Connell Named Associate Dean of USM College of Education and Human Sciences

Dr. Carol Connell, professor of nutrition in the School of Kinesiology and Nutrition, has been named Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education in the College of Education and Human Sciences at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Connell, a native of Eastaboga, Ala., will support and foster faculty research initiatives within the college, as well as oversee all aspects of graduate studies.

“Dr. Connell brings an array of research experiences, analytical skills, and a deep commitment to mentoring early career faculty to our college operations,” said Dr. Trent Gould, interim Dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences. “We will be better equipped to support the research agendas of our faculties as well as advance graduate education within the college.”

Connell's extensive portfolio of collaborative and interdisciplinary research has been geared toward food security, food access, and developing theory-based nutrition or physical activity behavior interventions.

Most recently, she has been managing a partnership with the Mississippi Department of Health and Mississippi Action for Progress to test the effectiveness of a preschool obesity prevention curriculum, as well as assuming the director role for the Community Engaged Research Core of the Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research (MCCTR).

The MCCTR is a collaborative research project between USM, UMMC, and Tougaloo College and is funded by the National Institute for General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes for Health at 19.8 million dollars over five years.

Connell earned her doctorate degree from The University of Southern Mississippi in 2001 after receiving both a master's degree and undergraduate degree from Auburn University. Connell joined USM in 1996 as research coordinator and later assistant research professor with the USDA-funded Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative. Additionally, she taught courses as an adjunct instructor during that time before joining the faculty at Southern Miss in 2005 as an assistant professor.

For more information about the College of Education and Human Sciences, visit www.usm.edu/education-human-sciences.