8.1MB - College of Education - Auburn University

A l u m n i
Change of course pays off
for college’s 2011 outstanding alumna
As a veteran of two Boston Marathons, Dr. Beverly Warren `89
can easily see the parallels between distance running and going the
distance as a university administrator.
In her current role as interim provost and vice president for
academic affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University, Warren has
found that the demands of the job often resemble those of a 26-mile
race. Both call for physical and mental stamina, careful planning
and, above all else, perseverance.
“I think there are some things that are transferable, such as setting
goals and then developing strategies to achieve them,” said Warren,
who earned a doctorate in exercise physiology from Auburn.
“In sports, you’re held accountable in a very public way for your
outcomes. I think all of that is really applicable to life as a provost.”
Warren’s ability to focus on the finish line represents one of the
reasons why she has been selected for the College of Education’s
2011 Outstanding Alumna Award. In addition to the endurance she
has displayed as an administrator, Warren has also distinguished
herself as a researcher and reinventor.
Warren began her career with a focus on the psychological and
social aspects of sports. She was fascinated by the ways in which
athletics foster social connections and build individual self-esteem.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education
from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Warren taught
at the University of Montevallo (Ala.) and served as an elementary
school physical education instructor.
She built her academic credentials, earning a master’s degree in
health and physical education from Southern Illinois University,
completing a doctoral fellowship in educational psychology at the
University of Florida and earning a doctorate in administration of
higher education from the University of Alabama.
Her career path demonstrated as much versatility as her educational
background. After serving as an associate professor and
director of women’s athletics at Montevallo from 1977-86, Warren
re-examined her goals while serving as an assistant professor and
director of graduate studies at Smith College in Northampton, Mass.
“I was at Smith College and my scholarship work was more in
the area of the psycho-social basis of sport,” Warren said. “While I
2010 Wayne
McElrath ’52
2009 Dr. Joseph
Morton ’69
College of Education
O utstanding Alumni:
A look at the recipients since 2007. To see a full
list, visit education.auburn.edu/alumni/alumniawards.html.
2008 Dr. Ron
Saunders ’70
2007 Dr. J. Phillip
Raley ’71
was in Northampton, I
fell in love with marathon
training and trained
with a pretty elite group
of runners. It was a lifechanger
for me.”
Armed with a doctorate
in administration
of higher education but
interested in research
related to the science
involved in her sport of
choice, Warren reached
out to former Auburn
Kinesiology (then known
as Health and Human
Performance) department head Dr. Dennis Wilson, now retired.
He offered her an assistantship and a chance to redefine her
academic and professional interests.
“That’s when I made the transformation into exercise physiology,”
she said. “I moved from Auburn to a career in the sciences and
had many, many great experiences from that change in careers. I
think, for me, my greatest memory of Auburn is the sense of family
— the fact that Dennis Wilson took a chance on a social scientist
and said, ‘Come on, we have a place for you.’”
Warren’s experience at Auburn helped set the stage for her administrative
rise at VCU. After completing her doctorate at Auburn,
Warren went on to serve as co-director of the Human Performance
Laboratory at Appalachian State University and chair and professor
of physical education and exercise studies at Lander (S.C.) University.
Warren left to become chair and professor in the Division of
Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Virginia Commonwealth
in 2000.
Since then, she has served its School of Education as associate
dean for faculty affairs (2003-05) and as dean (2005-10). Warren became
the university’s interim provost and vice president of academic
affairs in April 2010. It has been a long race but, just as she did while
running her first Boston Marathon, Warren has learned quite a bit
about herself over the course of it.
“What I’ve found over the last 11 months is how much I’ve
enjoyed seeing the university from a broader perspective,” Warren
said. “What I’ve always enjoyed about academic leadership is sort of
being able to help connect the dots and find synergy among people
and programs. That has been magnified in this office. You facilitate
those connections into great outcomes for the individuals and programs
on a much broader scale.”
A K e y s t o n e i n B u i l d i n g a B e t t e r F u t u r e f o r A l l 5 3