Southwest taps Dr. Carol Ash as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development
By Diana Fedinec
Dr. Carol Ash will become Southwest’s new Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce
Development effective June 26, 2023.
“I am thrilled to have Dr. Ash on board to lead our academic affairs division,” Southwest
Tennessee Community College President Tracy D. Hall said. “Dr. Ash’s experience and
leadership in academe and in business and industry is exactly what the College needs
as we solidify our role as the workforce solutions center of Memphis and the Mid-South.”
Ash has more than 15 years of senior leadership experience in higher education. Since
January 2020, she served as the Dean of the School of Health, Wellness, and Public
Safety at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Before
being promoted to Dean, she served as Associate Dean from 2016 to 2019. Among her
many accomplishments at the college were creating the School of Nursing and Patient
Support, successfully guiding faculty and staff through several programmatic accreditation
efforts, launching a New Mexico Department of Public Safety accredited law enforcement
academy and implementing credit for prior learning pathways.
Ash also worked as part-time faculty and then as Director of the Media and Visual
Communications programs at Kennedy-King College in Chicago, Illinois, from 2008 to
2016 where she was responsible for managing and daily operations of each academic
program’s efforts. As an adjunct professor, she launched the Emmy Award-winning “KKC
Views” student news program.
“I am excited to join Dr. Hall and the exceptional team at Southwest to continue building
upon the College’s robust foundation of academic excellence,” Ash said. “Southwest’s
demonstrated commitment to student success through education, training, and workforce
readiness is exemplary. I look forward to being part of the trailblazing initiatives
in the Mid-South that focus on upward mobility for students, their families, and our
community.”
Preceding her full-time commitment to higher education, Ash spent almost 20 years working as an award-wining broadcast journalist and news producer at several metro area television stations. Her notable media achievements include executing the 2010 Emmy Award-nominated “Color of Aids” campaign, launching the WMAQ-TV NBC-5 News at noon, coordinating the NBC News 2011 and 2012 “Education Nation” initiative in Chicago, and spearheading the NBC News/Kellogg Foundation’s 2010 “Finishing the Dream: Learning from the Civil Rights Era” initiative. She also received the National Association of Black Journalists Presidential Award, Chicago Defender Women of Excellence Award, Chicago United National Communications Award and NBC Universal Inclusion Award.
Ash earned a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in higher education and organizational change from Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois; a Master of Science in integrated marketing communications from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois; and a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication and media arts from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Among her training and memberships, she is a graduate of the Thomas Lakin Institute for Mentored Fellowship, a 2020-2021 Association for Career and Technical Education National Postsecondary Leadership Success Program Fellow, a member of the American Association of Women in Community Colleges, and a lifetime member of the National Association of Black Journalists and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She is the CEO of Carol Ash and Associates since 2012.
Welcome to the Saluqi family, Dr. Ash!
In This Issue...
- From the President
- Dr. Shelia Bouie named to Memphis Business Journal’s Woman Leading in Nursing
- Welcome Aboard!
- Southwest introduces new offboarding policy
- Southwest athletics continue to rack up post-season accolades
- Southwest reimagines career pathways; launches Southwest Workforce Solutions Center
- Southwest’s Chris Camp receives the distinguished Dale P. Parnell Faculty Distinction Recognition Award
- Southwest physical therapist assistant student Eboni Benson finds purpose in helping others
- Stan Bell returns to Southwest as master of ceremonies for the 2023 Faculty and Staff Awards
- Communication, Fine Arts and Graphics department expands curriculum with sought-after industry credentials
- Go Red at Southwest campaign yields a year of heart-smart choices
- Southwest celebrates Saluqi baseball’s record-breaking season
- Southwest’s Entrepreneurship Day celebrates local businesses in Memphis
- HONORS ACADEMY ALUMNI: Where Are They Now?
- Southwest welcomes 39 inductees into the National Society of Leadership and Success
- Southwest taps Dr. Carol Ash as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Workforce Development
- Southwest hires Jeremy Shirley as Associate Vice President of Strategic Marketing and Communications
- Alma Rutledge named Dean of Students
- Summer Institute 2023 focuses on reimagining Southwest
- Southwest’s Phi Theta Kappa inducts 16 members in candlelight ceremony
- Project M.O.S.T. celebrates the 11th annual Men in Black Awards
- Q & A with Admissions Recruiter Elizabeth Clark
- More than 1200 credentials conferred at twenty-fifth Commencement
- Southwest Professor Dr. Marcia Hunter debuts book on fulfilling one’s dreams
- Employees preview a reimagined student experience at College’s Gallery Walk
- Southwest’s stellar scholars honored at 2023 Student Honors & Awards Convocation
- Memphis Light, Gas & Water, AT&T and Comcast launch workforce pipeline partnership with Southwest
- President Tracy D. Hall named a top 100 Leader in the Memphis community
- Southwest hosts caring conversations in wake of Tyre Nichols’ death