Harris, Herron to deliver commencement addresses Holmes Community College staff members Dr. Robert Harris and Dr. Lawanda Herron will serve as commencement speakers for the May 11 Commencement Exercises on the Goodman Campus. Dr. Harris will deliver the commencement address for the 10 a.m. AA Commencement while Dr. Herron will deliver the commencement address for the AAS/Certificate Commencement at 2 p.m.
Dr. Robert Harris
Dr. Robert Harris has been part of the Holmes family for 32 years but has 33 years total with the state. He is from both Jackson and Crystal Springs, and his hobbies include spending time with family and friends, attending flea markets/antiquing, judging Miss Mississippi preliminaries and playing tennis.
Dr. Harris holds three degrees from Mississippi State University: a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, a Master of Arts in Teaching in Community College Education and a Doctor of Philosophy in Community College Leadership. A few of his honors and accolades include: HEADWAE Faculty Honoree in 2004, Lamplighter Educator in 1996 and NISOD Excellence Award in 1995. Recently, he received the Mississippi Academy of Sciences Horizon Lifetime Achievement Award.
He taught as an adjunct instructor at MSU for one year and has held a number of positions at Holmes, including his most recent roles as director of placement testing, computer science instructor and associate chair for the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.
Dr. Harris has also served as president and secretary of the Faculty Association, advisor for Phi Theta Kappa and as associate director for the Miss Holmes CC Pageant. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery, the Mississippi Academy of Sciences, Phi Theta Kappa, the Mississippi Faculty Association for Community and Junior Colleges and the Mississippi Retired Public Employees Association.
Dr. Harris, along with 12 others district-wide, is retiring at the close of the 2017-2018 school year.
Dr. Lawanda Herron
Dr. LaWanda Herron, director of Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) at Holmes, holds a BSN from Delta State University, a MSA in Healthcare Administration from Central Michigan University, a MSN from Delta State University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Mississippi. She has been an RN for the past 27 years, a nurse educator for 23 years and a family nurse practitioner for 21 years. Dr. Herron spent six years as a nurse corps officer in the U.S. Navy and has been employed on the Holmes Grenada Campus for 19 years.
Committed to the mission and goals of the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), Dr. Herron is an experienced program evaluator and team chair, participating on several Evaluation Review Panels. As director of nursing, Dr. Herron is responsible for managing the day-to-day activities for faculty, students and program oversight. She participates in research and grant-writing activities and presents at nursing workshops at the local, state, regional, national and international levels. In addition to completing numerous book reviews, Dr. Herron is a published author. She has taught at the associate's, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels.
Dr. Herron is a member of the Mississippi Council of Deans and Directors where she serves as the chair of the Policy and Legislative Committee and vice-chair of the Mississippi Council of Deans and Directors. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau Honor Nursing Sorority, American Nurses Association, Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the Mississippi Nurses Association. Dr. Herron has received numerous awards and recognitions, including a nomination for Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year.
Dr. Herron, along with 12 others district-wide, is retiring at the close of the 2017-2018 school year.
