Speakers Circuit
Dr. Barbara Jones, Dr. Jim Bullock and Dr. Stephanie Tully-Dartez will be the guest speakers when the Rotary Club meets at noon on Monday at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.
Jones assumed the duties and responsibilities of president of South Arkansas Community College on Aug. 1, 2009. Jones is a 2004 graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, earning a doctorate in administration, curriculum and instruction with a specialization in educational leadership and higher education.
She is a 1992 graduate of Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport, where she earned a master’s degree in health science and a 1981 graduate of Northeast Louisiana University in Monroe, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in medical technology. Jones served as the dean of instruction at Louisiana Delta Community College in Monroe, a position that she held from 2003-2009. Prior to that, Jones was the division chair of allied health at Bossier Parish Community College in Bossier City, La., in 19982003, and an instructor of allied health and life science at BPCC in 1991-2003.
Additionally, Jones has been involved with professional educational organizations for institutional and programmatic accreditation, served on the American Association of Community Colleges board of directors and various AACC commissions. She currently serves on numerous state and local boards including the Executive Board of Presidents and Chancellors of the Arkansas Community Colleges, Commission for the Coordination of Educational Efforts in Arkansas, El Dorado Chamber of Commerce, Golden Triangle Economic Development Council, SW Arkansas Workforce Development Board, Fifty for the Future and Boy Scouts of America- DeSoto Council.
Bullock began his role as vice president of student services at SouthArk in September 2013. Bullock has returned to the town where he was born and where he grew up. He graduated with honors from El Dorado High School before attending Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English.
While attending Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, in pursuit of a doctoral degree in English, Bullock taught English as a graduate assistant until beginning full-time work as an assistant professor of English at Lubbock Christian University, where he worked for 15 years, and eventually became a full professor and founding director of the University Honors Program. In 2007, Bullock was named vice president for academic affairs at Ohio Valley University, in Vienna, W. Va., a role he continued until moving back to SouthArk and El Dorado in 2013.
Tully-Dartez is a native of Charleston, S.C. and graduated from the College of Charleston in 2004 with a bachelor’s of science in physics and completed graduate work at Louisiana Tech in 2009 with a master’s in molecular science/ nanotechnology and a doctorate of philosophy in biomedical engineering.
Participating in a National Science Foundation grant inspired Tully-Dartez to pursue a career in higher education. Joining SouthArk in 2009, she began as the director of institutional effectiveness and research. Since that time, additional supervisory roles in marketing/communications and continuing education have expanded her position to chief Institutional effectiveness and advancement officer.
Tully-Dartez participates in service to the local and scientific community by coordinating the annual Girls Learning About Math and Science (GLAMS) Conference, an event for eighth grade girls to explore careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
Veronda Tatum, financial aid director at South Arkansas Community College, will be the guest speaker when the Kiwanis Club meets at noon on Wednesday at First Presbyterian Church.
A lifelong resident of Union County, Tatum attended Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a M.Ed. in agency counseling. She has been employed at South Arkansas Community College for over 20 years in various positions and is currently the director of financial aid and Veteran Affairs.
Tatum is involved in various community service organizations such as the BancorpSouth Community Advisory Board, Union County Single Parent Scholarship Fund Board and African-American Family & Friends Day Planning Committee chair.
She regularly participates with Relay For Life, Race For the Cure, United Way and Adopt-A-Highway. (Organizations interested in listing a speaker in Speakers Circuit should send information about the speaker to editorial@ eldoradonews.com. A club member should provide background information on their speakers in writing or by e-mail to the NewsTimes. The deadline for submitting background information is 5 p.m. on Thursday for the following Sunday’s newspaper).