Samford University News Releases

Date: Dec 5, 2007
Contact: Philip Poole , ppoole@samford.edu, 205-726-2823

Samford Trustees Approve New Doctoral Degree

Just hours after a major announcement about the naming of Samford University's school of business, the university's board of trustees approved a new degree program in nursing and several funding projects at their winter meeting Dec. 4.

A new doctor of nursing practice degree program will begin in June 2008, with the first students expected to graduate in May 2009. The degree requires 40 credits that can be completed in one calendar year of full-time study.

Funding plans were approved for renovations to Lena Vail Davis Hall and other maintenance projects. Trustees earlier had approved extensive refurbishing for Vail, one of the original residence halls, which now houses freshmen women.

Four were elected to the faculty:

John Jefferson Arnold, assistant professor of pharmaceuticals, effective June 1, 2008. Arnold has a doctor of philosophy degree in pharmacology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He comes from Aerie Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where he is a senior scientist in the pharmacology, research and development department.

Danielle Leigh Cruthirds, assistant professor of pharmacology, effective Oct. 1. She also has a PhD in pharmacology from UAB, where she has been a postdoctoral fellow in pathology. She also has been a postdoctoral fellow at Medical College of Georgia.

D. Mark DeVine, associate professor of divinity, effective Aug. 18, 2008. He earned graduate degrees at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. A former missionary in Thailand, DeVine is associate professor of theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Mo.

Steven R. Harmon, associate professor of divinity, effective Aug. 18, 2008. Most recently, Harmon has been on the faculty of the Campbell University divinity school, Buies Creek, N.C. He has graduate degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas.

Trustees elected new officers and affirmed the election of three new board members. Birmingham attorney W. Clark Watson was elected board chair, and former Alabama Gov. Albert P. Brewer was elected vice chair and chair of the board's executive committee. Birmingham businessman John E. Bell Jr. and Cullman businesswoman Wynema J. Lowry were elected as secretary and assistant secretary, respectively.

New board members are Birmingham attorney Hobart Grooms Jr.; James R. Jackson, a pharmacist in Alexander City; and Gary R. Pearman, a Huntsville automobile dealer. Grooms previously served as a trustee, and Pearman's late father, Ray, was a Samford trustee for many years.

Re-elected to additional four year terms were Gerald Anderson, Selma; Lev H. Bragg, Birmingham; Buddy Champion, Trussville; S. Earl Dove, Dothan; Elmer B. Harris, Birmingham; Dale Splawn, Birmingham; Lowry and Watson.

In other action, trustees approved the naming of the Carl E. Miller Jr. Press Box at Joe Lee Griffin Field, home of Samford's baseball team. Miller is a 1950 Samford graduate and three-sport letterman as a student-athlete. The Miller family provided major funding for the new facility.

Trustees also affirmed fund raising plans for a proposed new football field house.

Westmoreland reported more than 1,700 applications had been received for fall 2008 admission, a record for this point in the year.

Earlier in the day, trustees gathered with more than 300 other Samford constituents for the public announcement of the naming of Brock School of Business, honoring long-time Samford trustee Harry B. Brock Jr.