JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – After serving on an interim basis for the past year, Dr. Brent J. Cunningham has been named the official dean of the College of Business and Industry at Jacksonville State University.
A JSU alumnus, Cunningham received a BS in marketing from the university in 1987. He went on to earn an MA in marketing from The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business in 1990 and a Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Mississippi in 1999. Before arriving on campus, he began his academic career as a member of the marketing faculty at Union University in Jackson, Tenn., from 1990 to 1998.
“Dr. Cunningham has been a part of the JSU fabric for over 22 years,” said Dr. Christie Shelton, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “He has a passion to serve others, to support faculty and to see students succeed. We are fortunate to have Dean Cunningham at the helm of the CBI. I am eager to work with him as he operationalizes his vision for the college in the years to come.”
Cunningham first joined the JSU faculty in 1999 as an assistant professor of marketing. He served as Faculty Senate president in 2009-2010 and was promoted to full professor in 2012. In 2017, Cunningham was named interim head of the Lyons and Company, Inc. Department of Management and Marketing, then official head of the department in 2018 – a role he served in for four years, until becoming interim dean of the college in January 2022.
“Jacksonville State University is a remarkable institution, and I am honored to serve as the dean of the College of Business and Industry at such a special place,” Cunningham said. “I am grateful to President Killingsworth and Provost Shelton for entrusting me with such an important role.”