By KELLY LORENSON
Guest Writer
Dixie Dennis, an APSU alumna and administrator, has recently been promoted to be the new dean of the College of Graduate Studies and the new associate provost of Grants and Sponsored Programs.
“I am happy to serve the university in a position for which all of my professional experiences have paved the way,” she said.
“APSU is housed with dedicated faculty and staff who want to help students in academic and personal endeavors, and I am glad to be a part of this important work.”
Dennis has a long and notable history with APSU. In 2009, she served as the associate dean of the College of Professional Programs and Social Sciences, and from 2007-08 was the interim dean of the College of Science and Mathematics.
Prior to this, in 2005, she was professor and chair of the Department of Health and Human Performance.
Because of her hard work and dedication to the scholarship, she was nominated by many of her colleagues to receive the Richard M. Hawkins Award.
Dennis earned both her Bachelor of Science in chemistry and her Master of Science in public and community health from APSU.
She earned her Ph.D. in health education from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, in 2000.
Her loyalty to the university lies in her devotion to friends, family and the campus community. “I came back because of the deep sense of belonging, of community I have at APSU. It’s an everlasting bond that has been created; this is my home.”
Every day, Dennis continually strives to better her home. Since her career began with APSU, she has been a part of numerous programs of study aimed to educate both students and faculty, such as the Provost Lecture Series and the Peay Read.
The Peay Read has brought speakers to APSU such as the acclaimed Paul Rusesabagina, who saved over a thousand refugees in the Rwandan Genocide. To get Rusesabagina here, Dennis worked for a year and half, just so APSU students and the surrounding community could hear his lecture.
As the new associate provost, Dennis has a lengthy list of responsibilities such as promoting research habits among students and faculty, advising students and organizing new programs to create a more collegial atmosphere at APSU.
The other facet of her job, dean of the College of Graduate Studies, has a list of duties and obligations that is just as long as the aforementioned one.
Dennis will be the chair of the Institutional Review Board, which monitors research projects and deals with compliance issues.
Despite the amount of work involved in each of her new job titles, Dennis states she believes the work is well worth the effort.
“This job is a lot of work, but it’s what I like to do. I like to make good things happen for good people.”
Dennis said she is also excited about the direction the grants program is taking.
Recently, there has been more involvement from the different organizations on campus, and the College of Education and the College of Arts and Letters have been very active in grant writing.
In addition, the amount of grant money is growing and research has been made a focus at APSU.
As for her overall goals, she hopes to see increased research, more unifying experiences with APSU and the community and an increase in grant dollars.
In addition to her responsibilities at APSU, she also serves on the board of directors of the American Association for Health Education and is the immediate past chair of the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. Board of Commissioners.
She is the contributing editor for the American Journal of Education “Teaching Ideas” column and is a certified health education specialist.
Dennis has authored two books, “Adult Children of Alcoholics: Consequences and Choices, A Lab Manual” and co-authored “Living, Dying, Grieving,” published by Jones and Bartlett in 2009. Currently, she is writing a chapter in “Alternate Paths to University Positions,” entitled “Life Lessons on the Road Toward Myself.”
Dennis has written 23 peer-reviewed articles and currently has two co-authored scholarly articles in progress in addition to authoring books. She has also delivered scholarly and professional presentations at national conferences and conventions since 1998. She can be contacted at dennisdi@apsu.edu
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