HAPPEL-PARKINS NAMED DEPARTMENT CHAIR

The College of Education (COE) at the University of Memphis has announced the appointment of Dr. Alison Happel-Parkins as chair of the Department of Leadership (LEAD). She currently holds a joint faculty appointment as associate professor of Educational Research and Higher and Adult Education and has served as LEAD’s interim chair since 2023.

“I’m excited to be undertaking this role on a permanent basis,” said Happel-Parkins. “I’m honored to work with such dedicated and collaborative faculty and staff in the Department of Leadership. I look forward to continuing to support the faculty, staff and students in my role as chair.”

Dr. Happel-Parkins’ expertise includes qualitative research methodology, and her scholarship has appeared in journals such as “Life Sciences,” “Health Education, Culture, Health & Sexuality,” and the “American Journal of Qualitative Research.”

“I am thrilled to have Alison join our leadership team,” said Dr. Michael Miller, dean of the COE. “She has a very strong record of success here at UofM in her teaching, research and service. Alison has a compelling vision for the future of the department. She has tremendous faculty support and is innovative and forward-thinking about the future of graduate education.”

The Department of Leadership offers graduate programs at the certificate, master’s and doctoral levels, including Higher and Adult Education, Student Affairs Administration, Leadership and Policy Studies, School Administration, and K–12 Educational Leadership.

Dr. Happel-Parkins joined the UofM in 2012 as an assistant professor after completing her doctoral studies at Georgia State University. She also holds a master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Luther College in Iowa.