Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Search Finalists

Burnside, Kentucky

CV for Dr. Clinton R. Hayes

Dr. Clint Hayes currently serves as Interim Sr. Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer at Somerset Community College (SCC) in Somerset, KY. Dr. Hayes’ career has evolved through a variety of roles and industries, with more than 20 years of leadership experience ranging from manufacturing supervision and management to faculty and administrative roles in higher education.  

In his current position, Dr. Hayes works collaboratively with faculty and staff, the College president, and community stakeholders to provide high-quality educational opportunities for students at two campuses and four educational centers. He has also served as SCC’s Associate Provost and Chief Learning Officer where he worked with the College’s academic areas to improve the quality of online courses and academic scheduling processes and helped secure grants to bring exciting new training opportunities to the region. Before serving as SCC’s Associate Provost, Dr. Hayes served as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs for the Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. In this role, he worked with division faculty and staff to improve science and mathematics education and cultivate partnerships with community leaders and four-year institutions to provide students with seamless transfer opportunities. In addition to his duties as Associate Dean, Dr. Hayes also served as Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Research. Serving in this capacity, he worked to update and streamline the College’s Program Review and Planning processes and develop a more effective system for the documentation of student learning outcomes assessment. In the area of accreditation, Dr. Hayes successfully led SCC through both a Fifth-year Interim Report and Decennial Reaffirmation Report and Site Visit from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Preceding his move into administrative positions, Dr. Hayes served as a full-time biology faculty member with experience teaching at a primary campus, a center location and online.

Before shifting his career focus to higher education, Dr. Hayes spent several years working in business and industry in a variety of roles from quality control and equipment technician, to department supervisor and manager, and finally, shift management in manufacturing facilities.

Dr. Hayes holds an Ed. D. in Educational Leadership from the University of the Cumberlands, Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Biology degrees from Eastern Kentucky University, and an Associate in Science degree from Somerset Community College.

Wausau, Wisconsin

CV for Dr. Chris Scott Severson

Dr. Chris Severson has extensive experience developing valuable relationships with a variety of stakeholders to achieve the desired results.  He is consistently known as a high performer that takes accountability for results and applies innovative strategic thinking to exceed expectations.  Dr. Severson delivers top performance within the organization he serves through collaboration and strong interpersonal skills.

He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in economics, a Master’s of Business Administration from Benedictine University with an emphasis in marketing, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Edgewood College.

Dr. Severson’s background includes working in private industry, private education, and public education.  Also, he served eight years as a crew chief in the United States Air Force National Guard.  He has served as a dean at Northcentral Technical College (NTC) for over the last six years.  Currently, Dr. Severson holds the position of Dean for the School of Engineering and Technology at NTC.

Bailey, Mississippi

CV for Dr. Samuel Todd Brand

Samuel “Todd” Brand has spent over two decades working in the field of education.  Originally from Mendenhall, MS, Dr. Brand has spent the past seventeen years residing in Bailey, MS.  He currently serves as Division Chair of Fine Arts and Communication and as Arts & Letters Series Director at Meridian Community College.  Additionally, Dr. Brand has served as strength and conditioning coach for three men’s basketball coaches during his tenure at the college.   Dr. Brand has served at MCC since 2002.  While at MCC, he completed a Ph.D. in community college leadership at Mississippi State University. 

Dr. Brand’s background is in television and radio.  He has a BS in Mass Communication and an MS in Communication from Mississippi College.  Upon graduation from MC, he worked extensively in both television and radio.  This included stints as on air talent for both ESPN Radio and 16 WAPT TV in Jackson, MS. 

From television and radio, Dr. Brand moved into the field of education.  He began his career in the K-12 system, and quickly moved to the community college level.  Prior to working at Meridian Community College, he spent two years at East Central Community College in Decatur, MS.  In addition to his teaching duties at ECCC, he also served as assistant men’s basketball coach. 

While working in community college education, Dr. Brand has also taught at several other schools in the southeast in an adjunct capacity, including Delgado Community College, Florida Community College at Jacksonville, Three Rivers College, and Mississippi State University. 

Dr. Brand currently resides in Bailey, MS with his college sweetheart, Amy.  They have three sons: Eli, age 19, Noah, age 12, and Asher, age 6.  The Brands are members of Poplar Springs Drive Baptist Church in Meridian, MS where Dr. Brand serves as a deacon.  In his spare time, Dr. Brand enjoys movies, working out, acting, and reading. 

Houston, Texas

CV for Dr. Jimmy Adams

Dr. Adams currently serves as Dean, Media Arts and Technology Center of Excellence for Houston Community College. He has over 38 years of increasing experience and responsibility in higher education administration and business management: 18 of those years in community college and university administration, program development, and instruction with a focus in academic instruction, continuing education, workforce development, adult basic education, and corporate training; over 20 years’ experience in corporate advertising, marketing, and sales with an emphasis in managing in-house marketing, advertising and communications functions.

He previously held positions as Dean, Business, Agriculture, Kinesiology-Blinn College; Dean, Workforce Development-Lamar Institute of Technology; Director of Workforce Services-Tarrant County Community College; Assistant Vice President of Continuing Education-Prairie View A&M University; Dean of Career Technology and Workforce Training and Community Development-Lone Star College System. Dr. Adams is an educator with extensive teaching experience and recently received the 2018 Sam Houston State University Distinguish Educator of the Year Award. He holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree in Art from the University of Montevallo, a MBA from Houston Baptist University, and an Ed. D. in Educational Leadership from Sam Houston State University. Dr. Adams is a recent recipient of the League for Innovation John and Susanne Roueche Excellence Award and a graduate of the Executive Leadership Institute (ELI).