Dr. Betty Overton-Adkins is a Professor of Clinical Practice in the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE) and the Director of the National Forum. Betty received her Ph.D. in educational leadership from George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Her undergraduate and master’s degrees in English are from Tennessee State University and she has done further study at Harvard University. In the CSHPE, Betty teaches courses in the history of higher education, race and ethnicity, access and equity, and other areas.

Betty is active in higher education, serving on the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities (NCA), the board of the American Association of Higher Education & Accreditation (AAHEA), and the editorial board of Liberal Education, published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). She has been a member of the Board of the Council of Graduate Schools, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), and the Advisory Board of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State University. Betty served as Provost at Spring Arbor University for a decade, where she was responsible for all aspects of the academic program.

She is the mother of two sons and the proud grandmother of four grandchildren.