HIGH POINT, N.C., Jan. 27, 2023 – High Point University continues to grow in enrollment, academic programs and new faculty. The university welcomed 12 new faculty members who joined the HPU family in the spring semester.
Here is a glimpse of the new scholars and practitioners who have joined the HPU family:
Dr. Lorrie Davis-Dick, Assistant Professor of Nursing
She joins the newly announced School of Nursing as an assistant professor of nursing. In her role, she teaches the mental health nursing course and various other courses in the curriculum. She is also developing innovative behavioral health simulation experiences. She hopes to impact her students by offering a spirit of mentorship to undergraduate nursing students.
Her previous experience includes a combination of 17 years in higher education, holding roles as a mental health and community health nursing professor. In 2017, she developed the first RN-BSN competency-based education (CBE) program for the UNC system.
Davis-Dick holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a master’s degree in nursing and recently completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice. She also holds certification by the ANCC in psychiatric mental health nursing.
“I’m excited to support the growth of the inaugural HPU School of Nursing,” said Davis-Dick.
Congdon School of Health Sciences
Dr. Rebecca Medendorp, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy and Director of Clinical Education
Dr. Medendorp works to coordinate student clinical placements around the country and globally. She is also an assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy. She will directly impact the experiences of students as they head out for their clinicals and learn from seasoned physical therapists. This is vital in their ability to become future physical therapists.
She most recently worked at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina, as an acute care physical therapist in the neuro/trauma intensive care unit. She also supervised a group called the orthopedic technicians. She received an undergraduate degree in athletic training, followed by her Master of Physical Therapy and Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees. She is currently enrolled in a Master of Healthcare Administration program.
“I think this is an excellent new adventure for me,” said Medendorp. “I have been on the opposite side of clinical teaching and take great pride in student mentorship. Now I get to do it at the university level.”
Dr. Kimmery Migel, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy
Dr. Migel joins the Congdon School of Health Sciences teaching first-year physical therapy graduate students. Her main responsibility is teaching the musculoskeletal II course, which teaches PT students how to examine and evaluate all the joints in the neck, as well as in the arms and hands. She also assists in the human anatomy course and the musculoskeletal I course.
She says impacting students at HPU is the best part of her position.
“I am excited to get back to working with students,” said Migel. “I love watching the learning process and guiding students through the progression of orthopedic physical therapy. Entering into a full-time Ph.D. program took me away from that for a short period of time, and I’m excited to be back.”
Dr. Migel worked in orthopedic physical therapy practices for eight years before she enrolled in a Ph.D. program for human movement science, which she will complete this spring. She has earned a Bachelor of Science, master’s degree and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She is also an orthopedic certified specialist, certified in mechanical diagnosis and treatment.
Amy Mauer, Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies
In this role, she educates students on foundational principles in the biomedical sciences that are essential now for practicing medicine. She will also teach a variety of other courses throughout the 27-month program. She hopes to impact her students by utilizing innovative and well-researched methods to enable students to excel in providing evidence-based, compassionate and comprehensive health care to all patients.
Maurer has a wide variety of experiences in health care and education. She served as an assistant professor for a physician assistant program for more than three years, and previously as an online undergraduate introductory biology instructor for five years. She has also worked as a physician assistant in medical genetics, primary care, medical aesthetics and hematology/oncology. Her experience also includes conducting cancer and infectious disease research in an academic setting.
“I’m excited to get to know our students, learn about their dreams and goals, and help to achieve them,” said Maurer. “While the program is extremely rigorous, we seek to make the process as enjoyable and rewarding as possible.”
Maurer earned her Bachelor of Science in biology, a Master of Science in genetics and molecular biology, a Master of Medical Science in physician assistant studies and was certified in 2011 as a physician assistant.
Ginger Moore, Assistant Professor in the Practice of Sales and Marketing
Moore joins the Phillips School of Business teaching classes this spring in consumer behavior and retail selling. She is no stranger to HPU, having taught as an adjunct professor in the business school since fall 2021.
“I believe as faculty we each have a unique opportunity to not only teach the course objectives, but to allow students to find a true connection with their courses through their own experiences,” said Moore. “I also believe that as faculty we can learn from our students about individual topics and events that interest them. I often try to find ways to allow students to share their knowledge and experiences in class discussions and with various course projects.”
She has a wide breadth of knowledge working in sales, her most notable as a member of the municipal bond sales team on Wall Street. The skills she learned here helped her as a member of the sales team at one of the largest disability insurers in the country. She later joined the North Carolina-based Truist as a training manager in treasury solutions. She has been recognized for being able to synthesize complex information and present it to broad audiences.
Moore has an associate’s and bachelor’s degree, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree. She also earned certificates in training and development, and community college teaching. Additionally, she has a certified quality improvement associate certificate from the American Society for Quality.
Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy
Amarylis Wanschel, Assistant Professor of Basic Pharmaceutical Sciences
Wanschel joins the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy teaching and researching in cardiovascular function and dysfunction. She says the students she teaches will benefit from receiving additional mentorship and training in this area of their studies.
“I am very excited to be part of the HPU family,” said Wanschel. “My new position will allow me multidisciplinary collaborations, as well as training the next generation of young scientists.”
Since 2010, she has spent her professional career doing research and teaching at schools in higher education. For the last six years, she’s been training at an interdisciplinary stem cell institute researching on inducible pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) technology for modeling heart diseases. Overall, she has devoted 18 years to cardiovascular research. Wanschel earned her bachelor’s degree in biology, master’s degree in physiology and her Ph.D. was on molecular and cellular biology. She also has post-doctoral training in vascular biology and stem cells.
Dr. Christine Harvin, Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences
Harvin joins the Department of Clinical Sciences teaching courses related to pharmacy management. She is instrumental in giving pharmacy students comprehensive and holistic learning experiences in preparation for becoming pharmacists.
She has been a pharmacist since 2003, with 19 years of pharmacy management experience. She has worked at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, and at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Harvin earned a Doctor of Pharmacy and an MBA.
“I am excited to contribute to the learning and development of the next generation of pharmacists,” said Harvin. “I am also passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion in local and national health care, and I am looking forward to researching those topics during my tenure.”
Dr. Darcy Kemp, Assistant Professor and Director of Project ASCEND
Dr. Kemp teaches within the Stout School of Education and is also the director of Project ASCEND (Advancing School Leaders through Executive Coaching, Networking and Development), which is funded by a more than $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This project seeks to recruit and prepare school leaders to serve in high-need school communities while increasing leadership diversity, leader performance and retention through certificate course offerings, executive coaching and capacity building.
“The impact I hope to have at HPU will be to increase the number of highly effective educators in the North Carolina Piedmont-Triad region by supporting the implementation of evidence-based practices that prepare, develop and enhance the skills of school leaders,” said Kemp. “It is a privilege to continue to develop, coach and network with school leaders in order to continue to have a positive influence on children.”
Kemp is a retired public educator, serving in a variety of positions for more than 33 years. She served as a teacher, curriculum facilitator, assistant principal, principal and executive director. She has earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in education administration, a Specialists of Education Administration and a Doctor of Education Administration.
Dr. Melissa Glover, Assistant Professor of Education
Along with her responsibilities as a professor, Glover is also the director of the HPU Leadership Academy (HPULA). She oversees the Principal Preparation Program component of the PREPARE+ grant that was recently awarded to the Stout School of Education. She also teaches courses at the masters and doctoral level. Through the HPULA, Glover says future school leaders will have the opportunity to be part of a cohort model that facilitates professional collaboration and support during both the graduate-level coursework and the clinical experience. This program will set students up for success as leaders in one of the 20 high-need schools in five partnering districts in North Carolina.
“I am passionate about the role of the principal,” says Glover. “I absolutely loved the time I spent as a school administrator and am very excited to work with aspiring school leaders. It is critical that programs are placing quality, highly impactful leaders in our schools. I am excited to see the students who graduate from the HPULA not only be successful in their careers but make a positive impact in our surrounding communities.”
Glover is an HPU graduate, earning both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She earned her master’s in education in 2005 and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership in 2019. She started her teaching career at Davidson County Schools after graduating from college. She spent 23 years in the school district as a high school English teacher, a high school assistant principal and principal.
Dr. Tracey Simpson-Gardner, Educator Preparation and Director of PREPARE+
Dr. Simpson-Gardner is in charge of the new PREPARE+ program in the Stout School of Education. She provides leadership for the Master of Arts in Teaching program, recruits, screens and admits candidates into the program, collaborates with partner school districts to identify and supervise a year-long internship for students, and manages a federal grant that made this program possible.
“We will recruit and admit high-achieving candidates into HPU’s educator preparation program with hopes of producing a diverse educator workforce of effective, high-quality teachers who will strengthen education in our local community, as well as across the state of North Carolina,” said Simpson-Gardner.
Prior to HPU, she worked in North Carolina public schools for grades kindergarten through 12th as an instructional leader and coach. She earned a Bachelor of Science in elementary education, a Master of School Administration, a Doctor of Education in education leadership from HPU and completed master’s degree coursework in counselor education.
Simpson-Gardner is excited to be part of the team that will help improve student learning and achievement in high-need schools using teacher school leader residencies.
Holli Bayonas, Associate Professor of Leadership Studies
In her role, she teaches courses related to data, evaluation and instructional design. She has a strong background in research methods, which will be helpful for doctoral students who are planning their dissertation research. She hopes to use her expertise with organizational politics, data and evaluation to help future teachers and school leaders.
“I am excited to be working with a team of super competent professionals who are all in the same office space,” said Bayonas. “I look forward to learning from them as we try to make positive impacts on future teachers and school leaders. I hope with my unique background and their unique background, we can come up with some new innovations in how to prepare the next generation.”
Since 2010, Bayonas has been the founding president and senior evaluation consultant at iEvaluate, LLC. She has worked with multiple universities and school districts in helping them implement and evaluate grant-funded programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. She has also worked in the field of research and evaluation for more than 20 years, with experience in survey research, statistical modeling, technology integration, instructional design and more.
Bayonas holds a Bachelor of Science in communications media, a master’s degree in adult education and communications technology, and a Ph.D. in instructional systems technology with a minor in education research methods.
Sharon Flaherty, ASCEND Program Coordinator
As the ASCEND program coordinator, she facilitates communication among the university and 18 regional school district partners, while also recruiting for the graduate certificate program. Through her job, she will interact with the students in the cohorts through meetings and events. She will also monitor their success and progress throughout their program of study.
Flaherty’s experience includes a nearly 30-year career with Guilford County Schools as a middle school English language arts teacher. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English and in secondary education. She is also a national board-certified teacher.
“I am eager to work with the faculty and staff for the ASCEND and PREPARE grants,” said Flaherty.