Faculty Category: Faculty

A. REBECCA MURPHY

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Instruction Librarian
Work Email: amurphy@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: 615-547-1216
Location: Vise Library
Category: Faculty
Department: Doris & Harry Vise University Library
Degrees:
B.A., University of North Carolina
M.L.S., East Carolina University
Bio:

A. Rebecca Murphy joined the Vise Library team in Fall 2023 as an Instruction Librarian. She completed her Masters of Library Science program in December 2022 through East Carolina University. She previously worked as an Assistant Librarian for the Henderson County Public Library system in North Carolina for two years.

Rebecca grew up in Asheville, North Carolina and earned her Bachelors of the Arts in History at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. She briefly studied acupuncture at a local college before pursuing a degree in Library Science. She enjoyed being on a college campus and decided to pursue an academic concentration at East Carolina University, specifically hoping to work with student researchers. In her free time, she enjoys reading historical nonfiction, writing, gardening, caring for her various pets, and spending time with her friends and family.

HANNAH COLE

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Academic Coach and Instructor
Work Email: hcole@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: 615-453-6410
Location: Learning and Career Commons, Room 203
Category: Faculty
Department: Academic Success Center, Office of Enrollment, Admissions, and Student Financial Services
Degrees:
A.A., Volunteer State Community College
B.A., Austin Peay State University
M.A., Tennessee Technological University
Bio:

Hannah Cole is an academic coach at Cumberland for the Millard and JJ Oakley School of Humanities, Education & the Arts. In this role, Hannah is dedicated to helping students succeed at Cumberland and thrive during their time at the university.

Before Cumberland, Hannah worked as a Graduate Assistant for Tennessee Technological University where she taught English Composition and tutored students in writing. At Tech, she earned her Master of Arts in English. Prior to that, Hannah received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Austin Peay State University.

Outside of her role at Cumberland, Hannah enjoys reading at home with her three cats, concerts, and movie theater popcorn.

JESSICA FENN

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Librarian / Instructor
Work Email: jfenn@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: 615-547-1302
Location: Vise Library
Category: Faculty
Department: Doris & Harry Vise University Library
Degrees:
A.S., University of Tennessee
B.S., Middle Tennessee State University
M.S.I.S., University of Tennessee
Bio:

Jessica Fenn joined the Vise Library staff in 2021 as a technical service librarian. Jessica received her master’s degree in Information Science through UT-Knoxville Spring 2020. Jessica had one practicum experience at Middle Tennessee State University in 2019.  She has also worked at Volunteer State Community College as a Library Assistant for 10 years.

Jessica grew up in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Middle Tennessee State University in 2017 and an Associates of Science degree in Psychology from Volunteer State Community College in 2013.

JIM SHULMAN

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Dean of the Labry School of Science, Technology, and Business, and Assistant Professor
Work Email: jshulman@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: 615-547-1210
Location: Labry Hall, Room 104
Category: Faculty
School: The Millard and JJ Oakley School of Humanities, Education and the Arts
Degrees:
B.A., Vanderbilt University
J.D., Vanderbilt University
Bio:

For over 40 years, Jim Shulman has been an invested member of the Middle Tennessee community.

A graduate of Vanderbilt Law School, Shulman had a long career in Tennessee’s state government, including being the lead legal counsel for the state Department of Finance and Administration, chief of staff for then-Speaker of the House Jimmy Naifeh, deputy commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Health, and executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability.

In 1999, he was elected to the Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Council (25th District), where he served two four-year terms and chaired the Budget, Transportation and Public Works Committees, prioritizing city funding accountability and emergency preparedness.

In 2015, he was elected to the Metro Council as an At-large member and served in that position until he was elected as Nashville’s 9th Vice Mayor after a 2018 special election. He was then re-elected in 2019 for the new term which concludes in 2023.

He begins a new path in the Fall of 2023 by joining the faculty at Cumberland University where he will be teaching political science.

