Denise Drum Baker
Professor of Visual Arts
695-3879
bakerd@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Art for the Community- International Collaborations,
Studio Art- Printmaking, Design, Painting

Background:
Denise received a Master’s degree in Art Education from Appalachian State University. She has presented and participated in the World View Seminar, Good Art Doesn’t Match the Sofa, North Carolina Art Education Association, Art Educator’s Forum, Community College Leadership, Hawaii Great Teachers Seminar, President’s Leadership Institute and the Artists in Education Seminar. Her list of awards and honors include Faculty Exchange from The Newry Institute, Northern Ireland; Fulbright Teacher Exchange Scholarship Nominee; First Place in the Fine Arts Festival sponsored by the Moore County Arts Council; and First Place in the Moore Fine Arts for Printmaking. Denise was also honored as a Distance Learning Instructor for the North Carolina Museum of Art. She has held numerous professional and board memberships. She is most recently state renowned for her work with Crossing the Atlantic - a letter-writing exchange with colleagues from Ireland-a fascinating realization that letter-writing is becoming a lost art.

Bill Croft
Health Sciences Department Chair, Respiratory Therapy Professor, Alumni
695-3836
croftb@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Respiratory disorders
Nutrition
Fitness
Stress reduction

Background:
AAS Respiratory Therapy: Sandhills Community College
BS Applied Science and Technology: Thomas Edison State College (New Jersey)
MS Education (Clinical Education and Nutrition Certification): Hawthorne University and American Health Science University (Utah)
Clinical Nutrition Certification: American Health Science University (Colorado)
PhD in Natural Health Sciences: University of Natural Medicine (New Mexico)
Certified Whole Health Educator: National Institute of Whole Health(Massachusetts)

Dr. John Dempsey
President, Sandhills Community College
695-3701
dempseyj@sandhills.edu

Areas of Expertise/Topics:
Areas of Expertise/Topics:
American Government
The American Constitution
Sandhills Community College

Background:
John Dempsey has been president of Sandhills Community College since 1989. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, and holds a masters in government from the College of William and Mary and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Massachusetts. He is a Vietnam veteran, and he served in the Executive Office of the President during the administration of Jimmy Carter.

At Sandhills, Dr. Dempsey’s activities range from planning and directing the operations of the College to teaching a freshman course in American politics. During his tenure the college has grown dramatically and has become nationally renowned for its medical programs, its developmental educational programs, its beautiful gardens, and the activities of its Foundation.

Active in community affairs, Dr. Dempsey has chaired or served on the Boards of the Boys and Girls Club, the United Way, First Health, and numerous other organizations. He has been named Man of the Year by the Moore County Community Foundation, has received the Distinguished Service Award of the Pinehurst Civic Group, and in 2004 was the inaugural recipient of the United Way of Moore County’s Cornerstone Award.

Dr. Dempsey writes often-for newspapers and professional journals-on subjects as diverse as leadership, ethics, government organization, golf, baseball, and travel. An avid golfer, he is a member of Golf Magazine’s panel which selects the top 100 golf courses in the world. He and his wife Evelyn live at the College Residence when they are not traveling to Asheville to visit their children and their grandson.

Randal A. (“Randy”) Foster, DMin, LPC, NCC
Counselor, Career and Personal Counseling Services
695-3968
fosterr@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Career development and management across the lifespan
Mental health topics integrating sound psychology and personal spirituality
Creative retirement
Using music, poetry and literature to achieve mental wellness

Background:
Randy received a BA degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, an MA degree in Divinity from the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, an MA degree in Service Agency Counseling from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and a DMin in Pastoral Counseling from the Graduate Theological Foundation.  He holds the Licensed Professional Counselor credential from the State of North Carolina and the National Certified Counselor credential from m the National Board for Certified Counselors. Prior to joining the counseling staff of Sandhills Community College, Randy was Director of Counseling Services at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg. He is keenly interested in how personality factors and the health of our inner life influence our behaviors and interpersonal relationships in both positive and negative ways.

