Dr. LaVena Wilkin, PhD

DEAN OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT | PROFESSOR

LaVena Wilkin, PhD serves as the Dean of Conflict Management and Professor in the Graduate College. She was formerly Dean of the College of Business Administration at Sullivan University. Before joining Sullivan University, Dr. Wilkin spent twenty-six years in the construction industry, and three of those years she co-owned a successful commercial and industrial masonry company. She became an adjunct instructor for Sullivan in 1999, and discovered her passion for teaching. After selling the company, Dr. Wilkin came to work full-time at Sullivan University, serving as the first Associate Director of the Evening and Weekend Division. Dr. Wilkin is a graduate of Sullivan University, earning her associate, bachelors, and master's degrees from Sullivan. Dr. Wilkin earned her PhD. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University.

Dr. Wilkin's dissertation topic was workplace bullying in academe, and her research focused on how faculty members who have been targets of workplace bullying cope with that experience. Her research interests include workplace bullying, conflict and change, conflict and communication, facilitating conflicted workgroups, and the power of forgiveness. She has presented papers and facilitated workshops on several conflict management related topics, including workplace bullying, communication, organizational conflict management, and change management.