Shulman and his wife Lori have two daughters, Madeline and Audrey. He is a Cincinnati Reds baseball fan and has run ten half-marathons.

JENNY BALLARD

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Assistant Professor of Theatre
Work Email: jballard@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: 615-547-1292
Location: Heydel Fine Arts Center
Category: Faculty
School: The Millard and JJ Oakley School of Humanities, Education and the Arts
Degrees:
B.A., University of Tennessee, Knoxville
M.F.A., Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Bio:

Jenny Ballard is thrilled to be joining the faculty at Cumberland University as an Assistant Professor of Theatre.  She is from Knoxville, TN, and has lived in Baton Rouge, LA for the past 13 years, where she served as Managing Artistic Director of Theatre Baton Rouge, and as an Adjunct Professor in the Theatre Department at Louisiana State University.

She received her B.A. in English and Theatre from the University of Tennessee, and her M.F.A. in Theatre Performance from LSU.  She has been acting and directing professionally for over 25 years.  She is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, and been seen in American Horror Story: Coven, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Cover Me, NCIS: New Orleans, The First, Keanu, and most recently in Apple TV+’s Black Bird.

Favorite theatrical acting credits include Proof, The Taming of the Shrew, Pride and Prejudice, Twelfth Night, All the King’s Men, King Lear, A Few Good Men, The Crucible, and Clue; favorite directing credits include Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Disney’s Newsies, Rock of Ages, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Drowsy Chaperone, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Baskerville: A Sherlock Homes Mystery, The Wizard of Oz, Godspell, and Little Women.

MICHAEL FULBRIGHT

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Assistant Professor of Biology
Work Email: mfulbright@cumberland.edu
Location: Memorial Hall, Room 309-F
Category: Faculty
School: The Labry School of Science, Technology, and Business
Degrees:
B.S., Austin Peay State University
M.S., Austin Peay State University
Bio:

Michael Fulbright is a physiological ecologist and functional morphologist. He has worked on a variety of research projects, from cave surveys of bats to the kinematics of snake striking. A common thread of his research is the love and deep interest in zoology. He is looking to recruit and incorporate undergraduates in his research at Cumberland University. As a first-generation college student, Michael is especially interested in recruiting students from underserved communities. A central aspect of his teaching philosophy is that diversity promotes creative thought.

Michael completed his Bachelor of Science in Biology Degree with a concentration of Distributive Teaching at Austin Peay State University (APSU). He then went on to complete a Master of Science in Biology Degree at APSU. His MS thesis was “Habitat selection of cottonmouth snakes”. Michael then went to pursue his PhD at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. His dissertation “Bite forces, jaw muscle anatomy, and metabolic costs of digestion in map turtles” is a broad approach at understanding the form-function integration of the feeding apparatuses of freshwater turtles.

Before coming to Cumberland, Michael was an Instructor and A&P Lab Coordinator at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Michael also taught as an adjunct instructor at Austin Peay State University and South Louisiana Community College.

Professional affiliations include the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetologist’s League, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

https://fulbrightm.wixsite.com/biology

CHELSEA STERNE

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Assistant Professor of Psychology
Work Email: csterne@cumberland.edu
Location: Labry Hall, Room 230
Category: Faculty
School: The Millard and JJ Oakley School of Humanities, Education and the Arts
Degrees:
B.A., Vanderbilt University
M.S., University of South Carolina, Aiken
Ph.D., University of Texas, San Antonio
Bio:

Dr. Chelsea Sterne is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Cumberland University. Prior to coming to Cumberland, she served as an instructor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a clinical research assistant for the STRONG STAR Research Consortium, as well as a licensed clinical therapist working in childhood personality and cognitive assessment.

Dr. Sterne holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology, a Master of Science in Applied Clinical Psychology, as well as a Ph.D. in military health psychology. Prior to receiving her graduate degrees, Dr. Sterne served as a U.S. Army officer from 2014-2017.

Dr. Sterne has clinical experience in the treatment of military-related trauma, adolescent and childhood mood disorders, developmental disorders, chronic health conditions, and borderline personality disorder, as well as psychological assessment for both children and adults.

