Lee Awards 8 Faculty Tenure

Lee University has awarded eight faculty members tenure by the Board of Directors. These faculty members include: Doug Warner, Linda Thompson, George Nerren, Patricia McClung, Kevin Brown, Patty Silverman, Jason Ward, and Stephen Swindle.

Dr. Doug Warner is an assistant professor of music at Lee, teaching classes such as Applied Low Brass and Introduction to Music History. He has been a member of the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera since 1985 as the primary trombonist.

Dr.

Warner earned a D.M.A and M.M in trombone performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He also earned a B.M. in trombone performance at The University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.

Dr. Linda Thompson is an assistant professor of music education. She currently serves as chair of AERA, a Music Education special interest group, as well as on the executive board of the Society of Music Teacher Education.

Dr. Thompson received a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Music Education as well as minors in teaching and teacher education. She also earned a M.S. in education and music from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She completed her B.S. at Northern State University in secondary education-music.

Dr. George Nerren, a professor of education, has been a member of the Lee faculty for six years. Previously, he acted as a senior consultant for the Center of Educational Leadership and has served as superintendent for the Dyersburg City School System and the Bradley County School System.

Dr. Nerren earned an Ed.D. from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in educational leadership, a M.Ed. in education administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and a B.S. in political science and sociology from Middle Tennessee State University.

Dr. Patricia McClung is an assistant professor in special education in the Helen DeVos College of Education at Lee. She began teaching at Lee as an adjunct professor in 1998 and became a full-time instructor in 2002. Aside from teaching, McClung is actively involved in the education honors society, Kappa Delta Pi, as well as the Council for Exceptional Children. She is native to Great Britain and wife to the dean of students, Alan McClung.

Dr. McClung received her Ed.D. from the University of East Anglia and a M. Ed. at Lee University. She completed her Bachelor's degree in education from the University of London as a distinguished scholar.

Dr. Kevin Brown is an assistant professor of English in the Department of English and Modern Foreign Languages. He specializes in American literature and contemporary literature. In addition to teaching, Brown has published articles on authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, Ralph Ellison, and John Barth. He is also the head sponsor of Sigma Tau Delta, the national English honors society, at Lee.

Dr. Brown completed his Ph.D. in English at the University of Mississippi, his master's degree in English at East Tennessee State University, a second master's degree in library and information science at the University of Alabama, and his bachelor's degree in English at Milligan College.

Dr. Patty Silverman has been an assistant professor of public relations at Lee since 2000. She also serves as the lead advisor for the Lee chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. Before coming to Lee, Silverman was the public relations director and spokesperson for the founder and chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network, Pat Robertson.

Dr. Silverman received her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in communication. She earned a M.A. at Regent University and a B.S. from Western Carolina University.

Dr. Jason Ward joined the Lee faculty in 2002 as an assistant professor of history. Dr. Ward's specialty areas include Latin American history and world history. In addition to teaching, Dr. Ward helped create the Latin American Studies minor that Lee offers, which included designing a study tour of Mexico for Lee University students.

Dr. Ward earned his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, Riverside in history. He received his B.A. from the University of Washington.

Dr. Stephen Swindle, an associate professor of political science, became a Lee University faculty member in 2004. He previously taught at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Brigham Young University, and Southeast Missouri State University. Swindle specializes and teaches in the areas of comparative politics, American government, and research methods.

Dr. Swindle received his Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of California, San Diego in political science, and his B.A. in political science from the University of California, Irvine.