Leadership Fellows Residency III

Dr. Norman Anderson

Dr. Anderson has had a wide-ranging career as a national leader, first as a scientist and tenured professor studying health disparities and mind/body health, and later as an executive in government, non-profit, and higher education contexts. Dr. Anderson is currently Assistant Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs, and Professor of Social Work at Florida State University (FSU). In these roles, he works with faculty and administrators to advance the research mission of the university and to facilitate the success of emerging academic leaders. Dr. Anderson created and directs the FSU Faculty Leadership Development Program, which is designed to offer leadership training to faculty across the university at different stages of their professional journeys. Before joining FSU, Dr. Anderson served for 13 years as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Executive Vice President of the American Psychological Association (APA), and was the second longest-serving (and first African American) CEO in the 125-year history of APA. Among APA’s numerous accomplishments during his tenure, the organization was named one of the top places to work in the Washington, DC area in 2014. Dr. Anderson retired from APA in 2015. Prior to joining APA, Dr. Anderson was the founding Associate Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in charge of social and behavioral science, and was the first Director of the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). At NIH, he facilitated behavioral and social sciences research across all of the Institutes and Centers of the NIH. Under his purview was behavioral and social research in such areas as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, children’s health, mental health, minority health, aging, and oral health. His special interest at NIH was in sociocultural determinants of health, and in advancing an integrated, trans-disciplinary, bio-psycho-social approach to health science, health promotion, prevention, and health care. In addition to his formal leadership roles, Dr. Anderson served as a tenured associate professor at Duke University School of Medicine and as a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is well-known for his research and writing on health and behavior, and on racial/ethnic and economic health inequities. For his research, service, and leadership, he has received a number of significant awards from scientific societies and universities. Among his numerous honors, in 2012 Anderson was elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. In 2013, he was inducted into the Black College Hall of Fame for his work in science. Anderson is also the recipient of four honorary doctorate degrees.

Dr. Anderson is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association, the Association for Psychological Science, the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research, and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. He is a past president of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. In addition to publishing dozens of scientific articles, Dr. Anderson is the author and editor of several books, including serving as editor-in-chief of the two-volume Encyclopedia of Health and Behavior (2003) and as co-editor of Interdisciplinary research: Case studies from health and social science (2008). For over 12 years he was editor-in-chief of APA’s flagship journal, American Psychologist. He is currently a Senior Editor of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Global Public Health.

As a Certified Professional Coach, Dr. Anderson is Principal of Anderson Leadership Coaching and Consulting, LLC, which builds on his nearly two decades of experience working with and developing senior executives and leaders in complex organizations. He currently has a special interest in using mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and positive psychology (strength-based approaches) to help established and emerging leaders perform at their best. Dr. Anderson is certified in the use of the EQ-i 2.0 measure of emotional intelligence and has training in mindfulness facilitation from the Mindful Awareness Research Center at the University of California at Los Angeles. He also has specialized training in The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® (also known as The Leadership Challenge), one of the most extensively evaluated approaches to leadership development. Anderson graduated from NC Central University in Durham, NC., and earned masters and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He received additional clinical and research training at the schools of medicine at Brown and Duke Universities, including postdoctoral fellowships in psychophysiology and aging at Duke.

Dr. David Hall

Dr. David Hall is the president of the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) since August 2009. Under Dr. Hall’s leadership, UVI has made important strides toward raising the image and position of the University. Prior to joining UVI, he served as Provost and Senior Vice President of Northeastern University, and previously as dean of the Northeastern University School of Law.

 Having taught law for more than 25 years in the law schools of the University of Mississippi, University of Oklahoma and Northeastern University, Dr. Hall has enjoyed a distinguished career as an educational administrator and preeminent scholar in the field of law. In 2010, in recognition of his significant contributions to the legal field, Dr. Hall was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the New England School of Law in Boston, MA. He has been honored by the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association as a Trailblazer and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the Legal Services Corporation Board of Directors. President Hall has been the recipient of numerous awards including the prestigious Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s Educational Leadership Award and inducted into the Kansas State University Athletics Hall of Fame.

His publications include works on civil rights, the U.S. Constitution and race, legal education, and social justice. He has authored a book on the intersection of law and spirituality and lectures nationally on topics of social justice, leadership, ethics, diversity and spiritual values in professional life.

