Dr. Laura Bechard attended Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor in music in 2004.  She then moved on to graduate school in the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia, where she received a PhD in Genetics in 2010.  While pursuing her PhD, she worked in the field of telomere dynamics, with a focus on how telomeres relate to cancer.  After receiving her PhD, she moved to Nashville, where she spent 4 years as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Vanderbilt University, continuing her studies on telomeres.  She has worked at Cumberland University since 2014, where she teaches several biology courses and is conducting research on the skin microbiome. Dr. Bechard currently serves as President of the Faculty Senate.

Zachary Brown joined Cumberland University as a full-time faculty member in Fall of 2020. Before this, he worked as a mathematics instructor at Tennessee Technological University for four years. 

Zachary received two bachelor degrees in mathematics and computer science as well as a Master’s degree in mathematics, all from Tennessee Technological University. Because of this background, he often likes to help students with programming problems as well as math-related issues.

Eric Alspaugh joined Cumberland University as a full-time faculty member in 2019. Prior to this he served as an adjunct instructor the previous five years at Cumberland. While serving as an adjunct, he taught math and was the High School Principal at McClain Christian Academy in Lebanon Tennessee. Eric has taught middle and high school mathematics for twelve years. Prior to being in education, he has held positions as a Finance Manager and Controller in the private sector. 

Eric Alspaugh graduated from University of Tennessee, Knoxville with a Bachelor’s degree in Business, Operations Management December 1987. While returning to school to earn his teaching certification in mathematics, he also received his Master’s in Education from Tennessee State University in December 2003.