Dr. Sullivan named Dean of Research and Institutional Effectiveness at BCCC | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    Bath native James M. Sullivan has been named Dean of Research and Institutional Effectiveness at Beaufort County Community College. His appointment was announced earlier this month by BCCC President Barbara Tansey.

    In the position, Dr. Sullivan, known to his friends as Jay, will provide direction, organization and professional support for strategic planning, research and data analysis related to institutional effectiveness and grants development.

    "Dr. Sullivan will also be instrumental in analyzing the array of data available at BCCC to help the college make decisions based more on facts and statistical analysis than only on intuition and raw data," she said.

    Dr. Sullivan's first project is expected to be an in-depth profile of the students attending the college as compared to previous years. This review will be useful in helping the college in decisions such as scheduling classes, programs that will help students stay in school, or "an endless list of other possibilities," Dr. Tansey said.

    "Ultimately, the goal of much of Sullivan's research will help the college match its financial resources with the future needs of its students, faculty and staff as well as the community it serves," she said.

    In addition to his research duties, Dr. Sullivan will head BCCC's Institutional Effectiveness Office staffed by Almeta Woolard, director of Institutional Effectiveness and Grants, and Amy Bass, administrative assistant.

    Dr. Sullivan, 40, is a 1990 graduate of Washington High School. He earned dual bachelor's degrees in physics and mathematics from N.C. State University in 1995 and a doctorate in computational physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2001.

    Dr. Sullivan has extensive research experience. He has contributed to a dozen scientific publications; made invited talks at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Naval Research Laboratory, and George Mason, Northwestern, Francis Marion and Virginia Commonwealth universities, among others, and contributed to nearly 40 scientific presentations.
Dr. Sullivan has held a variety of teaching positions in universities and community colleges. In 2007, Sullivan joined the BCCC faculty as lead mathematics instructor. In the past five years, he has also taught physics and astronomy at the college.

    Dr. Sullivan said that although it will be difficult for him to leave the classroom, he is looking forward to the challenges of his new post and the chance to help shape the future of the college.

    "I like challenges," he said. "And this is a good challenge for me." He is a member of the American Chemical Society, American Physical Society, American Vacuum Society, Sigma Xi and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.

    Dr. Sullivan is also active in the East Carolina Wildfowl Guild and the East Carolina Wildlife Arts Festival. Dr. Sullivan and his wife, Jennifer, have two children: Seamus and Naomi.