Academic Leadership

Program Leadership, Innovation, and Organizational Impact

While serving as Program Coordinator, I directed the academic, operational, and strategic functions of a nationally ranked, CIDA-accredited design program, leading faculty, staff, students, curriculum, assessment, accreditation, enrollment management, and strategic planning. My leadership focused on strengthening institutional capacity through evidence-based decision making, interdisciplinary collaboration, workforce development, and continuous improvement, resulting in measurable improvements in enrollment, student success, faculty capacity, organizational culture, and national visibility.

Academic Operations

• Directed day-to-day academic operations, leading a multi-level team of full-time faculty, adjunct instructors, graduate assistants, and undergraduate student employees while maintaining instructional continuity and program quality during periods of faculty turnover and staffing constraints.
• Coordinated faculty assignments, scheduling, advising, recruitment, assessment, accreditation, and program communications.
• Led strategic planning, enrollment management, curriculum implementation, faculty workload planning, and continuous program improvement.
• Ensured curriculum alignment with CIDA accreditation standards, assessment outcomes, evolving professional competencies, and workforce expectations.
• Oversaw instruction, advising, and academic planning for 250 undergraduate and graduate students annually.

Strategic Leadership

• Developed and implemented a strategic communications plan that elevated the department’s interdisciplinary graduate program to its first national ranking through increased visibility and enhanced academic reputation.
• Directed long-range strategic planning that strengthened organizational capacity, student success, and workforce preparation.

Academic Program Innovation

• Developed the new sequence of courses for Auburn University’s Interior Design Pre-Major, establishing a structured pathway that expanded program capacity while improving student preparation, advising, and transition planning ahead of application to the selective admission professional major.
• Led development of the new Bachelor of Interior Design curriculum, updating and realigning coursework to support accreditation, assessment, workforce readiness, and emerging disciplinary priorities.
• Co-developed the proposed Design Management Major, a parallel program designed to offer students who were not accepted to Interior Design an alternative pathway to professional practice without a CIDA-accredited degree.
• Co-developed the proposed Translational Human Sciences Minor, aimed at expanding interdisciplinary access to research translation skills and strengthening collaboration across academic disciplines within the College of Human Sciences.

Course and Curriculum Development

• Developed approximately 50 unique undergraduate and graduate course preparations spanning first-year through doctoral education across lecture, studio, laboratory, practicum, internship, thesis, dissertation, and online formats. 
• Developed multiple fully online courses and integrated digital learning technologies that expanded access, instructional flexibility, and student engagement.
• Integrated high-impact practices, evidence-based teaching, experiential learning, object-based learning, ePortfolios, active learning, and digital technologies throughout the curriculum.

Measurable Outcomes

• 110% increase in applications to the professional major through implementation of a structured pre-major curriculum and improved advising pathways.
• 60% increase in selective-admission major enrollment through improved student preparation, academic planning, and curriculum alignment.
• 23% improvement in retention through curriculum redesign, improved sequencing, and greater transparency in program expectations. 
• 90% increase in four-year graduation rates through strategic curriculum redesign, streamlined degree pathways, and improved program sequencing while maintaining rigorous academic standards. 
• 63% expansion of full-time faculty capacity, enhancing instructional capacity and faculty workload balance.
• 80% improvement in faculty job satisfaction, reflecting a stronger culture of collaboration, transparency, and shared governance.
• Prepared students for professional certifications, contributing to the program achieving Alabama’s highest first-time NCIDQ and EDAC pass rates.

Collectively, these initiatives transformed the program’s academic infrastructure by expanding enrollment capacity, improving student outcomes, strengthening faculty resources, enhancing workforce preparation, and positioning the program for sustained institutional growth and national recognition.