Dr. Jenny Mason is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Cumberland University’s Dean of the Millard and J.J. Oakley School of Humanities, Education and the Arts. Dr. Mason began at Cumberland in the fall of 2014 where her teaching responsibilities have included undergraduate courses in developmental psychology, abnormal psychology, statistics for the behavioral sciences, and research methods in psychology, as well as graduate statistics courses in other programs at the university. She served as Assistant Dean for one semester and then Interim Dean for one year before being selected to her current position. Prior to arriving at Cumberland, she taught as an Adjunct Professor at Lipscomb and Belmont Universities, was a Research and Corporate Consultant across the state, and a Clinical Therapist working in both individual and group settings with a concentration on aggression and sexual violence.

A Nashville native, Dr. Mason graduated from St. Cecilia Academy and went on to attend college at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. In search for more research opportunities, she transferred to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville her junior year, where she graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Psychology. Following graduation from Auburn University with her Master’s degree in Community/Agency Psychology, Dr. Mason worked for two years as a Child Therapist before returning to school to obtain her doctoral degree in Experimental Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi, taking nearly the full course load required for doctoral degrees in both Counseling Psychology and Experimental Psychology.

Research experiences for Dr. Mason included assisting parents of diabetic children to better understand medication and nutrition regimes in managing Type I Diabetes, developmental-based parenting training for parents of children ages 2 to 6, determining levels of change agency and diversity valuing in college students, and assessing the characteristics of those who most effectively challenge workplace bullying in order to provide useful training opportunities for new hires in a business or academic setting.

Suzann Lafferty is an Assistant Professor and Program Director of Criminal Justice at Cumberland University. Prior to coming to Cumberland, Ms. Lafferty served as a Special Agent Forensic Scientist with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) for seventeen years. During this time, she was a member of the Violent Crime Response Team and processed complex crime scenes throughout the state of Tennessee, specializing in microanalysis and latent prints. As a forensic scientist in TBI’s Nashville crime laboratory, she was assigned to the latent print unit where she processed evidence for the presence of latent prints and compared submitted and developed latent prints to known impressions. Ms. Lafferty has been accepted in the state of Tennessee as an expert witness. 

During her last six years at TBI, Ms. Lafferty was assigned to the Training Division. In this capacity, she instructed in the TBI State Academy, TBI Special Agent Academy, and at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy. She additionally instructed courses for the TN Department of Children Services, TN Department of Human Services, Comptroller’s Office, and the Office of the Inspector General. She also led a multi-agency team to develop the curriculum for Just and Fair Policing, which was a mandatory four-hour course for law enforcement in Tennessee. Ms. Lafferty was also instrumental in implementing and developing TBI LEARN (Law Enforcement Access Right Now), an online platform that delivers training courses to law enforcement and other state agencies. 

During her time at TBI, she attended numerous training courses and conferences. Ms. Lafferty is a life-time member of the Tennessee Division of the International Association for Identification (TN IAI). She also previously served as president, vice-president, conference chair, and treasurer for the TN IAI. 

Prior to joining as full-time faculty, Ms. Lafferty also served as an adjunct instructor in Criminal Justice at Cumberland University for four years.

Wyatt Keener began teaching at Cumberland University as an adjunct instructor in 2018 before being appointed to a full-time position in 2019. He has previously taught at the University of Tennessee, Pellissippi State Community College, and Volunteer State Community College. Mr. Keener holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee. He specializes in Old English Literature and First-Year Composition.

Mr. Keener has taught in the Honors Program since 2022. His teaching responsibilities also include Composition and a range of literature courses, including Shakespeare and British Literature. In addition to his work at Cumberland, Mr. Keener volunteers as a mentor with tnAchieves. His favorite aspect of teaching is helping students navigate the transition to post-secondary education. He resides in Wilson County with his wife and their dog.

Dr. Natalie Inman joined Cumberland University in 2010 after receiving her doctorate from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Inman is the author of Brothers and Friends: Kinship in Early America (University of Georgia Press), articles in the Tennessee Historical Quarterly and Journal of East Tennessee History, as well as a chapter in Before the Volunteer State: New Thoughts on Early Tennessee History, 1690-1800 (University of Tennessee Press). Her current research is on the cultural change and power dynamics within cross-cultural marriages between American Indians and Anglo-Americans in Early America. She supports indigenous rights and cultural sovereignty in Tennessee by serving as a consultant, providing public talks, and helping out at the Wilco Powwow. She has a forthcoming chapter in the book, New Directions in Family History. Dr. Inman is the author of three children’s books and maintains a non-profit, Haiti Heart Books, that promotes reading and celebrates Haitian culture.

Alan Hutchison joined the Cumberland University faculty in 2018 as an Adjunct Instructor of Speech.  He was brought on board in January of 2024 as a full-time Instructor of Speech and Program Director for the Communications program which he was tasked with developing and implementing.

Mr. Hutchison holds an undergraduate degree in Communications from Lipscomb University as well as post-graduate degrees in Theology (also Lipscomb) and Corporate Communications (Austin Peay State University).  With over 30 years of communications experience in corporate, non-profit, and self-employed settings he brings both an academic and applied perspective to the classroom.  Alan has a passion for education, having volunteered in primary education classrooms in Wilson County tutoring students.  As a corporate communicator, he is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and Sales and Marketing Executives International.

In his spare time Alan enjoys hunting, fishing, gardening, attending University of Kentucky football and basketball games with his nephews, and spending time with his dogs, Trigg and Cadi.  Fun fact: Alan has these two dogs as a direct result of his students’ persuasive speeches on “Adopt, Don’t Shop” for your next pet.