University of Mississippi alumna Amanda Walker (B.A. 01, M.A. 10) is the new vice president for institutional advancement and continuing education at Dyersburg State Community College (DSCC) in Dyersburg, Tennessee.
“DSCC is fortunate to attract Dr. Walker to this position,” stated DSCC President Karen Bowyer. “The College will benefit from her experience and education as we work together to advance our Institution.”
Walker comes to DSCC from Austin Peay State University (APSU) where she most recently served as director of career services since 2014. Prior to this, she served as a recruiting coordinator from 2008 to 2014 in Career Services and coordinator of recruiting/student services from 2005 to 2008 in the Graduate School at the University of Mississippi.
In her role as director of career services, Walker was responsible for directing, managing and facilitating advanced career development programs for more than 11,000 students and alumni; coordinating and supervising services and programs supporting students in career development, career planning, co-op and internship opportunities, job search strategies and post-graduation employment decisions. She assisted APSU in writing grants, which provided the university more than $5.3 million (awarded and pending) in additional funding during her tenure.
As director of career services, Walker refocused all staff performance goals to correlate to the university’s strategic plan; resulting in the justification to hire new staff members. She also created strategic plan objectives for career services; resulting in a growth rate of over 122% in three of five goal areas. She also implemented tracking systems to track goal areas and created justifications for budgetary improvements to help obtain goals. In addition, she developed a quality employer relations program while focusing on regional and national businesses, which resulted in 1198% growth (177 to 2299 as of FY19) in four years while developing community partnerships with industry leaders. In her role as recruiting coordinator, she helped increase employer engagement on campus and served as an expert in Experiential Education and Internship Polices for international students; and assisted with annual grant preparation for the College’s InterNet Program.
Walker has 15 years of experience in higher education and nearly 10 years teaching, including instructor of Professional Development Seminar at APSU (2017-present); instructional lead and curriculum chair at Hiring Our Heroes, United States Chamber (2016); instructor of Promoting Academic Student Success at APSU (2015); instructor of Academic Skills for College at The University of Mississippi (2008-2009); and social studies teacher, basketball coach and technology coordinator at Holly Springs School District (2001-2004).
She has served in multiple leadership roles including vice president of the board of directors for the Nashville Area Career Fair Consortium (2017-present); team lead for student success for the APSU Strategic Plan (2016-present); and vice president of colleges, director of membership and board member for the Tennessee Association of Colleges and Employers (TACE) (2015-present). She served as a consultant for the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE) (2018-present); Intern Bridge, Inc. (2014-present); and Pinnacle Research and Development, LLC (2013-2018).
Walker serves her community in several capacities: State of Tennessee Regional Planning Commissioner, and as a Member of the Historic and Design Review Board for the Clarksville Montgomery County region. She is an alumnae member of Sigma Kappa Sorority and currently serves as Vice President of Programming, Alumna Advisor. Walker has also been nominated for the Nashville Chamber’s Nashville Emerging Leader Award for three consecutive years, which recognizes emerging leaders under 40 impacting industry & community.
Walker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 2001 and a Master of Arts degree in higher education/student personnel in 2010 from the University of Mississippi. She received a doctorate of education in Professional Studies in Higher Education with a cognates in Curriculum Development and Adult Education from Delta State University in 2016.
As the new vice president for institutional advancement and continuing education, Walker will assist the president of the College with strategic planning. In addition, she will work with the president in organizing and executing the Annual Fund Campaign and the fundraising activities of the DSCC Foundation Board; researching and assisting in the development of grant proposals; overseeing Alumni Affairs and the development of the Alumni Association; overseeing and assisting the director of workforce development and continuing education to develop and market classes and programs in our service area.
Walker can be contacted via LinkedIn at http://linkedin.com/in/alwalker2010.
Staff report from DSCC