Born in Savannah, Georgia, Dr. Hall holds a Bachelor’s degree from Kansas State University, where he was named an “All American” for his athletic and scholarly accomplishments. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) from the University of Oklahoma, where he also earned a master’s degree in Human Relations. He holds both a Master of Laws (LL.M) degree and a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) from Harvard Law School. 

Dr. Claudia Rankins

Dr. Claudia Rankins is a senior research associate for PRISSEM Academic Services, LLC, where she conducts faculty development and research development consulting activities, specifically aimed towards faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) pursuing National Science Foundation (NSF) funding in STEM and STEM education fields.

Dr. Rankins recently retired from the National Science Foundation where she served as a Program Director in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources. She directed the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program and the HBCU Excellence in Research program. Prior to this post, Dr. Rankins served at Hampton University for 22 years in a number of capacities, including endowed university professor, chair of the department of physics, assistant dean for research, and dean of the School of Science.  She is also a proud HBCU graduate, having obtained masters and PhD degrees in Physics from Hampton University.

Dr. Rankins is an advocate for STEM education and research at HBCUs. Her current research interests center around the history of STEM at these institutions. Her research in theoretical particle physics focused on the development of a model to describe distribution amplitudes and form factors of pseudoscalar mesons.  Dr. Rankins is the co-founder of the Society of STEM Women of Color, Inc.

Dr. Falcon Rankins

Dr. Falcon Rankins owns and operates PRISSEM Academic Services, LLC, a consulting firm that provides research development, grant writing, and evaluation support to members of higher education who are working to rebuild STEM into an enterprise that values the contributions of all its members. Through PRISSEM, Dr. Rankins has assisted faculty at more than a dozen Historically Black Universities in the development and submission of National Science Foundation (NSF) proposals involving STEM disciplinary research and STEM education research. He has extensive experience as an external evaluator and works closely with PIs on multiple NSF projects. Dr. Rankins also regularly engages HBCU faculty in strategic coaching sessions to help them thrive as members of the STEM academic community.

Dr. Rankins earned a PhD in Educational Research and Evaluation from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education and holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in aerospace engineering from University of Maryland, College Park. His dissertation work explored how Black STEM faculty at HBCUs engage in the NSF merit review process. He lives in Richmond, VA with his wife, Nicole, and their two daughters.

Dr. Nicole Rankins

Nicole Calloway Rankins, MD, MPH is an obstetrician/gynecologist. Dr. Rankins received her BS in mathematics, summa cum laude, from Spelman College and her BS in mechanical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University as part of a dual degree program. She was inducted into the inaugural class of Phi Beta Kappa at Spelman, and graduated in the top 10 in the School of Engineering at North Carolina A&T. Dr. Rankins went on to complete her MD degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School, where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. Following medical school, she completed her residency training at Duke University Medical Center, where she was an Administrative Chief Resident. After Duke, Dr. Rankins completed a clinical research fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, during which time she earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) with a concentration in epidemiology. In support of a whole person approach to health, Dr. Rankins also completed a science grounded and evidence-based training program in integrative health coaching at Duke Integrative Medicine. Today Dr. Rankins practices full time as OB hospitalist physician where she is the Site Director for her hospital’s OB hospitalist program. She’s also an entrepreneur, hosts a popular pregnancy podcast, is an online childbirth course creator, and is active in her local community with volunteer work serving pregnant people. She currently resides in Richmond, VA with her husband Dr. Falcon Rankins and their two daughters. 

Dr. Cynthia Warrick

Dr. Cynthia Warrick is the 7th President and first female to lead Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Named one of the Ten Most Dominant HBCU Leaders of 2023 by the HBCU Campaign Fund, Dr. Warrick served as the Interim President of Grambling State University and South Carolina State University after advancing the faculty and administrative ranks at Howard University, the University of Texas, Texas Southern University, Florida A&M University, and Elizabeth City State University.  She received the PhD in Environmental Science & Policy from George Mason University, the MS Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the BS Pharmacy degree from Howard University. She was recently recognized by the Network Journal as one of 25 Influential Black Women in Business and as one of the 26 “Women Who Shape the State” in 2022 by This Is Alabama.  Dr. Warrick has announced her retirement from Stillman will take place in June 2023.