Quality Enhancement Plan
Leadership
Chandra R. Story, QEP Director
Chandra R. Story is a professor of Public Health and interim department chair for the Department of Health and Human Performance. Dr. Story has public health professional experience in diverse clinical, community, and academic settings across five states. Dr. Story has received more than $100,000 in extramural funding for evaluations and community-based research projects. Funded projects include open educational resources, health advocacy, mental health, and educational ecosystems. Dr. Story has served as a facilitator for a Faculty Learning Community on inclusive campus culture. Dr. Story’s evaluation experience includes service as a Minority Serving Institution Fellow of the American Evaluation Association. Story currently serves as an evaluator for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Story was the recipient of the 2023 John Pleas faculty award and the 2023 ATHENA International Leadership Award of Rutherford County. She also received an influential faculty award from Phi Kappa Phi in 2020.
Nita Brooks is the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Accreditation and a Professor of Information Systems and Analytics in the Jones College of Business. She has taught extensively in the areas of cybersecurity and business analytics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Her research interests include the information systems workforce, security and privacy, information systems education, and student retention. She serves on the ABET Computing Accreditation Commission and the Information Systems Security Association Middle Tennessee Chapter Board of Directors. She is a member of MTSU’s SACSCOC Reaffirmation Leadership Team and the QEP Leadership Team.
Grant E. Gardner completed his B.S. in the Biological Sciences from Vanderbilt University, an M.S. in Zoology and Ph.D. in Science Education Research both from North Carolina State University. In his tenth year at MTSU, he is a Professor in the Department of Biology and serves as graduate faculty in the Mathematics and Sciences Education Research Ph.D. program. He has successfully supported twelve doctoral candidates to completion of their dissertations. He highly values his role as a mentor to these developing students. His research, that is currently supported by close to $2M in external funding, revolves around STEM instructors’ professional development in evidence-based instructional methods as well as their adoption and adaptation of those methods. He loves having the opportunity to apply this research in the teaching and learning of new biology undergraduate students and has taught several thousand students during his time at MTSU. As a member of the QEP Leadership Team, he looks forward to continuing to implement innovative initiatives that support student learning at MTSU. When not working, he enjoys reading, distance running, playing ultimate frisbee, road-trips and spending time outdoors backpacking; all with his spouse, two kids, and two dogs.
Jenna Gray-Hildenbrand is professor of Religious Studies in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. She is committed to advancing curriculum innovation and enhancing student success. As the first tenure-track religious studies professor at MTSU, she took on the task of developing the Religious Studies program. This involved not only hiring accomplished colleagues with whom to collaborate but also developing specialized courses, designing comprehensive degree programs, and establishing Tennessee Transfer Pathways. Gray-Hildenbrand earned two external collaborative grants, totaling $60,000. The first grant, facilitated resource exchange among emerging Religious Studies programs at Clemson, the University of North Florida, and MTSU with the goal to enrich classroom experiences with measurable learning outcomes. The second grant, brought together a group of undergraduate professors charged to enhance the integration of scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) into the religious studies classroom. The research findings culminated in the publication of Teaching Critical Religious Studies: Pedagogy and Critique in the Classroom.