Faculty Category: Faculty

JODI SYDENSTRICKER

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Academic Coach and Instructor
Work Email: jsydenstricker@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: 615-453-6392
Location: Learning and Career Commons, Room 203
Category: Faculty
Department: Academic Success Center, Office of Enrollment, Admissions, and Student Financial Services
Degrees:
A. A., Cumberland University
B. S., Cumberland University
M.B.A., Cumberland University
Bio:

Jodi Sydenstricker is from Lebanon, TN. Jodi has been at Cumberland since 2017 when she started her academic journey at CU. Upon graduating with her bachelors, Jodi joined the Admissions team full-time in May of 2021 as the University Concierge.

In January 2022, Jodi was promoted to the Campus Visit & Guest Experience Coordinator. In October 2023, Jodi earned her MBA and started a new position as an Academic Coach and Instructor where she currently resides.

Jodi is a member of the 1842 Society, Omicron Delta Kappa Honors Society, Delta Mu Delta, and served as a Graduate Studies Representative for SGA. Jodi’s favorite thing about CU is working with the students and serving the Lebanon community. Jodi’s passions outside of work include attending sporting events, traveling, and finding an enjoyable book to read.

 

NOA STROOP

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Assistant Professor of Business
Work Email: nstroop@cumberland.edu
Location: Bone Hall, Room 207
Category: Faculty
School: The Labry School of Science, Technology, and Business
Degrees:
B.S., Tennessee Technological University
M.B.A., Tennessee Technological University
D.B.A., Trevecca Nazarene University
Bio:

Dr. Noa D Stroop grew up in Wilson County, attending Mt. Juliet Christian Academy. He later acquired a BSBA and MBA from Tennessee Technological University. Finally, he earned his DBA from Trevecca Nazarene University, concentrating in Higher Education Leadership. His work history includes almost 10 years in the food service industry and an equal amount of experience in sales, marketing, and management capacities.  Dr. Stroop is now the Program Director for the Associate of Arts in Business.

Dr. Stroop is a self-proclaimed ‘goal-getter,’ having made a memory in all 50 states by 27 and earning a doctorate by 30. He is currently achieving his dream career of teaching college students’ leadership and life principles in his hometown while building a consulting firm specializing in small business growth acceleration//entrepreneurship and coaching his high school alma mater’s soccer team. He is an active member of Joy Church, residing in his hometown of Mount Juliet with his wife, Nicole, and corgi-pup, Winston. If he isn’t at CU, consulting, or coaching soccer, he is likely to be at a concert, on a river, starting a business, bingeing a show with his wife, or gaming.

SANDRA SMITH

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Coordinator of Educator Preparation Programs and Associate Professor of Special Education
Work Email: sandy.smith@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: (615) 547-1327
Location: Bone Hall, Room 101
Category: Faculty
School: The Millard and JJ Oakley School of Humanities, Education and the Arts
Degrees:
B.S., Tennessee Technological University
M.A., Tennessee Technological University
Ed.S., Tennessee Technological University
Ed.D., Tennessee State University
Bio:

Prior to becoming a higher education faculty member, Dr. Sandy Smith taught twenty years in the P-12 setting.  She served as an elementary, special education, gifted and adult education teacher. Her areas of interest include special education, diversity, assessment, and literacy.  She has co-authored a number of college-level texts including The Student Teaching and Field Experience Handbook (7th edition), Teaching Reading in the Today’s Middle Schools (1st edition), Teaching Through Stories, Yours, Mine and Theirs (1st edition), and Teaching Reading in Today’s Elementary Schools (9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th editions). 

Dr. Smith is actively involved in a variety of professional organizations, including the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), The Tennessee Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators (TACTE), the Association for Supervision and Curriculum (ASCD), the International Literacy Association (ILA), and the Literacy Association of Tennessee (LAT).  Currently in LAT, Dr. Smith is a member of the Board of Directors holds the state leadership position of Treasurer.    

At Cumberland University, Dr. Smith teaches undergraduate and graduate-level courses for candidates seeking teacher licensure.  She teaches courses related to collaboration, special education, English as a Second Language (ESL), and literacy and provides support for candidates in numerous field and clinical experiences.  She advises licensure candidates seeking endorsements in special education, elementary education, and ESL.

Dr. Smith serves as the program director for the Master of Arts in Teaching program. She participates in a number of campus-wide committees, including the CU Colloquium Planning Committee.  Dr. Smith often presents professional development programs for area school systems and serves on a number of state-level committees organized by the Tennessee State Department of Education.  

