New faculty and new academic programs were approved by the executive committee of Samford University's board of trustees during their regular summer meeting July 28 in Birmingham.
Ten new faculty members were approved for the 2009-10 academic year:
Jack W. Berry, assistant professor of psychology. Berry has a doctorate in psychology from The Wright Institute, Berkeley, Calif., and most recently has been a research associated with the Injury Control Research Center at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB).
Ashlee M. Best, clinical instructor, McWhorter School of Pharmacy. Best, a Samford pharmacy graduate has been a practicing pharmacist in Selma, Ala.
Robin C. Duncan, assistant professor of teacher education. Duncan earned three degrees from Samford, including the educational specialist and doctor of education degrees, and has been a graduate assistant at Samford since 2003. During the 2008-09 school year, she served as interim coordinator for the Christian Women's Leadership Center.
Peter J. Hughes, assistant professor of pharmacy practice. Hughes earned his doctor of pharmacy degree from Samford and has been a pharmacist at Riverview Regional Medical Center, Gadsden, Ala.
Gisela H. Kreglinger, assistant professor of divinity for spiritual formation. She earned a doctor of philosophy degree in historical theology from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, where she taught part-time while completing her degree. Kreglinger is a native of Germany.
T. Sheree Martin, assistant professor of journalism. Martin earned a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Alabama, where she also earned her law degree. Most recently she has been an attorney with a Tuscaloosa, Ala., law firm.
Bridget C. Rose, director of the Academic Success Center and instructor in the core curriculum. Rose had been curator of Samford's Andrew Gerow Hodges Chapel and an adjunct instructor in the core curriculum. She is the inaugural director of the new Academic Success Center.
Amy C. Snow, director of nurse anesthesia clinical services and instructor in nursing. Snow has a master's degree in nurse anesthesia from UAB and has been a nurse anesthetist for Anesthesia Resources Management in Birmingham.
Debra P. Whisenant, associate professor of nurse anesthesia. Whisenant has degrees in nursing and public health, including a doctorate in international health from Touro University International, Cypress, Calif. Most recently, Whisenant has been a postdoctoral fellow at UAB.
C. Whitney White, assistant professor of ambulatory care, McWhorter School of Pharmacy. A Samford pharmacy graduate, White has been a pharmacy practice resident at a Huntsville, Ala., hospital.
Trustees also approved a new degree program in the Brock School of Business for business majors enrolled in Samford's University Fellows honors program. The program will provide a flexibility business curriculum that fits into the University Fellows program, including summer fellowship and senior research project.
A new Department of Graduate Studies was approved in the Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education and Professional Studies, combining all the school's graduate degree programs in one department under the direction of Maurice Persall.
Phil Kimrey, vice president for enrollment management, reported that as of July 24, 738 incoming new students had paid deposits for the fall 2009 semester, an increase of 21 over the same period in 2008. Samford President Andrew Westmoreland told trustees that a record $23 million in annual gifts had been received at the close of the fiscal year on June 30.
The next full board of trustees meeting is Sept. 10.
