Three professors at Southwestern University have been appointed to endowed chairs.

Sherry Adrian, associate professor of education, has been appointed to the Herbert and Kate Dishman Professorship in Special Education.

Adrian joined the Southwestern faculty in 1993. Her teaching and research focus on students with special needs and social justice issues in education. She is the current chair of the Education Department and serves as the certification officer for Southwestern’s Teacher Certification Program. Adrian also was one of Southwestern’s first Paideia professors.

Adrian received her undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of North Texas. She has a master’s degree in special education from the University of Arizona and a Ph.D. in special education from The University of Texas at Austin.

The Dishman Professorship was established by Dr. and Mrs. Herbert Dishman in 1972 to fund a professorship in special education.

Phil Hopkins, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the Religion and Philosophy Department, has been named the first holder of the Lurlyn and Durwood Fleming Professorship in Religion and Philosophy.

Hopkins joined the Southwestern faculty in 1998 and has served as chair of the Religion and Philosophy Department since 2008. Hopkins also has been a Paideia professor since 2008.

Hopkins’ teaching and research focus on ancient philosophy and the impact of mass media on moral thought. He received the Southwestern University Teaching Award in 2004.

Hopkins received a bachelor of arts in humanities and English from Stephen F. Austin University and a master of arts in liberal arts in intellectual history from St. John’s College. He holds a Ph.D. in philosophy and classics from The University of Texas at Austin.

The Lurlyn and Durwood Fleming Professorship was established in 2008 and honors Southwestern’s 12th president and his wife. Durwood Fleming served as president of Southwestern from 1961-1981.

Mary Grace Neville, associate professor of business, has been appointed to the John Shearn Chair in Business. This chair was previously held by Don Parks, who retired in May.

Neville has been a member of the Southwestern faculty since 2003. She teaches classes in Foundations of Business, Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, and Organizational Behavior. She also teaches the Business Capstone class and a seminar on Contemporary Issues in Global Business and has been a Paideia professor since 2007. She received the Southwestern University Teaching Award in 2009.

Neville received an undergraduate degree in radio-television-film from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business. She holds a Ph.D. from Case Western Reserve University.

Before coming to Southwestern, Neville was a manager in the strategic services practice of a global management consulting firm. Before consulting, she was on the start-up team for a $52 million public aquarium, and served as the executive director of a state-level nonprofit agency.

The Shearn Chair in Business was established in 1974 by The Moody Foundation of Galveston to memorialize John Shearn, maternal grandfather of Mary Moody Northen and an honors graduate of Rutersville College, the founding institution of Southwestern University.