James B. Anderson M. Ed. (Higher Education), B.A., M.A.

Biography

Born and raised in Hot Springs, Arkansas, James Anderson graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1987. He continued his education in Conway, Arkansas, graduating with a B.A. in History from Hendrix College in 1991.

Continuing his pursuit of knowledge, Mr. Anderson enrolled at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In 1994 he was awarded a M.A. in History with a focus on Medieval Europe.

It was at this point Mr. Anderson acquired a taste for student services programs. Beginning his career as an English and History tutor for first year students at the University of Arkansas, he soon came to supervise a study center and the tutoring programs at two locations on campus.

After a year working with students at The Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences he returned to Fayetteville, graduating with a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration in 1998. He began honing his skills as an academic advisor during this period, serving entry level students in the College of Education and Health Professions.

Moving to Oklahoma in 1998, Mr. Anderson began his career at OSU-Oklahoma City. He started as a part-time academic advisor in the fall of 1998, became the full-time retention advisor in 1999 and joined the Title III program in 2004. In September of 2008, as the Title III grant was coming to an end, he continued in the new role of Coordinator of Retention and Assessment.

While at OSU-Oklahoma City, Mr. Anderson wrote and published The Retention Plan for Student Services, continued the development of a highly successful conditional admission program, contributed to the development and implementation of an award winning campus wide retention plan as well as the development and implementation of a retention plan for the Human Services Academic Division, and developed training programs for the Division of Student Services.  He also serves as co-chair of the Retention Subcommittee of Enrollment Management Task Force and on the Assessment of Student Learning Committee.

He currently resides in Oklahoma City with his wife, two kids, two dogs, and several fish.