Pictured from left to right: (back row) Derrick Brooks, Jennifer Bledsoe, Dr. Barsha Pickell, Evelyn Thompson and Mike Hodges; (front row) TiShauna Hoffman, Janet Carter, Kimberly Harrington and Lauren Stevens. Not pictured: Holly Tkaczyk and Nancy Thomas.
Cleveland State Community College held an orientation for the following new faculty and staff on campus.
- Dr. Barsha Pickell, dean of fine arts, humanities, social sciences and education
Dr. Barsha Pickell was recently hired as dean for the division of fine arts, humanities, social sciences and education. Pickell comes to Cleveland State from Shorter University in Rome, Ga, where she served as chair of the department of social sciences and taught political science, history and other related disciplines.
She holds a Ph.D. in government from University of Virginia, a master’s in political science from University of Tennessee and earned her bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Carson Newman College.
- Jennifer Bledsoe, chief of campus police
Prior to accepting the chief of campus police position at Cleveland State, Bledsoe served as a POST certified police officer for 18 years. She was a patrol officer with the University of Tennessee and was assigned to criminal investigations as a detective for over ten years. Most recently, she worked in the Madisonville office of probation and parole as a parole officer. Bledsoe received her bachelor’s degree in sociology / criminal justice from the University of Tennessee and is currently working on her master’s in emergency management and homeland security from American Military University.
- Lauren Stevens, agriculture instructor
Lauren Stevens was recently hired as an agriculture instructor for CSCC. Stevens earned her master’s degree in animal science from Tennessee State University and her bachelor’s from University of Tennessee-Knoxville, also in animal science. During her time as a graduate research assistant, Stevens was responsible for assisting in managing livestock animals and facilities, diagnosing, treating and handling of animals, preparing and maintaining records of all aspects of animal management, training, scheduling and managing employees and developing and implementing in-service education procedures.
- Janet Carter, nursing instructor
Prior to accepting the full-time position at Cleveland State, Carter served as an adjunct instructor in nursing for Cleveland State, as well as a registered nurse for Children’s Hospital at Erlanger. She received her associate degree in nursing from Cleveland State, her bachelor’s in nursing from East Tennessee State University and her master’s from East Tennessee State University in nursing education.
- Derek Brooks, financial aid specialist
Derek Brooks was hired as the financial aid specialist. Prior to accepting the position at Cleveland State, Brooks served as a loan officer for Tennessee Valley Credit Union and also worked in financial aid at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC), East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and Tusculum College. Brooks received his associate’s degree from Walters State Community College and his bachelor’s in business from Tusculum College.
- Holly Tkaczyk, librarian I, reference and instruction
Holly Tkaczyk was recently hired as a librarian for Cleveland State. Prior to accepting this position at Cleveland State, Tkaczyk served as the library assistant at Columbia State Community College where she was responsible for teaching information literacy classes for new students and collaborating with faculty to design library instruction presentations on specialized topics. She also assisted students with research skills and navigating databases and performed other detailed library operations. Tkaczyk received her bachelor’s in English from Michigan State University and her master’s in library science from the University of Alabama Tuscaloosa.
- TiShauna Hoffman, prior learning assessment specialist
TiShauna Hoffman was recently hired as the prior learning assessment specialist for Cleveland State. Prior to this position, she served as the veterans employment representative for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. She was responsible for recruiting employment and training opportunities for veterans with business, industry and community-based organizations, planning and participating in job fairs to promote job opportunities and other services to veterans, as well as promoting federal and state specific credentialing and training opportunities for veterans. She served as a Spanish cryptologic linguist in the United State Air Force and received her associate degree in Spanish from the Defense Language Institute, her bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies from Charter Oak State College and her master’s in Education from Lee University.
- Evelyn Thompson, women’s head basketball coach
Evelyn Thompson was hired as the women’s basketball coach at Cleveland State. Thompson comes to Cleveland State from Tennessee State University where she served as the assistant coach / recruiting coordinator / defensive coordinator. Thompson has over 20 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, including 13 of head and assistant coaching experience at Tennessee Tech, Michigan State, Buffalo, Arizona State, Western Kentucky and Stony Brook University. She received her associate degree in English and psychology from Northeast Mississippi Community College, her bachelor’s degree in English from Auburn University.
- Mike Hodges, director, law enforcement training academy
Mike Hodges recently accepted the position of the director of the Cleveland State Law Enforcement Training Academy. Hodges comes to this position from the chief of campus police at Cleveland State, and prior to being hired at CSCC, he was a P.O.S.T. (Peace Officers Standards and Training) certified police officer with 17 years of experience. His responsibilities have included patrol tactics, traffic accident investigation, preliminary investigations of both property crimes and crimes against persons, crime scene investigation, field training officer and departmental instructor in numerous areas. Hodges received his bachelor’s degree in history from Maryville College and his master’s degree in criminal justice from Bethel University.
- Nancy Thomas, director of the Nursing Program
Nancy Thomas was recently hired as the director of the Cleveland State nursing program. Prior to accepting this position, Thomas worked as an associate professor / evening coordinator for the Cleveland State nursing program where she supervised cohorts of evening nursing students and provided classroom and clinical instruction for first and second year associate degree nursing courses. Nancy received her bachelor’s in nursing from Mississippi College, her master’s in pediatric nursing and is currently pursuing her doctorate in nursing education from the University of Tennessee.