Faculty & Staff

Dr. Atkinson comes to us with nine years of experience in higher education. Before joining the Frist College of Medicine at Belmont University, Dr. Atkinson was the Assistant Director for Medical Student Affairs at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, overseeing student organizations and events, while implementing wellness programming. He has also served as the Assistant Dean for Student Life and Engagement at Tennessee State University and Chief Operating Officer for the Center for Non-profit Management of Nashville.

 Dr. Atkinson earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, a Master’s degree in Business Administration in Finance & Marketing from Tennessee State University, and a Master of Divinity degree from Vanderbilt University. He completed his Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration in Organization and Strategic Planning from Lipscomb University.

 Dr. Atkinson is passionate about working with students and student organizations related to student engagement, student development, and wellness. 

Dr. Atkinson earned a B.S. in Biology from Tennessee Technological University, an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Vanderbilt, and graduated from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock with an Ed.D. in Higher Education with a specialization in Organizational Theory and Development. He completed his post-graduate training in Institutional Research at Florida State University. Tim will administer professional affairs and faculty development related to processes and manage initiatives to support effective teaching and learning. He will help identify faculty development needs and gaps to create or identify professional development activities and collaborate with faculty to organize and deliver programs and activities including faculty workgroups, workshops, and seminars. Tim will organize the onboarding of new faculty, as well as lead annual faculty orientation and ongoing training, He will also manage the promotion & reappointment, annual performance, academic program reviews and student evaluations of faculty, faculty awards, and participate in faculty committees.

Dr. Burns earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Commerce with a focus in Banking and Finance from Asian Development Foundation College and a Master of Business Administration Degree in Finance from the Philippine School of Business Administration. Dr. Burns received a Doctor of Management Degree in Human Resource Management from Leyte Normal University in Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines. Dr. Burns worked for the Leyte Normal University for more than sixteen years, a decade of which was devoted to serving as the secretary of the university and the Board of Regents. Before joining Belmont, Dr. Burns held administrative roles at the Marietta Memorial Health System in Ohio and Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. Dr. Burns values spirituality, humility, passion, compassion, integrity, individuality, diversity, service, and excellence. She enjoys music, poetry, craft, photography, and gardening.

Dr. Jackson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard Payne University,  Master of Education degree from The University of Texas at Austin, and Doctor of Education degree from the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor.  Dr. Jackson has worked for over 20 years in higher education, including 11 years at the Long School of Medicine in San Antonio, TX, where he most recently served as the Director of Curriculum Evaluation. 

Dr. Marsh has over 20 years of health professions administrative experience. Having served as a Health Professions Advisor at Baylor University, the University of Texas at Austin, Temple University, as the Director of Health Professions Advising at Southern Methodist University, and as the Admissions Director of Temple University’s CST Post Baccalaureate Pre-Health Program. He now serves as the Director of Pathway Programs and Recruitment at The Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University.

In addition to his extensive professional advising experience, Dr. Marsh currently holds roles on the National Association of Advisors to the Health Professions (NAAHP) Technology Committee and serves as Co-Chair of the NAAHP Postbac Committee. He has previously held roles as the Communications Director and member of the Executive Board for the Northeast Association of Advisors to the Health Professions (NEAAHP), as the Webmaster for the Texas Association of Advisors to the Health Professions (TAAHP), and as a member of the Texas Health Education Service Advisory Council.

 Dr. Marsh holds an undergraduate and graduate degree from Baylor University and a doctoral degree from Temple University.

An alumnus of Belmont University, John earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in 2000. After 10 years working in music publishing, he transitioned to higher education and spent 12 years at Meharry Medical College working in clinical skills, simulation and curricular support as a Project Coordinator. He brings his knowledge and experience to the division of Student Affairs and Diversity at the Frist College of Medicine.

Holly earned her bachelor’s degrees in Chemistry and in Mathematics from the University of North Dakota and her M.S. in Chemistry from the University of Utah.  After completing her education, she worked in biotech companies designing laboratory automation processes, writing and modifying software for machine control, and creating novel methods for information analysis.  She has also served several years in secondary education. Holly most recently worked at Belmont as an adjunct faculty in Chemistry, in the College of Sciences and Mathematics.

Dr. Riley earned her M.Ed. in Administration and Supervision from Tennessee State University and her Doctor of Education in Leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University. Before joining Belmont in fall 2020, Riley served as the Director of Enrollment Services in the Division of Enrollment Management at Tennessee State University and formerly served as the Assistant Dean of Student Engagement at Fisk University. 

Jean’s entire professional career has been devoted to graduate health science admissions where she is passionate about encouraging and supporting learners to achieve their goals. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Buena Vista University where she majored in Corporate Communication and minored in Business. She then went on to complete her Master of Science degree in Higher Education with an Enrollment Management emphasis at Drexel University. Her introduction to higher education admissions began when she served as an Office of Admissions intern at her alma mater, Buena Vista University. A native Iowan, her first professional job after college was as an admission assistant, then admission coordinator at Des Moines University, a graduate health professions university with programs in osteopathic and podiatric medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant, public health, and health administration. Jean went on to serve as the Assistant Director for Recruitment at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in North Chicago, Illinois. Most notably, she served as the Founding Director of Admissions at the Western Michigan University Homer Stryker, M.D. School of Medicine in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In that role, she was instrumental in implementing their holistic review admissions process (balancing academic preparation with a wide variety of experiences and attributed aligned with the institutional mission) to select the inaugural and subsequent classes, worked collaboratively with the Admissions Committee Chair to facilitate meetings, served as the admissions contact to the AMCAS and the AAMC, tracked and reported admissions data internally and externally, contributed significantly to the DCI, as well as informed the design of interview days. These are just a few of her accomplishments. In 2016, she was promoted to Assistant Dean for Admissions and Student Life where she assumed additional responsibility for overseeing student organizations, responding to student concerns, and leading teams to plan and execute major student events such as the White Coat Ceremony, Match Day, etc.

Jakima’s career in academic administration began in the dean’s office at Morehouse School of Medicine followed by 4 years of dedicated service and support at Meharry Medical College. She brings leadership and faculty support experience to the Department of Medical Education, as medical education coordinator, working alongside the department chair, faculty, and staff. 

Hope received her Bachelor's Degree in Education from Ottawa University and her Master’s Degree in Education from Northern Arizona University. She brings more than twenty years of expertise in the educational leadership field to Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine at Belmont University. Prior to joining Belmont University, she served as the Multitiered System of Supports Coordinator for the Arizona Virtual Academy/Insight Academy of Arizona, was in the classroom as a teacher, an Educational Coordinator and Trainer for the Arizona Character Education Foundation, as well as a Program Specialist for the Arizona Department of Education. In addition to her wide variety of experience working in educational leadership roles, Hope also brings a unique perspective on mentorship and caring for individuals from her sixteen years in part-time and full-time ministry. Her strong community leadership skills and ability to organize departmental processes and procedures make her a valuable asset to our Belmont team.

Terrell received his Bachelor of Applied Science degree in Industrial Management and Graphic Design from the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith. He earned the Master of Science Degree in College Student Personnel and Counseling Services from Arkansas Tech University.  Currently, Terrell is pursuing a Doctor of Education Degree in Instructional Technology at the American College of Education in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He brings more than ten years of higher education experience, most recently working as an Assistant Dean for Special Programs at Meharry School of Medicine. He has expertise in accreditation, program review and compliance, curriculum design, faculty development, grant development and management, student success, and testing operations. 

Vincent received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology with a minor in International Studies from Austin Peay State University. He earned his Master of Science Degree in Human Development and Leadership, focusing on College Student Personnel, from Murray State University. Vincent brings more than ten years of higher education experience to the Frist College of Medicine, most recently working as an Educational Skills Specialist and Student Disability Coordinator at Meharry Medical College, serving students across the School of Medicine, School of Dentistry, School of Graduate Studies and Research, and the School of Applied Computational Sciences. He has expertise in student development and success, disability services, student programming, and learning modalities.  

Vincent will work in our Accreditation, Curriculum, and CQI Unit within the Office of Faculty and Academic Affairs to support faculty in developing and delivering the medical school curriculum. He will also have an intricate role in designing and launching FCoM’s curriculum mapping inventory processes and integrating new instructional technologies (i.e., iPad Program) into our curriculum.