Tim Haley
Coordinator, Professor of Music
(910) 695-3829
haleyt@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Music
Distance Learning Technology

Background:
Director of Instrumental Music and has been at Sandhills Community College since 1983. In 1994 he was appointed professor of music and coordinator of the Associate in Fine Arts music program. He teaches music theory, music appreciation, applied music, and directs the Sandhills Community College Jazz Band.  Prior to coming to Sandhills, he taught junior and senior high school band and performed regularly with the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra. He received his undergraduate degree from Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton Wisconsin, a Masters degree from East Carolina University in Greenville North Carolina, and completed additional course work at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro.  Since 1987 he has been active in promoting and developing instructional technology at Sandhills Community College. His classroom and distance learning courses serve as models of incorporating digital audio and video in course design and delivery. He regularly conducts workshops and makes presentations at regional, national, and international music and technology conferences.

Nancy Heilman
Coordinator, Tutoring & Volunteer Services
(910) 246-4138
heilmann@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Volunteer opportunities at Sandhills Community College


Background:
Mrs. Heilman has held the position of Coordinator of Tutoring and Volunteer Services at Sandhills Community College since 1998 and enjoys sharing information about the college to all groups.

Ron Layne
Dean of Instruction    
(910) 695-3715
layner@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Film
Communication

Background:
Since the early 2000s, Ron Layne has served Sandhills Community College as an instructor of English, Communication, and Humanities.  His specialty is narrative analysis, and he applies those strategies in his Introduction to Film and American Lit classes.  He is especially intrigued by visual metaphors in fiction and film.  Layne is a former Teaching Excellence finalist and has served North Carolina’s community colleges for twenty years.

Ray Linville
Associate professor of English and humanities
695-3867
linviller@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
The Changing South

Description:
Are you a native of the South or a new arrival to the region? Explore the major elements that make the South a distinct region -- with a special focus on the state of North Carolina. Learn about significant political, socioeconomic, and cultural developments in the South that shapes how the region embraces its future. Appreciate what Sandhills students are discovering: studying regional culture is enlightening, and understanding the American South is important.

Background:
After graduating from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Ray served with the U.S. Air Force for a career and retired as a colonel. At Sandhills Community College, teaches up to five writing courses a semester. A native of North Carolina, he also examines the American South each semester with students in a college transfer course that focuses on politics, history, religion, music, art, literature, race relations, family and society, and other cultural issues of this region.

Skip Lovett, CPA

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Business & individual income taxes
Accounting & business education
Financial literacy
           
Background:
Skip received his A.A. from Sandhills Community College and a BSBA, Accounting from UNC-Pembroke. He is a Certified Public Account in public practice in Greensboro. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Guilford County and serves on the Accounting Education Committee of the NC Association of CPA’s.

Denise Martin
Licensed Massage Therapist, Kneaded Breaks, Alumni

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Benefits of Massage Therapy
           
Background:
Denise graduated from SCC with a certificate in Therapeutic Massage in ’04. Shortly thereafter she became nationally certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, and licensed in the state of North Carolina to provide therapeutic care. She returned to SCC to earn her Associates Degree in Applied Science / Therapeutic Massage, and is devoting a year to Sandhills as a tutor and scribe for a student in the massage program. 
 
In addition to this, she has her own business, Kneaded Breaks, which specializes in on-site seated massage. 

Glenda Pope
Part-time professor (Humanities, Religion, Developmental English)

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Part-time professor (Humanities, Religion, Developmental English)
           
Background:
Received a BA in Literature from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke (then Pembroke State University) in 1995 and a Master of Divinity Degree from Gardner-Webb University in 1998.  Served in church-based ministry for over 15 years as Associate Pastor and Minister of Youth and Education.  Currently on sabbatical from church-based ministry to work on a book about the Old Testament while teaching for Sandhills Community College, The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Gardner-Webb University.  Was married to the late Christopher Pope of Clinton, NC and have two daughters, Danielle (20) and Megan (17). 

Rose Highland-Sharpe
Basic Skills Recruiter
695-3783
sharper@sandhills.edu

Rose Highland-Sharpe is the daughter of Flossie Ingram Highland and the late Richard C. Highland. She is the mother of 20 year-old United States Marine Corporal John Highland Sharpe. Mother and son have entertained community and school groups with storytelling and music programs.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has been pursuing graduate studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, Shaw Divinity School in Raleigh, and at UNC-Greensboro.

