15th Class of Maxine Smith Fellows completes its year of leadership development
The 15th Class of Maxine Smith Fellows – 17 faculty and staff members from colleges and universities across Tennessee – has completed the year-long leadership development program named in honor of the late Maxine A. Smith, a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents from 1994 to 2006 and a longtime civil rights leader in Memphis.
The Maxine Smith Fellows Program is administered by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) Office of Organizational Effectiveness and is open to faculty, staff, and administrators at TBR colleges and the state’s locally governed universities. Its goal is to increase diversity in the faculty and senior leadership ranks in Tennessee public higher education. The group meets monthly, and the program provides professional development and training, mentoring, and collaborative-based project opportunities.
Since its inception, approximately 155 Fellows have completed the program, and many have advanced in leadership positions, including to college presidencies. Class members are nominated for the program by presidents of their institutions.
The Class of 2021-22, the 15th cohort, includes 10 administrators and faculty from TBR colleges and the system office, and seven from the locally governed institutions. They are:
- Antija Allen, Pellissippi State Community College
- Charria Campbell, Tennessee Tech University
- Sean Chism, Tennessee Board of Regents System Office
- Quincy Jenkins, Chattanooga State Community College
- Kiana Johnson, East Tennessee State University
- Brelinda Johnson, Middle Tennessee State University
- Deidre’ Kyle, Walters State Community College
- Erica Lee, Motlow State Community College
- Tongai Maodzwa, Northeast State Community College
- Adrian Montague, Jackson State Community College
- Arlene Nicholas-Phillips, Tennessee State University
- Barbara Scales, Motlow State Community College
- Cheryl Seay, Tennessee State University
- Tanya Shephard, Roane State Community College
- Eric Stokes, University of Memphis
- LaNeeca Williams, Austin Peay State University
- Johnny Wyatt, Nashville State Community College
The College System of Tennessee is the state’s largest public higher education system, with 13 community colleges, 24 colleges of applied technology and the online TN eCampus serving approximately 140,000 students. The system is governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents.