Jann Adams is the Associate Vice President for Leadership Initiatives and Lead Director of the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College. Jann’s primary responsibilities include planning, implementation, and oversight of the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership, including the development of multiple student and faculty initiatives to advance leadership and social justice training and research at the College. The AYCGL includes four institutes: The Institute for Research, Civic Engagement, and Policy; the Leadership Studies Program; the Institute for Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis; and the Institute for International and Experiential Education, for which Jann is director. Under Jann’s leadership as director of the institute, a new Office of International Education was established in 2019. Similarly, programming in experiential education was established in the fall 2020. Jann serves as the director of the Morehouse College Oprah Winfrey Program, SMASH Scholars Program, and Procter and Gamble Scholars Program.
As Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs from 2014 – 2017, Jann led a number of Academic Affairs initiatives, including reform of faculty evaluation and development, tenure and promotion procedures, and training and development of departmental chairs. In August 2016 Jann’s responsibilities were broadened to include oversight of General Education reform, updating of the course catalog, development and implementation of curricular innovation at the College ), and oversight of study abroad programs. Some accomplishments included restructuring of faculty positions and establishing a reformed non-tenure track rank at the College, implementation of a new commencement participation policy and process, enhancement of faculty utilization of classroom technology, enhancement of intellectual engagement, and recognition of faculty.
As Associate Dean of the Division of Science and Mathematics from 2008-2012, Jann led efforts to enhance the productivity and promotion of women faculty, led strategic planning efforts, led a division-wide leadership initiative, division-wide implementation of Peer Led Team Learning, and developed a division evaluation assessing the academic success and graduate school entrance of Morehouse science majors, as well as an evaluation of the impact of division programs, research training and international experiences.
Jann is a tenured, full professor in the Department of Psychology where she served as chair from 2003 – 2007. Throughout her career Jann has remained committed to research and to building training programs for students in the sciences. Jann wrote and directed several National Institutes of Health research training program at Morehouse College, and is published in the areas of stress reactivity and John Henryism, feminist views of child sexual abuse, sexual harassment and abuse of African American women. More recently, Jann’s research efforts have focused on enhancing knowledge of variables associated with increased production of African American Ph.D.’s in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and on pedagogical interventions to enhance academic outcomes of students in the sciences.
Jann serves as a faculty member for the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) Institute on Integrative Learning and provides training in faculty and administrator leadership of integrative learning and community- based learning approaches.
Jann received her B.A. in Psychology from Oberlin College and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Indiana University.
