President of the Accrediting Body of all Southern Universities Will Speak at Convocation
You Don't Want to Miss This Speaker!
Dr. Belle Wheelan is the president of one of the highest authorities on education in the nation. In fact, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the very authority which accredits Hardin-Simmons and all other centers for higher learning in the Southern United States.
Wheelan will be the featured speaker during the Hardin-Simmons University convocation ceremony on September 3rd. The ceremony will take place in Behrens Auditorium in front of a full house of students, board members, faculty, and staff. The university also welcomes the community and anyone else who would like to hear one of the foremost authorities on education.
Dr. Wheelan is the first African American and the first woman to serve as president of the accreditation commission. It is the regional accrediting body in 11 U.S. states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. The Commission also accredits institutions of higher education in Latin America.
"When an institution has earned accreditation by the Commission on Colleges, it signifies that it has a purpose appropriate to higher education and has resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain that purpose," says Dr. Wheelan.
Wheelan's career in education spans 32 years and includes the roles of faculty member, chief student services officer, campus provost, college president and Secretary of Education. In several of those roles, she was the first African American and/or woman to serve in those capacities.
Dr. Wheelan received her bachelor's degree from Trinity University (1972) with a double major in psychology and sociology; her master's from Louisiana State University (1974) in developmental educational psychology and her doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin (1984) in educational administration with a special concentration in community college leadership.
She has received numerous awards and recognition and four honorary degrees including:
• The Distinguished Graduate Award from Trinity University (2002)
• College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin (1992)
• Washingtonian Magazine's 100 Most Powerful Women in Washington, D.C.
• The AA Woman of Distinction Award (2002)
Dr. Wheelen's convocation address comes as Hardin-Simmons' 15th president is installed. Dr. Lanny Hall returns to the presidency of HSU after an impressive 38-year career in education and government service.
For the past two decades he has served as the chief executive officer of three
Texas Baptist universities: Wayland Baptist University, Howard Payne University, and Hardin-Simmons University.
His previous HSU experience included service as chancellor, executive director of the HSU Institute for Leadership, and the Haggerton Chair of Political Science. Prior to his work in higher education, he served as a high school teacher, special assistant to the majority leader of the U. S. House of Representatives, an elected member of the Texas House of Representatives, and as a deputy executive director of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
He and his wife, Carol, have two children--Lana McCutchen and Chad Hall--and three grandchildren.
The public is invited to the September 3rd event on the HSU campus. The ceremony starts at 9:30 a.m. in Logsdon Chapel with the President's Prayer Service. The event moves to Behrens Auditorium at 11:00 a.m. for the official presidential installation ceremony and fall convocation.
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