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Dr. Jennifer Simpson has accepted the new position of Dean of the Graduate School at ��������.

With the sustained growth of the graduate programs at ��������, and as program offerings continue to expand, the University has found it necessary to scale up the supporting structures of the programs in order to continue providing their graduates the same level of service and quality education.

“Forming a Graduate School is the next logical step in that progression,” said Christopher Leskiw, Vice President of Academic Affairs at ��������. “In particular, this new department will offer the expertise needed to guide the research agendas and requirements of our sizable Ph.D. population, who are spread out over multiple content areas. We are pleased to have Dr. Simpson stepping into this new leadership role.”

“I am very excited about the opportunity to serve �������� in this new capacity,” said Simpson. “My family and I have always been deeply rooted in this community and in Cumberland College, now ��������.”

The �������� Graduate School hopes to link together all graduate programs in a more efficient and student-friendly manner. For example, its new Writing Center will offer students guidance and content-specific workshops to help them strengthen their skills in all disciplines. The School will also provide structure and support for student and faculty research.

Simpson previously led the Leadership Program at ��������. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from �������� before completing a master’s degree in special education and a Rank 1 Certificate in Education from Union College. She completed her Doctor of Education degree from �������� in 2012. For years, Simpson has been active in the world of education, having taught at the middle and high school levels and contributed at the national and international levels in numerous ways.

�������� has received several national rankings from online review sites for providing affordable, quality online graduate programs in education, counseling, business, and criminal justice. The University also offers online programs in health science, ministry, and psychology. The first cohort of its on-campus physician assistant (PA) program had a 100 percent passing rate for the national PA certification exam. All programs offer rolling admission, and many may be taken in an “executive” format which includes an on-campus component in its setup.

The University is currently screening applicants for new supporting staff positions in the Writing Center as well as in research design and statistics positions.