewood, Alabama

Mrs. Susan T. Doyle

Job Titles:
  • Retired Director of Parent and Family Programs, Samford University / Birmingham, Alabama

Myrtis Johnson

Job Titles:
  • Clinical Experiences Coordinator / Teacher Education

Neal Embry

Job Titles:
  • Marketing and Communication Manager, Beeson Divinity School / Marketing and Communication

Niya Pickett Miller

Job Titles:
  • Communication and Media

Norma Mullis

Job Titles:
  • Instructor of Spanish and College Coordinator of Assessment

Olivia Milroy Evans

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

P. Andrew Montgomery

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Classics and Philosophy

Patrick Rowe

Job Titles:
  • Circulation Assistant, Media Specialist

Paul N. Propst

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Natural Sciences

Peng Mu

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Librarian and Cataloging & Metadata Librarian

Perla Soto-Ceballos

Job Titles:
  • Admission Counselor
Education: B.A. International Relations and Sociology

Peter J. Clemens IV

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Rachel C. Wachter

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Rachel Fitzpatrick

Job Titles:
  • Program Assistant

Randolph C. Horn

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Randy Gunter

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Rev. Bryan White

Job Titles:
  • Senior Pastor St. Peter 's Anglican Church 3207 Montevallo Road / Mountain Brook, AL

Rev. Cokiesha L. Robinson

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Grace College

Rev. Dr. Brian H. Cosby

Job Titles:
  • Senior Pastor, Wayside Presbyterian Church / Signal Mountain, Tennessee

Rev. Dr. Edwin G. Hurley

Job Titles:
  • Senior Pastor, South Highland Presbyterian Church / Birmingham, Alabama

Rev. Dr. John Richter

Job Titles:
  • Senior Pastor, St. John 's Evangelical Protestant Church / Birmingham, Alabama

Rev. Dr. John Thweatt

Job Titles:
  • Pastor, First Baptist Church / Pell City, Alabama

Rev. Dr. Ralph D. West

Job Titles:
  • Pastor, the Church Without Walls / Houston, Texas

Rev. Dr. Reginald Calvert

Job Titles:
  • Pastor, New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church / Bessemer, Alabama

Rev. Dr. Thomas Wilder

Job Titles:
  • Pastor, Bethel Baptist Church of Collegeville / Birmingham, Alabama

Rev. Jason D. Cook

Job Titles:
  • Senior Pastor, Fellowship Bible Church / Roswell, Georgia

Rev. Jeremy Carlson

Job Titles:
  • Assistant to the Rector, St. Mary 's - on - the - Highlands Episcopal Church / Birmingham, Alabama

Rev. Ralphael B. Pierce

Job Titles:
  • President, Urban Energy Enterprises LLC / Birmingham, Alabama

Rhega Gordon

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Rhonda C. Witcher

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Rhonda G. Parker

Job Titles:
  • Communication and Media

Richard Stockham Jr.

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of Western Intellectual History

Rita Malia Fincher

Job Titles:
  • Director, Samford Conservatory

Robert Andrew Hataway

Job Titles:
  • Research Compliance Officer

Robert Elsner

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Chair / Psychology

Robert Holmes Jr.

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Ronald J. Watkins

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Ronald L. Watkins

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Rony Kozman

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Roy E. Ciampa

Job Titles:
  • Chairman, S. Louis and Ann W. Armstrong Professor

Russell Hall


Ryan Galloway

Job Titles:
  • Professor, Executive Director of Debate

S. Earl Dove

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

S. Jonathan Bass

Job Titles:
  • History
  • Professor
  • University Historian

Samuel Douglas

Job Titles:
  • Circulation Assistant, Periodical Specialist

Sara Ortega-Higgs

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Sarah Durst

Job Titles:
  • Visiting Assistant Professor

Sarah M. Cooper

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Librarian and Reference & Instruction Librarian / Reference and Research

Sarah Waller

Job Titles:
  • Director of Creative Services / Creative Services

Scott Camp

Job Titles:
  • Senior Graphic Designer / Creative Services

Scott Crews

Job Titles:
  • Instructor / Mathematics and Computer Science

Serena Simoni

Job Titles:
  • Director, International Relations Program

Shannon R. Flynt

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Classics, Wilton H. Bunch Interdisciplinary Faculty Fellow

Sharon C. Stuart

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Sharon D. Stuart

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Sheri P. McKean

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Sheri Ransome

Job Titles:
  • Development Officer / Orlean Beeson School of Education

Sherri Foyt

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Secretary
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • Secretary
  • Trustee

Sofia Paglioni

Job Titles:
  • Marketing and Communication Coordinator / Marketing and Communication

Sonya S. Stanley

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Mathematics and Computer Science

Stephen Linn Chew

Job Titles:
  • Professor
  • Psychology
  • Science and Technology, Psychology, the Science of Learning and Teaching

Stephen R. Todd

Job Titles:
  • Classics and Philosophy
  • Professor

Stephen Strickland

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Physics

Steve Vinyard

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Susan Abee

Job Titles:
  • Director of Regional Recruitment
Education: M.B.A., Business Administration, B.A., Interior Design

T. Scott McGinnis

Job Titles:
  • Professor

Tabitha S. Catlin

Job Titles:
  • Microfilm Lab Manager

Tarsha Shepard

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
  • Teacher Education

Taylor W. Cyr

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor
  • Classics and Philosophy

Terry L. Hales

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Theresa C. Davidson

Job Titles:
  • Professor and Sociology Program Director, Department of Geography & Sociology Program Director, Race, Ethnicity, & Social Justice Minor Director / Geography and Sociology

Thomas Houser

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Thomas T. Lamberth

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Tiffany Robayna

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor

Tim Hall

Job Titles:
  • Professor of History / History

Timothy Sutton

Job Titles:
  • Interim Chair, Professor of English, Writing Center Director

Timothy Vines

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Tisha George

Job Titles:
  • Coordinator, Acquisitions

Todd Cotton

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Vice President for Creative and Digital Marketing / Marketing and Communication

Tyshawn Gardner

Job Titles:
  • Preministerial Scholars Director

Verne Bragg

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Victor E. Nichol Jr.

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • Secretary
  • Trustee

Virginia "Nia" Johnson

Job Titles:
  • Communication and Media

W. Jason Wallace


W. Randall Pittman

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Wheat Bailey

Job Titles:
  • Media Center Manager / Media Center

Will Heath

Job Titles:
  • Media and Professional Development Advisor

William J. Stevens - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Member of the Officers Team
  • Trustee

Yvette M. Richardson

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member

Zeke W. Smith

Job Titles:
  • Trustee

Zhanna Griffin-Bell

Job Titles:
  • Circulation Assistant, Night Supervisor