Her research is primarily focused on military psychological trauma, combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder, and comorbid posttraumatic stress and chronic pain. Specific topics of previous research include gender differences in psychological resilience, patterns of psychiatric aeromedical evacuations from military combat deployments, aggression and domestic violence in military relationships, and the efficacy and implementation of various treatment methods for posttraumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. She has also conducted research on genetic biomarkers related to fibromyalgia and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Dr. Sterne’s teaching responsibilities primarily include research methods, behavioral statistics, general psychology, and clinical psychology.

HEIDI PETERS

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Assistant Professor of Athletic Training and Coordinator of Clinical Education
Work Email: hpeters@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: 615-547-1328
Location: Dallas Floyd Gymnasium
Category: Faculty
School: The Jeanette C. Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions
Degrees:
B.S.A.T., Marywood University
D.A.T., Indiana State University
Bio:

Dr. Heidi Peters graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Marywood University in Scranton, PA in 2014, followed by her Doctorate in Athletic Training from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN in 2019. Dr. Peters has spent time working clinically in various settings including outpatient physical therapy, secondary schools, NCAA athletics, orthopedic physicians’ offices, and most recently as a per diem athletic trainer through Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Dr. Peters began her career as an educator in 2016 as an adjunct in the athletic training and exercise science programs at Marywood University. She continued her clinical work and spent time as a preceptor while completing her doctorate. She transitioned to academia full time in 2021. She continues her traditional research agenda in athletic training education, most recently sitting on the Recruitment and Retention Research Committee for the Association for Athletic Training Education. Dr. Peters practice-based research has focused on athletic trainers’ use of social and media spaces for advocacy, as well as data driven decision making for clinical online education.

CAROLE BUCY

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Distinguished University Professor
Category: Faculty
Department: Office of Academic Affairs
Degrees:
B.A., Baylor University
M.A., George Peabody College for Teachers
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
Bio:

Carole Bucy has been recently named “Distinguished University Professor,” at Cumberland University, after a long career as a history professor at Volunteer State Community College.  She also serves in the honorary position of Davidson County Historian.  She holds degrees in history from Baylor University, George Peabody College, and Vanderbilt University where she earned her Ph.D. in U.S. History.   As a longtime advocate for local and state history, she is a regular speaker on Tennessee and Nashville history in all parts of the state to a variety of organizations and groups.

Carole regularly teaches classes for the public known as “Nashville 101 and 102” and other topics as a way to help local Nashvillians learn and appreciate the city’s history. During the COVID pandemic, she taught Tennessee 101 and 102, for the Tennessee Historical Society by Zoom.  More than 400 people took these classes, not only from Tennessee, but also from 45 of the 50 states, and 4 countries.   In October 2017, she travelled to Magdeburg, Germany with a Nashville Sister Cities delegation and gave a talk there on Nashville history.  She regularly teaches for Vanderbilt’s Osher Life-long Learning program and has just completed a six-week course for this program on the 1930s in the United States and Tennessee.

She conducts teacher workshops on the incorporation of Tennessee history into existing U.S. history courses and is a frequent speaker across the state on a variety of historical subjects. She is the author of the textbook used in 4th and 5th Social Studies classes in Metro Schools as well as other districts across the state.  She serves on the Advisory Board of the Tennessee Historical Quarterly. She is considered the foremost authority on the history of how Nashville and Davidson County consolidated their governments to create Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County.  This was among the earlies city-county consolidation sin the United States.

Dr. Bucy was the lead researcher for the Nashville Public Library’s Votes for Women Room, commemorating the 100th anniversary of Tennessee ratification of the 19th Amendment that gave across the United States the right to vote, as well as a consultant for the Tennessee State Museum’s Woman Suffrage Exhibit which opened in July. She is also featured on “By One Vote”, Nashville Public Television’s documentary about Tennessee’s ratification of the 19th amendment, which had distribution to public television stations across the country.

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