Skip navigation

University of Southern Mississippi Fills Associate Dean Positions at Gulf Park Campus

Tue, 09/16/2014 - 08:45am | By: Van Arnold

Efforts to better serve the students, faculty and staff at The University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Park campus have been enhanced with the filling of two associate dean positions so that each of the University's six academic colleges now have a full-time academic administrator working locally in Long Beach.

The six associate deans work directly with the department chairs and the deans of their respective colleges to ensure that quality academic programs continue to be delivered and best meet the needs of students. Prior to this academic year, only four colleges had full-time associate deans in residence on the coast.

“I am excited to welcome these new members of our academic leadership team, and I look forward to the contributions they will make as we continue to provide high quality academic programs to students in the coastal region,” said University President Rodney D. Bennett

Southern Miss is comprised of six degree-granting colleges: the College of Arts & Letters (Dean Steven Moser); the College of Business (Dean Faye Gilbert); the College of Education and Psychology (Dean Ann Blackwell); the College of Health (Dean Michael Forster); the College of Nursing (Dean Katherine Nugent), and the College of Science and Technology (Dean David Hayhurst).

“The academic deans working closely with the Gulf Park associate deans provide seamless leadership that assures we are delivering the right academic programs in the most effective manner for our Gulf Coast students,” said Southern Miss Provost Denis Wiesenburg.

Associate deans based on the Gulf Park campus include the following:

Dr. Bob Pauly, College of Arts & Letters

Pauly has served as associate dean since 2011. He is an associate professor of International Policy and Development in the Department of Political Science. His research interests focus broadly on the fields of U.S. foreign policy, national security and homeland security, with emphases on American policy toward the states of the Greater Middle East.

He is the author of five books and nearly 40 academic articles, essays and book chapters, including, most recently, the Ashgate Research Companion to US Foreign Policy (2010).  Pauly analyzes U.S. foreign policy and national security issues during a weekly appearance on the Gulf Coast Mornings radio show on 104.9 FM in Biloxi, Miss.

Dr. Elizabeth K. LaFleur, College of Business

LaFleur has served as associate dean since 2011. She is professor of marketing in the Department of Marketing and Merchandising and also serves as the director of the MBA program on the Hattiesburg and Gulf Park campuses. She has taught as a university instructor for more than 30 years with 25 of those teaching in Mississippi, Alabama or Louisiana.

A former Senior Fulbright Scholar, LaFleur's areas of research include, Professional Services Marketing, and Marketing Ethics/Social Responsibility. She received the Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence at Nicholls State University. LaFleur is the recipient of numerous research and best paper awards, and service awards. 

Dr. W. Jeff Hinton, College of Education and Psychology

Hinton began serving as associate dean in July of this year. An associate professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies, he is a licensed marriage and family therapist in the State of Mississippi. He is also an American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor. During his tenure at Southern Miss, Hinton has served in a variety of administrative roles including director of Clinical Training and program director for the Marriage and Family Therapy Program, as well as the chair of the Department of Child and Family Studies.

His research interests include effective interventions for treating juvenile delinquency, creating and evaluating effective experiential training strategies for marriage and family therapists and context specific student success initiatives.  Dr. Hinton has secured more than 40 externally funded grants and published more than 30 professional articles, book chapters and other works while at Southern Miss. 

Dr. Stacey Hall, College of Health

Hall began serving as interim associate dean in July of this year. She is an associate professor in the School of Human Performance and Recreation with a research emphasis on Sport Event Safety and Security Management.

Her research efforts include identifying standards and best practices for college sports event security; including facility emergency planning, continuity of operations preparedness, risk assessment, and crowd management. Hall has published in leading sport management, homeland security, and emergency management journals and participated as an invited speaker at international conferences.

Dr. Sandra Bishop, College of Nursing

Bishop has served as associate dean since 2011. She serves as an assistant professor, Systems Leadership and Health Outcomes in the College of Nursing. She joined the Southern Miss faculty in 2008 following a lengthy career as a nurse executive at Memorial Hospital in Gulfport, Miss.

Bishop is budget administrator and oversees academic standards plus the academic and student support services. Her scholarship and research focus is nursing leadership and administration and organizational behavior.

Dr. Gregory A. Carter, College of Science and Technology

Carter has served as interim associate dean since September, 2013. He is an associate professor of Geography in the Department of Geography and Geology. Carter serves as the chief scientist of the Gulf Coast Geospatial Center at the Stennis Space Center. His area of research emphasis is Physical Geography and Remote Sensing.

Carter and his students are working on mapping seagrass beds in the shallow near-shore areas of the Mississippi Sound. They are also studying the impact of hurricanes upon the vegetation on the Mississippi Barrier Islands; examining species diversity on the barrier islands, and looking at the long-term migration or movement of barrier islands and their stability as affected by vegetative cover.

The interim associate dean positions will be filled on a permanent basis in the coming months.