One of the highest honors a person can receive is to be recognized by his or her peers for a job well done. Business Alabama’s Exceptional Educators section allows those within the education sector to do just that — nominate a peer who excels at their job, whether that is in the classroom or in an administrative role.
A Chinese proverb states: If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people. Our honorees exemplify this proverb, dedicating their lives to helping students achieve success. The following are this year’s Exceptional Educators:
David Campbell
Northeast Alabama Community College
David Campbell, Ph.D., has served as president of Northeast Alabama Community College since 2001. Under his leadership, the college was named to Aspen Institute’s top 10% of community colleges in the U.S. Campbell has worked to expand the college’s workforce and STEM programs, culminating in a mathematics, science and engineering technology center and a health/workforce complex. Among his recognitions are being named Citizen of the Year in both DeKalb and Jackson counties and winning a national service award from Phi Theta Kappa. He has served as president of the Alabama Community College Association and the Alabama Community College Presidents’ Association; and currently serves as chair of the Jackson County Economic Development Authority and the DeKalb/Jackson Counties Industrial Development Board. A native of north Alabama, Campbell is a graduate of Auburn University, with a master’s from Florida State University and a doctorate from the University of Texas.
Annette Funderburk
J.F. Ingram State Technical College
Annette Funderburk, MPA, currently serves as president of J.F. Ingram State Technical College, which offers postsecondary career and technical education to incarcerated adults and eligible persons in Alabama. The college also assists graduates with job placement and community resources to assist in the individuals’ reentry into society. Funderburk was appointed college president in 2018, after serving a year as interim president. Prior to her current role, she worked with the Alabama Community College System for nine years serving in various capacities. Prior to joining ACCS, she served 10 years in county administration for Tallapoosa and Talladega counties. She has a Master of Public Administration from Troy University, a certificate in governmental accounting, an Intensive Economic Development certificate from the Government and Economic Development Institute and is a 2017 Community College Fellow. She is also a graduate of Leadership Alabama. She has served with a number of professional and community organizations including the Correctional Education Association, Economic Development Association of Alabama and Alabama Community College Presidents’ Association. She is a Paul Harris Fellow.
Lori Hensley
Jacksonville State University
Lori Hensley, Ph.D., is department head for biology at Jacksonville State University, where she has added research-based labs to better prepare students to think like scientists by doing real science. Hensley runs the JSU Cancer Lab, where her work focuses on the use of compounds from the cannabis plant as potential alternative or adjuvant novel therapies for aggressive pediatric cancers with low five-year survival rates. She recently secured a $1 million National Science Foundation grant to support this research. She has led the initiative to create a Cannabis Studies program for JSU students that will prepare them for internships and careers. Through this program, students can earn two microcredentials in Cannabis Science and Cannabis Business and Culture, thus helping to build a pipeline for the state’s medical cannabis industry.
Leana Polston-Murdoch
Columbia Southern University
Leana Polston-Murdoch, Ph.D., is a seasoned professional in marketing and communications, website design and development, learning and development, and organizational development. She also has dedicated nearly a decade in education as a course facilitator. In 2015, she began working part-time as an adjunct faculty member for Columbia Southern Education Group. In 2016, she served on the College of Business advisory board for the university and accepted the role of curriculum lead faculty within the College of Business in 2019. Since then, she has been promoted to lead faculty for organizational leadership. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Polston-Murdoch holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Public Administration degrees and earned her doctorate in organizational leadership from Regent University.
Barbara Steger
Wallace Community College
Barbara Steger leads the Wallace Community College’s Adult Education Program. A former Army sergeant and lifelong learner, Steger has earned degrees in education specialist, master’s degrees in secondary language education, English language education and instructional leadership and administration; and a bachelor’s in secondary English language arts education. She currently is working on her doctorate in global leadership at Troy University. She also is the owner/operator of Kingdom Culture Coaching Services LLC. She is a John C. Maxwell certified speaker, trainer and coach; a licensed minister; and an author. Steger is a graduate of Leadership Barbour, the LEAD Institute Cohort and the Higher Education Resource Services-East Africa Leadership Academy. She was named the Alabama Community College System’s Chancellor’s Award winner for Wallace Community College for 2022-2023. Prior to joining Wallace Community College, she served as a high school English teacher for eight years and as an elementary school assistant principal.
Audrey Webb
Alabama Community College System
Audrey Webb’s career in workforce development in higher education spans across more than a decade. She currently leads the Alabama Community College System’s federal and state apprenticeship and work-based learning strategy. As director, she works with the Alabama Office of Apprenticeship to ensure that businesses and industry are well-informed of potential training partnerships at the state’s community and technical colleges. She also manages the Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME) collegiate chapters across the state. Prior to serving in her current role, Webb was division chair of engineering technology and electronic engineering instructor at Gadsden State Community College. She also has industry experience working in the manufacturing sector. Webb has a Master of Engineering from Mississippi State University and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She serves on several workforce committees, including the National Governors Association Work-Based Learning Policy Committee, NGA Policy Academy to Advance Youth Apprenticeship and the Alabama Committee on Credential Quality and Transparency.
Dingguo Zhang
Wallace State Community College
Dingguo Zhang, Ph.D., is a biology instructor at Wallace State Community College. He has had a career in medical sciences, from the hospital to research to the classroom. As a graduate of Xuzhou Medical University in China, Zhang balanced hospital rotations with cancer research on what the malignant pathways of different cancers have in common. Later, he enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where his interests shifted from cancer biology to human physiology, with an emphasis on renal and cardiac physiology. As a doctoral student, he discovered a passion for teaching, which led him to join Wallace State in 2023. At Wallace State, Zhang focuses on helping students apply theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios, especially in the health care fields. Outside the classroom, Zhang enjoys basketball and spending time with his wife and their four dogs.
This special section appears in the November 2024 issue of Business Alabama.
