Harold E. Cheatham, Ph.D.
Consultant
As consultant to the Center, Dr. Cheatham provides leadership to advance the center’s mission and goals. He serves as the chair of the center’s Faculty Associates group, provides oversight with regard to the center’s strategic plan and assessment, and advises staff and associates on the overall direction and activities of the center. Dr. Cheatham’s writing and research address multicultural counseling theory and practice, cultural pluralism, and psychosocial development of African Americans in US higher education. He is author of numerous professional papers, and he has edited three books and multiple journals and special issues. His book, A Documentary History of the Modern US Civil Rights Movement, (with R.P. Green) is forthcoming in 2008. Dr. Cheatham is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, including being named a pioneer in multicultural counseling and development in the American Psychological Association journal, The Counseling Psychologist (July, 1997). In 1993, the American College Personnel Association honored Dr. Cheatham with the Contribution to Knowledge Award and with induction as a Senior Scholar, and, in 1990-1991, he was a Senior Fulbright Scholar to India. He is currently a gubernatorial appointee to the South Carolina Mental Health Commission (2004-2009) and a member of the City of Clemson Planning Commission. Dr. Cheatham is dean emeritus and professor emeritus of counseling and education leadership at Clemson University and is professor emeritus at the Pennsylvania State University. He received his B.S. in psychology from Pennsylvania State University, his M.A. from Colgate University, and his Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University. Janet H. Evatt, M.T.S.
Program Coordinator
As a program coordinator with the center, Ms. Evatt manages special events and supports the center’s day-to-day operations. She is particularly interested in the center’s work with faith communities to eliminate health disparities in rural South Carolina. Ms. Evatt is a member of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and her primary research interest is brain functioning and its impact on perception and behavior. Ms. Evatt received her B.S. in communication sciences and disorders from the University of Texas at Austin and her Master of Theological Studies from Duke University.
Linda J. Gilbert, B.A.
Program Coordinator, Academic Collaboration for Underrepresented Minorities in Nursing (ACUMEN)
As the program coordinator of the ACUMEN Project, Ms. Gilbert is developing retention activities, including tutoring, instructional workshops and professional mentoring, for students enrolled in the ACUMEN program. Ms. Gilbert brings with her 12 years of experience in higher education, and she presented at the Fourth National Conference on Best Practices in Black Student Achievement. Her areas of interest include topics related to human resource development. Ms. Gilbert earned her B.A. in communication studies from Clemson University, and she is working toward her M.A. in human resource development at Clemson.
Barbara N. Logan, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Associate Director
As the associate director of the center, Dr. Logan provides guidance on the major decisions and functions of the center and coordinates its research activities. Dr. Logan is currently professor emeritus in the School of Nursing and was the school's director from 1993-2003. She recently served as the principal investigator of the EXPORT and ACUMEN projects, providing leadership, management, and oversight for these projects from 2003-2007. Dr. Logan is published in journals such as the Journal of Family and Community Health, the Journal of the National Black Nurses Association, and the Journal of Health Promotion and Maintenance. She has presented her research at several national and international research conferences, focusing largely on minority health issues. Agencies funding her research have included the NIH, the Department of Health and Human Services, Clemson University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. She was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nurses in 1994 and has been a Fellow of the American Nurses Association Minority Fellowship Program since 1976. Dr. Logan received her A.A. from Bronx Community College in New York, her B.S.N. from Loyola University in Chicago and her M.S. from University of Illinois at Chicago, each in nursing. She earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Veronica G. Parker, Ph.D.
Director
As the director of the center, Dr. Parker oversees all center activities, conducts research, and works closely with the associate director to secure funds for the center from a variety of sources. She was co-principal investigator on the ACUMEN Project and serves as principle investigator and Administrative Core director for the EXPORT Center. Her research with the center involves asset-mapping and geospatial analysis (GIS mapping) of health-related resources in lower- and upper-state EXPORT counties; GIS mapping of poverty levels and selected diseased states by race/ethnicity in selected EXPORT counties; and testing of a faith-based weight-loss intervention in EXPORT counties. Dr. Parker also holds a faculty position in the School of Nursing at Clemson and has publications in many journals, including RINAH, Journal of Pediatric Nursing, Journal of Family and Community Health, Diabetes Spectrum, and Ethnicity and Disease. Her other research areas have included pediatric and geriatric healthcare practices and pain management in a variety of settings. She has served as principle investigator, co-investigator and project director on grants from the NIH, American Cancer Society and the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Parker received a B.S. in physics-engineering from the College of Charleston, a B.S. in engineering analysis focusing on bioengineering from Clemson University and a Ph.D. in biostatistics from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Former Staff
Leslie A. Thornton, M.A.
Associate Academic Program Director
As the program director for the EXPORT Project, Ms. Thornton facilitated day-to-day operations of the center by managing administrative tasks, organizing and contributing to written materials, coordinating project activities and fostering collaborative relationships among those involved with the center. Ms. Thornton has presented at conferences such as the annual meetings of the American Public Health Association, the National Communication Association and the Central States Communication Association. In addition to health-disparities research, Ms. Thornton’s interests include intimate partner violence, sexual assault and issues relating to homelessness. Prior to joining the center, she worked for a small business in Washington, D.C., conducting NIH-funded health-education research relating to rural and Appalachian women and children. Ms. Thornton received her B.S. in organizational communication and her M.A. in health communication from Ohio University.
Former Staff
Belinda G. Witko, B.A.
As the former adminstrative assistant for the Center, Ms. Witko managed administrative functions, which included directing payroll and accounts payable, coordinating travel for center staff, organizing the center’s schedule and managing correspondence with the center’s many partners. Ms. Witko’s other professional interests include genealogy research and Southern history. Her work experience includes over 20 years with the Public Broadcasting Service in Arlington, Virginia. Ms. Witko received her B.A. in history from George Mason University.