She is employed with Sandhills Community College as a Recruiter for Basic Skills and is the Gospel Music Program Director /Sunday Announcer at WEEB-990 AM Radio. Ms. Highland-Sharpe has been the host of “Town Talk” inspirational show on WYBE-TV Cable 3 in Southern Pines and WBF-TV 44 in Sanford.

As a licensed, ordained minister, Ms. Highland-Sharpe has served as Youth Leader, Youth Choir Director, and Assistant Pastor at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church for many years. She has served on committees, councils, and/or boards with Moore County Head Start, Moore County 4-H, Sandhills Community Action Program, Family Promise of Moore County and the Sandhills, Moore-Sandhills Coalition for Human Care, Moore County Community Forum for African-American Males, Moore County Arts Council, and Wheels-to-Work.

She volunteers as a tutor/mentor for Moore County Public Schools and as a storyteller/motivational speaker for various groups. She has implemented career-day and after-school tutorial programs in Taylortown.

She will be developing informative broadcast and missionary-evangelical programs outside of the Sandhills.

As an educator, broadcaster, and storyteller for over 25 years, she believes there is hope for everyone. She encourages everyone to live their dreams and to share their stories of overcoming life’s difficulties.

Dr. Rick Swanson
Physics Professor
246-4951
swansonr@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Practical physics – how things work
Modern physics – the mysteries of relativity and quantum mechanics
Astronomy – the wondrous universe in which we live
           
Background:
Rick received his physics bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy, his master’s degree from The Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico.  He was a physicist in the Air Force for 22 years where he did research and computer simulations in high explosives, lasers, and condensed matter at Air Force laboratories and the Los Alamos National Laboratory.  At Sandhills Community College, he has led a statewide project for improving physics teaching, was involved in national community college physics teaching projects, and has been the Dean of Instruction for a decade.

Mike Ventola
Coordinator, Turfgrass Management
695-3941
ventolam@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Turfgrass Home lawn or Golf Course Setup for US Open and Daily Play
Golf Course Design
Pinehurst Golf History
Water use on lawns and Golf Courses
The Labor Pool in Moore County

Background:
B.S., Michigan State University
M.S., Rutgers, The State university of New Jersey

Lori Williams
Director of Community Education and Outreach, Continuing Education
246-4943
williamslo@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
My primary purpose is for recruitment of the community to programs we offer in Continuing Education.

Background:
Lori Williams is the Director of Community Education and Outreach in the Division of Continuing Education at Sandhills Community College. She coordinates opportunities of community awareness and education with the campus community and focuses on the excerpt of the NC Community College Mission "...by providing services to communities and individuals that improve the quality of life." Her duties blend public relations, event planning and marketing duties with a passion for those students who may feel there are no options, encore individuals who need something of interest and purpose, and organizations who are looking for additional training opportunities. In her thirties, Lori began her education as a community college student, received a B.S. from Franklin University in Applied Management through distance education and is currently working on her master's degree in Community College Administration from Western Carolina.

Tammy Williams
Coordinator/Instructor, Polysomnography
246-4139
williamsta@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Sleep wellness
Diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders

Background:
Tammy completed her AAS in Respiratory Care at Sandhills Community College. She studied inverterbrate zoology at UNC-Chapel Hill. She has been aregistered respiratory therapist for 23 years and a registered polysomnographer for 10 years. Tammy has also completed the Cardiovascular Internship Program for Cardiothoracic Postoperative Care and authored a national publication for JCAHO/AARC for competency assessment and orientation of employees.

Deborah Wilson
Professor, History, Geography, Political Science
695-3864
wilsond@sandhills.edu

Areas of expertise/Topics:
Provision of affordable Spay/Neuter as a means to address animal overpopulation to reduce intake to county animal control facilities and reduce euthanasia of adoptable dogs and cats
           
Background:
President of Companion Animal Clinic of the Sandhills Foundation (CAC) a 501c3 charitable organization whose mission is to address animal overpopulation through affordable spay/neuter.

CAC Foundation underwrites the Spay Neuter Veterinary Clinic (SNVC) in Vass, N.C. provide affordable spay/neuter for a nine county region of Central North Carolina. 

Since opening December 10, 2007 the SNVC has provided over 3000 spay/neuters, 1700 rabies vaccinations, and 400 microchips for animal welfare groups and individuals that cannot afford a private veterinarian.

CAC Foundation underwrites the difference in the service fee and the actual cost of operations at the SNVC.