BROWNWOOD – February 13, 2018 – Dr. Bill Ellis, Howard Payne University president, has appointed Dr. Celeste Church as the university’s accreditation liaison to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Dr. Church additionally serves the university as dean of institutional research and effectiveness and professor of music.
HPU has been accredited by the Commission on Colleges since 1948. The president of each member institution designates one person to be the organization’s official conduit for all correspondence with the Commission.
“Serving in her role as dean of institutional research and effectiveness, Dr. Church was a natural and obvious choice,” said Dr. W. Mark Tew, HPU’s provost and chief academic officer. “With her engagement in assisting all areas of the university in making improvements based upon assessment data, Dr. Church is already very knowledgeable of the accreditation process.”
The accreditation procedure includes the thorough examination of all aspects of university operation including administrative processes, academic programs, student life, library services and physical and financial resources.
Dr. Church assumes the role of accreditation liaison following the retirement of Dr. Robert Bicknell, who served in that position since 2000, at the close of the fall 2017 semester. She and Dr. Bicknell are preparing the university to receive its SACSCOC visiting committee in April.
Dr. Church joined HPU’s faculty in 2004 and holds the Master of Church Music degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from Texas Tech University. Her husband, Dr. Gregory Church, serves as professor of music at HPU.
“I look forward to stepping into this role and am thankful for Dr. Bicknell’s guidance and forethought,” she said.
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Cutline: Dr. Celeste Church has been named HPU’s accreditation liaison to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).