Building Bridges: Collaborating for a Better Student Experience

Jermain Pipkins, Dean of Languages & Performing Arts, Los Angeles Valley College

Jermain Pipkins has more than thirteen years of experience in higher education. Prior to joining LAVC, Mr. Pipkins served as the Dean of Students for Reedley College in Central California (Fresno County), in which he was responsible for overseeing counseling instructional courses, Dual Enrollment, Assessment, CalWORKs, EOPS, Articulation, Student Conduct, and other programs.

In his experience within administrative leadership he has led efforts in enrollment management, student learning outcomes, retention, curriculum, and many other student success initiatives. Mr. Pipkins also serves as a faculty member for the Global Community for Academic Advising (NACADA) Summer Institutes.

Mr. Pipkins received his A.S degree from Dallas County Community College District, and his B.A in Criminology and Criminal Justice from The University of Texas at Arlington. He also has a Master of Science in Education degree with a specialization in leadership for higher education.

Robert Hinde, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, University of Tennessee

Robert Hinde serves as the university’s Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. He joined the university faculty as an assistant professor of chemistry in 1994, and became Vice Provost in 2015 after serving for several years as the Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Vice Provost Hinde co-chairs, with Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life Frank Cuevas, the university’s Undergraduate Strategy Working Group. This group provides campus-level leadership for the undergraduate component of Vol Vision 2020, the university’s strategic plan.

Vice Provost Hinde coordinates all academic program reviews on campus, provides central administrative oversight of the university’s Summer Session, and manages the university’s Strategic Instruction Fund, which helps reduce instructional bottlenecks at the undergraduate level. He works closely with the Undergraduate Council’s Academic Policy, Curriculum, and General Education committees and with the university’s Classroom Upgrade Subcommittee, represents the Provost’s office on the Chancellor’s Council on Diversity and Interculturalism, and is a member of the university’s Transfer Task Force. He also chairs the university’s Residency Appeals Committee and co-chairs the University Space Committee with Jeff Maples, Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration.

Vice Provost Hinde’s office coordinates the activities of the General Education Revision Task Force and the Syllabus Database Task Force.

Dr. Hinde received B.S. degrees in chemistry and computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1987; he earned a Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1992. He then undertook postdoctoral work in chemistry at Cornell University as a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. In 1994, Dr. Hinde joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee.

Shea Kidd Houze, Dean of Students, University of Tennessee

Originally from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Shea Kidd Houze received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Education in College Student Affairs Administration from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in Educational Research from the University of Memphis where her scholarship focused on racial identity development in African American college students.

For more than ten years, Kidd Houze has enjoyed a career in college administration at a number of institutions of higher education in Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Mississippi. She currently serves as assistant vice chancellor for student life and dean of students and provides oversight to eight departments within the Division of Student Life.

Kidd Houze is a life member of the Southern Miss Alumni Association, serves as a faculty member for the Orientation Professional Institute, and is a co-lead facilitator for The LeaderShape Institute.

BA in Speech Communication, University of Southern Mississippi

M.Ed. in College Student Affairs Administration, University of Georgia

Ph.D. in Educational Research, University of Memphis