LR Asheville celebrates continued growth of graduate center

From press release:

HICKORY, N.C. – Lenoir-Rhyne University’s Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville is continuing to grow as three new faculty members join the campus community, bringing an array of knowledge to their respected programs.

On Tuesday, August 12 the public is invited to LR’s Asheville campus to help celebrate the new hires – Dr. Myra Martin-Adkins, Dr. Adam Powell, and Dr. Kimberly Price, with a Welcome Networking Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Each new faculty member will be joining various programs within the graduate center, bringing their expertise to the following areas of study.

Master of Arts in Counseling

A new Counseling faculty member, Dr. Myra Martin-Adkins, joined Lenoir-Rhyne University this summer.

Myra Martin-Adkins, Ph.D., is LR’s new Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Martin-Adkins is passionate about teaching and student development. Prior to joining the LR faculty, Martin-Adkins worked as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech.

Martin-Adkins’ research is informed by her experiences living in multiple communities and focuses on the importance of building effective relationships across cultural differences by expanding the way we think about identity and culture.

An active member of the Association of Counselor Education and Supervision and the American Counseling Association, Martin-Adkins looks forward to continuing direct work with clients. She has clinical experience working with college students, adolescents, and adults with a range of presenting concerns from relational and adjustment difficulties to acute mental health diagnoses. Her experience supervising counselors-in-training spans specialty areas, having worked with students in both Clinical Mental Health and School Counseling settings.

Master of Arts in Religious Studies

LR is also adding depth to its religion program by bringing Dr. Adam Powell on board to serve as Director of the Master of Arts in Religious Studies, teaching courses such as “Theory and Method in the Study of Religion,” “American Religious Diversity,” and “Sacred Texts.”

Powell earned his doctorate in Durham, UK in the Study of Religion. His research focused on how persecution affected the doctrinal development of early Christians and early Mormons. He also studies the life and work of the sociologist Hans Mol and the relationship between globalization, religious pluralism, and social conflict. Two books on Hans Mol are forthcoming: “Hans Mol: Unpublished Papers” and “Religion as Process.”

Powell is originally from Douglasville, Ga. He has also lived in Alabama, Texas and North Carolina. He now lives in Asheville with his wife and son.

Master of Arts in Public Health

Kimberly Price, PhD, is a Certified Health Education Specialist with more than 15 years of experience in health promotion and community health. She has devoted her career to reducing health disparities for disadvantaged and vulnerable populations.

Price earned her master’s degree from Columbia University in New York City and her doctorate from the University of Cincinnati, where her research focused on understanding how social and spiritual connections influence health behaviors.

She has coordinated health education programs at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, New Jersey’s War Related Illness and Injury Center, as well as other projects with non-profit agencies in urban communities.

Price is leaving the Greater Cincinnati area to teach courses for Lenoir-Rhyne’s public health program. Her core message to her Public Health students: “Change is possible, one step at a time.”

To RSVP for the Welcome Networking Lunch on Tuesday, August 12, visit: asheville.lr.edu.