Dr. Smith lives in Overton County with her husband of 47 years, David.  They have two sons, Dustin and Tyler, a daughter-in-law, Mandy, a grandson, Marek, one Siberian Husky dog and four cats.  

 

 

MELISSA SOMERVILLE

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Assistant Professor of Nursing
Work Email: msomerville@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: (260) 438-2878
Location: McFarland Hall, Room 1112
Category: Faculty
School: The Jeanette C. Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions
Degrees:
A.S.N., Alvin Community College
B.S.N., University of Phoenix
M.S.N., Indiana Wesleyan University
Ph.D., Capella University
Bio:

Dr. Somerville joined the faculty at Cumberland University in 2015. She works in the RN-BSN and MSN nursing programs, both teaching and developing courses. She taught as an adjunct and was Interim Director of the RN-BSN program, August 2017-2018. She currently is a full-time faculty. Dr. Somerville’s nursing background includes Neuro, Cardiac, and Neuro-Surgical Intensive Care.  She enjoys presenting workshops and presentations promoting nursing education and evidence-based practice. 

Her publication includes Dissertation: QSEN Initiatives Patient Safety Officer: A Quantitative Study On Baccalaureate Nursing Students’ Patient Safety Competency, 2016, Thesis: Nurses’ Perception of Specialty Certification: A Replication Study of the American Board of Nursing Specialties, 2010, and Rubrics are a Good Thing. (2010). Illumination, 2 (2). 1-2

Dr. Somerville has presented at the Cumberland University Colloquium on the topic Student Engagement in Online Learning.

 

KARAH SPROUSE

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Assistant Professor of Business
Work Email: ksprouse@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: (615) 453-6301
Location: Labry Hall, Room 113
Category: Faculty
School: The Labry School of Science, Technology, and Business
Degrees:
B.S., University of Tennessee, Knoxville
M.B.A., University of Mississippi
D.B.A., Liberty University
Bio:

Karah Sprouse is an Assistant Professor of Business at Cumberland University. She began teaching at Cumberland in 2014 and is the Program Director for Project Management.

Prior to teaching in Cumberland University’s business school, she worked for companies such as LexisNexis and UL (Underwriters Laboratories) in software implementation. During that time, she became a PMP certified project manager in charge of multi-year implementations with clients such as Walgreens, United Airlines, and Harley
Davidson.

These professional experiences have culminated in her interest to research how Generation Z is impacting project and work team performance as well as how they are motivated and engaged, especially when working with colleagues and leaders representing older generations.

RICHARD STORIE II

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Associate Professor of Exercise and Sport Science
Work Email: rstorie@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: (615) 453-6356
Location: McFarland Hall, Room 1156A
Category: Faculty
School: The Jeanette C. Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions
Degrees:
B.Ed., University of Toledo
M.A., Adelphi University
Ed.D., Trevecca Nazarene University
Bio:

Dr. Richard “Dick” Storie began at Cumberland University in 2011 teaching in the Exercise and Sport Science Program. He is a former faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at the University of Texas, Austin and Director of the UT Fitness & Performance Center. In addition to academia, Dr. Storie has held various positions in hospitals working primarily in cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. These experiences led him to start-up and administrator opportunities with three highly acclaimed Medical Fitness Centers that incorporate fitness, physical therapy, physician services, and community health promotion. These achievements garnered him the first ever co-recipient of the National Apple Achievement Award as a pioneer in Medical Fitness awarded by Modern Healthcare.

Dr. Storie has been involved in a number of entrepreneurial ventures, including a consulting firm specializing in athletic physiological testing, injury prevention, and performance enhancement that he founded and operated for 11 years. During that time, Dr. Storie served on two U.S. Olympic Committees addressing High Performance Athletics, and he has served as a Sport Physiology Consultant to the Nashville Predators since 2006.

He has served on numerous committees and boards throughout the industry, including the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) National Committee on Certification, and Education Chair for the Medical Fitness Association. He currently serves on the ACSM Professional Education Committee, Exercise Science Education Committee, and holds several ACSM certifications.

His research has been published and presented nationally, including anaerobic power assessment and training outcomes in various populations; dose-response relationships during physical activity; and cardiopulmonary, metabolic, and functional responses to acute and chronic exercise and therapeutic interventions.

