Seventeen new faculty members were elected by Samford University's board of trustees at their April 29 meeting. The new faculty members include:
Kristin A. Bakkegard, assistant professor of biology. Bakkegard is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and earned graduate degrees at Boston University and Auburn University She comes to Samford from Utah State University, where she has been a graduate assistant while completing a doctor of philosophy degree in biology.
Lowell S. Broom, professor and chair of accounting. Broom earned degrees at William Carey College, Mississippi College and Louisiana Tech University. He comes from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) where he has been associate dean and professor of accounting.
J. Chandra Clark, visiting instructor in journalism and mass communication. Clark has degrees in telecommunication and broadcast news from the University of Alabama, where she has been assistant director, broadcast marketing and media.
Erika Cretton-Scott, assistant professor of biochemistry and medicinal chemistry in the McWhorter School of Pharmacy. Cretton-Scott is as an associate director of drug metabolism with Idenix Pharmaceuticals. She has an undergraduate degree from St. Mary's College and a doctorate in pharmacology from UAB.
B. DeeAnn Dugan, assistant professor of pharmacy practice. Dugan has a doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Florida and most recently has been assistant professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University.
Jasmine P. Gaines, assistant professor of biology. Gaines has been an adjunct assistant professor at Samford and a postdoctoral scholar in UAB's department of nutrition sciences. Gaines has undergraduate and doctoral degrees in cellular and molecular biology from UAB.
Julie S. Jones, assistant professor of nursing. Jones has been a nurse at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and earned degrees in nursing from Auburn University and the University of Alabama.
Sean R. King, assistant professor of pharmacy administration. King has undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Mississippi and expects to earn a doctorate in pharmacy administration from Ole Miss later this month, where he has been a graduate research and teaching assistant.
John C. Knapp, professor of management and university professor. Knapp has a doctor of philosophy degree in theology and religious studies from the University of Wales and also is directing the new Frances Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership in Samford's Brock School of Business. Most recently he has been at Georgia State University.
Jeffrey A. Kyle, assistant professor of pharmacy practice. Kyle earned the doctor of pharmacy degree at Samford and also comes from Palm Beach Atlantic University, where he was an assistant professor.
Andrew J. Lampkins, joint appointment as assistant professor of chemistry in Howard College of Arts and Sciences and assistant professor of pharmacy in McWhorter School of Pharmacy. Lampkins has two doctorates, one in pharmacy from Butler University, and one in organic chemistry from the University of Florida. He comes from the University of Notre Dame where he has been a Walther Cancer Institute postdoctoral fellow.
Gregory Kent Laughlin, associate professor of law and director of the Lucille Beeson Law Library. Laughlin has a juris doctorate from the University of Missouri and a master of science in library science degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Gregory is coming from the University of Memphis, where he has been the associate dean for information resource, law library director and associate professor.
Jo Beth Newton, assistant professor of teacher education. Newton recently retired as superintendent of the Homewood, Ala., city schools. A Samford graduate, she received her doctor of education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Alabama.
Lakisha D. Moore, assistant professor of biology. Moore expects to earn the doctor of philosophy in pathology degree from UAB later this month.
Osvaldo Padilla, assistant professor of New Testament in Samford's Beeson Divinity School. Padilla has a doctorate in religious studies from the University of Aberdeen and most recently has been assistant professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.
LeeAnn G. Reynolds, assistant professor of history. Reynolds earned her graduate degrees in history from Vanderbilt University and comes from the University of Georgia where she was a Franklin Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow.
Jennifer Speights-Binet, assistant professor of geography. A Samford graduate, Speights-Binet earned a doctorate in geography at Louisiana State University. She has been assistant professor at the University of Houston, Clear Lake.