College Appoints New Provost and Vice President of Advancement Dr. George Sims Named Provost The Rev. Gregory F. Lucey, S.J., president of Spring Hill College, in July announced the appointment of Dr. George E. Sims as provost, the chief academic officer of the college. Sims had served as interim provost since mid-May, following the appointment of Dr. Noreen Carrocci as president of Newman University in Kansas.
served as vice president for academic affairs at Muskingum College in Ohio from 2001 to 2005, and he held several academic and administrative positions at Belmont University in Tennessee from 1986 to 2001. Sims earned his Ph.D. in history from Emory University in Atlanta and has served on the faculties in the history departments at Belmont University and Wayland Baptist University in Texas.
Edward Overbey Appointed Vice President for Advancement
Dr. George E. Sims “Based on the strong affirmation of Dr. Sims that I received from our faculty, I am confident that we do indeed have in Dr. Sims the person who can provide the quality of leadership we need as we continue to improve our effectiveness in fulfilling the mission of Spring Hill College,” Lucey said. Sims joined Spring Hill in 2005 as associate vice president for academic affairs. He
Edward A. Overbey was appointed vice president for advancement in July. A graduate of the class of 1970, Overbey has served as a member of the board of trustees of Spring Hill College since 1996 and as vice chairman since 2004. As vice president for advancement, Overbey is a member of the cabinet and oversees Development and Alumni Programs, Communications and Institutional Marketing, WHIL radio station, and real estate development. “I look forward to working closely with Ed and to having the benefit of his rich experience in management and marketing at the table, as we continue our efforts to strengthen the financial sustainability of the college and to ensure the richness of the educational experience of all of our students,” Lucey said. Overbey brings to his new position 30 years of experience in retail with Mercantile Stores, including five years as president of
Edward A. Overbey Castner Knott. From 1999 to 2003 he also held the position of president of Definitive Solutions Company Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio. “I am delighted to be joining Fr. Lucey and the administration of Spring Hill. The College, at this time, is an exciting place to be with record enrollment, new buildings and renovations to enhance the learning and living experience for its students, an extremely dedicated faculty and staff with an ever-stronger commitment to the Catholic, Jesuit mission of ‘service to others,’” Overbey said. “And there is still much to do. This new position is a continuation of a very rewarding Spring Hill College experience – an experience enjoyed since 1966 as a student, alumnus, alumni board member and trustee.”
Spring Hill Welcomes Four New Board Members Sonja F. Bivins ’85; Justin Daffron, S.J.; Rev. Mark Lewis, S.J. ’80; and Gonzalo F. Valdes-Fauli have been elected to the Spring Hill College Board of Trustees. Bivins has served as United States Magistrate Judge for the Southern District of Alabama since 2004. After earning her B.S. in political science from Spring Hill College in 1985, Bivins attended the University of Sonja F. Bivins Alabama School of Law, where she was awarded her Juris Doctorate in 1988. She then served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Virgil Pittman in the Southern District of Alabama; and upon the completion of her clerkship, she relocated to Atlanta and
began the practice of law. Bivins’ primary practice focus was the representation of employers in a broad spectrum of employment-related matters. During her 14 years in private practice, Bivins worked as an associate with the law firm of Mack & Bernstein, and then as a partner with the firms of Mack & McLean and later McGuireWoods, LLP. Daffron is a doctoral student in education and serves as a special assistant to the president at Loyola University Chicago. He received his B.S. in business from Centenary College of Louisiana in 1994, the same year he entered the Society of Jesus. He received a Master of Arts in counseling from Justin Daffron, S.J.
Spring Hill College • Fall 2007
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