Dr. Andra Tharp
Lee University has named Dr. Andra Tharp as director of the McNair Scholars Program, designed to prepare students for graduate and doctoral studies through research and other scholarly activities. In this role, she will also direct the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship.
Prior to her appointment at Lee, Dr. Tharp worked in the Pentagon, filling roles such as senior prevention advisor and acting deputy director for the Department of Air Force Integrated Resilience Office, senior prevention advisor for the Department of Defense Violence Prevention Cell and Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, and director for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She also served as the acting chief in the Research and Evaluation Branch, a senior health scientist, and a behavioral scientist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
“We are so pleased to welcome Dr. Andra Tharp to Lee University as the new director of the McNair Scholars Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship,” said Lee Provost Dr. Debbie Murray. “Her qualifications are exemplary, and she will be a tremendous asset to our students who are preparing for rigorous graduate studies in the future."
Dr. Tharp was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in 2025, and in 2019, she was given the Department of the Air Force Award for Meritorious Civilian Service.
She received her Doctor of Philosophy in clinical psychology and her Master of Arts from the University of Oregon and her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of Arizona.
The Lee University McNair Scholars Program serves 25 juniors and seniors annually to prepare them for success in graduate school. The program provides eligible undergraduate participants with summer research internships guided by Lee faculty mentors, seminars, conference travel, presentation opportunities, and assistance obtaining financial support for graduate education.
Lee University began its McNair program in October 2017 upon receipt of a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program is named after an American physicist and NASA astronaut who died during the launch of the Challenger space shuttle in January of 1986. The goal of the DOE program is to increase the attainment of PhD degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society, particularly those with strong academic potential coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship exists to cultivate student involvement in high quality research and creative endeavors through faculty-mentored scholarship.
For more information on Lee’s McNair Scholars program, visit https://www.leeuniversity.edu/mcnair/.