 

JENNIFER SPIRES

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Instructor of Nursing
Work Email: jspires@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: (615) 547-1288
Location: McFarland Hall, Room 1127
Category: Faculty
School: The Jeanette C. Rudy School of Nursing and Health Professions
Degrees:
B.S.N., Tennessee Techonological University
M.S.N., Vanderbilt University
D.N.P., University of Alabama, Huntsville
Bio:

Dr. Jennifer Spires began at Cumberland University in the spring of 2019. She has taught in both Adult Health 2 clinical rotations and Nursing Foundations laboratories. Dr. Spires started her nursing career working as a bedside nurse in a stepdown cardiac surgery unit at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she spent 4 years. During this time, she was working towards the completion of her Master of Science in Nursing with a Family Nurse practitioner concentration. She then went on to practice as a nurse practitioner in an ENT outpatient clinic where she spent eleven years. After obtaining her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2017, she knew that she wanted to pursue a position in nursing education. 

Dr. Spires is Board Certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and is a member of the International Nursing Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau, Middle Tennessee Advanced Practice Nurses, and the Society of Otorhinolaryngology and Head-Neck Nurses. 

Dr. Spires lives in Mount Juliet with her husband and their two sons. She enjoys reading, traveling, trying new restaurants, and playing with her family’s three dogs in her personal time. 

 

 

 

 

 

STEPHEN SPANN

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Librarian and Instructor
Work Email: sspann@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: (615) 547-1354
Location: Vise Library
Category: Faculty
Department: Doris & Harry Vise University Library
Degrees:
B.S., Middle Tennessee State University
J.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville
M.S.I.S., University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Bio:

Steve joined the Vise Library staff in the fall of 2019 as a Librarian and Instructor. He earned his Masters of Science in Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee in the spring of 2019. Steve had two practicum experiences in 2018, one at Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School Library and one at Vanderbilt University’s Law School Library. He also worked as a reference librarian at the Williamson County Public Library in Franklin, Tennessee while he was pursuing his M.S.I.S. 

Steve grew up in the Bellevue community of Nashville. He earned a Bachelor of Science in political science from Middle Tennessee State University in 1981. He was a member of the school’s debate team. He then earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Tennessee in 1984. He spent the next 25 years practicing law in Nashville, working for the Middle District of the Tennessee Court of Appeals, law firms King and Ballow, and Sherrard and Roe, and in the legal departments of First American National Bank and Gaylord Entertainment Company. He was involved in a wide variety of legal issues, but worked primarily in contracts, labor and employment law, general business litigation, and intellectual property.  

Steve is a member of the Pi Gamma Mu honor society, the Tennessee Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries, the American Library Association, the Tennessee Historical Society, and the Abraham Lincoln Association.

STEPHEN SHAO

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Professor of Business
Work Email: sshao@cumberland.edu
Work Phone: (615) 453-6304
Location: Bone Hall, Room 206
Category: Faculty
School: The Labry School of Science, Technology, and Business
Degrees:
B.A., University of Virginia
M.B.A., Old Dominion University
Ph.D., University of Maryland, College Park
Bio:

Stephen P. Shao, Jr. is a college professor/administrator, researcher and technical consultant.   He joined Cumberland University as a full time faculty member in 2017 after serving as an adjunct instructor for several years.  Dr. Shao holds a Ph.D. degree in Management Science from the University of Maryland, an M.B.A. in Business Administration from Old Dominion University, and a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Virginia.  He has received additional training from courses, institutes and industry workshops at the University of Minnesota, AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bell Northern Research.

Dr. Shao has served as a faculty member and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in mathematics, computer information systems, marketing research, project management, operations management and economics at universities in Maryland, Tennessee, and Virginia.  Dr. Shao is a former director of two university research centers and currently serves as founding editor of the CU Labry School’s business publication Wilson County Trends and founding program director of the school’s supply chain management curriculum.  Before his current academic activities, Dr. Shao was employed in the telecommunications industry as a member of technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, NJ and later as Senior Manager of Strategic Network Planning for the Canadian telecom manufacturer NorTel Networks’ U.S. operations headquartered in Nashville, TN.

Dr. Shao’s research efforts have been supported by a variety of sources, including grants received from the National Institutes of Health, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Tennessee Valley Authority, IBM Corporation, Dell Foundation, BellSouth Foundation, AOL Foundation, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, Baltimore Regional Planning Council, and others.   In addition to serving on numerous national, state and local advisory boards, Dr. Shao has authored over 150 published articles and conference presentations. Past awards and professional memberships include a AT&T Special Telecollaboration Award, Tennessee Governor’s Certificate of Appreciation, IEEE Society; National Engineering Consortium; Institute of Management Science; International Teleconferencing Association; Who’s Who in Technology Today; International Who’s Who; Tennessee Association of Independent Colleges and Schools and Omega Rho Honorary Society.  

 

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