After extensive national searches, Johnson C. Smith University is pleased to announce appointments of four new academic deans. “We are delighted to welcome visionary leaders – Dr. Alphonso Ogbuehi, Dr. Thierno Thiam, Dr. Patrick Martin and Dr. Angela M. White – in these important roles at the University,” said Dr. Karen D. Morgan, senior vice president of academic affairs and chief academic officer. “I am confident their wealth of expertise and experience will bring valued contributions in advancing the missions of the colleges, the Academy and the University.”
College of Business and Professional Studies
Dr. Alphonso Ogbuehi has been appointed dean of the College of Business and Professional Studies and tenured professor of marketing, effective January 3, 2023.
Since 2019, he has served as dean of Stockton University’s School of Business and tenured professor of Marketing. Stockton University’s School of Business is an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited school that was reaffirmed in 2022 under his leadership. Prior to his arrival at Stockton University, Dr. Ogbuehi was the founding dean of the School of Business (also AACSB-accredited) at Park University.
As a Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Ogbuehi traveled to Sub-Sahara Africa where his work focused on the role of universities as catalysts for regional economic development. He was also a tenured professor in the College of Business at Clayton State University, Morrow, in Atlanta Georgia.
He will bring many things to JCSU including strong community relations and fundraising skills, and experience establishing partnerships with prominent business leaders and local companies, agencies and organizations.
Dr. Ogbuehi received a doctorate in business administration from the University of Memphis and bachelor's and master's degrees in biology and business administration from the University of Kentucky, Lexington, respectively.
College of Liberal Arts
Dr. Thierno Thiam has been appointed dean of the College of Liberal Arts and tenured Duke Endowed Professor of Political Science, effective January 3, 2023.
In December 2010, he joined Tuskegee University from the Institute for State Effectiveness (ISE) based in Washington D.C. The ISE blends conceptual thought, analysis and direct experience to rethink relations between citizens, states and markets in the globalized world. At the Institute for State Effectiveness, Dr. Thiam was in charge of the report
that detailed Rwanda’s institutional transformation. Dr. Thiam is currently the chair of the department of History and Political Science, co-director of the Integrative Public Policy and Development Ph.D. Program and professor of political science and international relations. Dr. Thiam has also served as special advisor to the president for global initiatives for two Tuskegee University presidents.
His work has been featured in various outlets including the Palgrave MacMillan’s Speakers Series, Springer Nature, the Council on Foreign Relations, the United Nations as well as various U.S. and International News outlets. Additionally, he has lectured extensively across Africa, Asia, Latin America, the United States and Europe. He is the author of three books and a variety of articles.
His academic activities span across several major universities, including Howard University, where he taught the Graduate Seminar in Comparative Politics, the University of Maryland - College Park, where he taught the Politics of Africa, and Purdue University, where he taught courses in International Relations. At Tuskegee University, Dr. Thiam's courses included International Relations, International Organizations, and Comparative Government at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
In 2021, Dr. Thiam was selected by C-SPAN to be a part of a group of scholars charged with the mission to evaluate the leadership effectiveness of the past 45 United States presidents. This work constitutes a reference for presidential effectiveness studies and continues to be widely cited by the press.
College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Dr. Patrick Martin has been appointed dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and tenured professor of biology, effective January 3, 2023.
In 2021, he was named interim director of the Center for Outreach in Alzheimer's, Aging, and Community Health. Dr. Martin is an associate professor of biology in the College of Science and Technology (CoST) at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. His primary research focuses on investigating the regulation of malignant brain, breast and prostate tumor formation, metastatic progression, and developing drugs that effectively inhibit tumor oncogenic characteristics. He also focuses on examining cancers that are more aggressive in African Americans.
Dr. Martin is also the principal investigator of a National Institute of Health Bridges-to-the-Doctorate program in partnership with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His work has been featured in more than 25 news articles and related presentations.
Prior to his appointment as interim director of the Center for Outreach in Alzheimer's, Aging, and Community Health, Dr. Martin served as CoST’s interim associate dean, managing more than 150 full-time and adjunct faculty members across nine academic units, while fulfilling various administrative responsibilities, including the reorganization of the Applied Science and Technology Ph.D. program and serving as the SACSCOC accreditation liaison.
In 2003, Dr. Martin became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in cell biology from the University of Virginia. He earned his B.S. in biology from Virginia University.
University College and Student Success
Dr. Angela Michelle White has been appointed dean of university college and student success and associate professor of biology, effective January 30, 2023.
Dr. White has an extreme passion for teaching and learning science. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master of Science in Biology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction with a concentration in Educational Psychology from North Carolina State University.
She has served as an educator for 18 years at various levels and currently serves as the assistant dean of student success for the College of Science and Technology at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In this role, she strategically develops and implements initiatives that promote the participation, academic achievement, and success of students within the College.
Her current research interests, publications, and presentations give attention to racial identity, science identity, science self-efficacy, metacognition, and STEM achievement of African American students. As a strong advocate for the participation of African American females in STEM, Dr. White continuously engages in discourse and research that will promote greater access to STEM-related opportunities and recognition of African American females. Dr. White is also the co-founder of NoireSTEM, an educational consulting firm that seeks to increase access and achievement of African Americans in STEM degree programs and careers.
