Dr. Stephen Coppock, Ed.D.

INSTRUCTOR

I retired in 2009 as Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer of Sullivan University having served in that capacity since 1998; was President/CEO of American Education Centers in northern Kentucky for five years ('93-'98); was President of Sullivan Colleges System from '91-'93; was VP for administration for Sullivan Colleges System from '83-'91; was the Director of Sullivan's Louisville location from '79-'83; was Dean for Sullivan's Louisville location from '76-'79; was Director of Public Relations for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary from '73-'76; was Dean of Admissions and College Relations for Southwest Baptist College (now University) from '67-'73.

My doctoral dissertation focused on college student retention/attrition and was published in 1972, one of the earliest dissertations on the topic in the country. I have devoted nearly four decades to studying why students start college but cease attendance prior to graduation. I earned a graduate certificate in Conflict Resolution from Sullivan University and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Sullivan when I retired in 2009.

I have chaired accreditation teams for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools since 1988 and was instrumental in Sullivan University being the first career-focused college in the eleven state southern region to seek and gain regional accreditation in 1979. I served on the Kentucky State Board for Proprietary Education for 13 years and chaired that Board my last 3 years on the Board. I have a personal services contract with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education to do campus visits for the Council to assure compliance with state laws and regulations.

Since retiring in 2009, I have established a higher education consulting business and work with colleges throughout the country on higher education issues focusing on institutional effectiveness and other accreditation challenges. I teach one online class per quarter in Sullivan's master's program in Conflict Management.