DR. LINDA LYONS

Dr. Linda M. Lyons is a Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Kennesaw State University (KSU) and has worked in higher education performing various teaching and administrative roles for over 20 years. She received a doctorate in Adult Education with a focus on Organization Behaviors from the University of Georgia and has a M.S. in Human Resource Development, and a B.A. in Business Management. 

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Additionally, Linda holds a certification from the Intercultural Communication Institute as an Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) Assessor and has credentials with other various professional development assessment tools such as, Global DISC, People Mapping, Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and True Colors. She has been associated with several professional and pedagogy organizations that focus on student success and currently is active with the American Association for Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE). 

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As the Director of Strategic Outreach and Diversity Initiatives, in the Division of Diverse and Inclusive Excellence, Linda manages KSU’s five signature outreach initiatives. Participants in her programs are eligible first-generation and/or traditionally underrepresented students from the inner-city and rural areas who enter the institution under a full academic scholarship. Her unit provides academic enrichment services to help incoming first-year students successfully progress within a cohort through college to degree completion.

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Linda has published on the scholarship of teaching and learning that is germane to multicultural education and global leadership. Her research concentration examines intercultural competence through a collaborative approach with campus constituents and external stakeholders when developing and executing cultural awareness initiatives to undergraduate students and business associates. Additionally, she has managed and directed education abroad programs to Africa, South America, and Europe as well as traveled with colleagues to the Republics of Ghana and Nigeria, Africa, Barcelona, Spain and Otzenhausen, Germany conducting leadership and professional development workshops to adult learners. Linda’s most recent accomplishment is being a co-editor of the book entitled “Historically Underrepresented Faculty and Students in Education Abroad: Wandering Where We Belong”. 

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Her credentials in diversity, talent management, executive coaching as well as leadership and professional development have given her several opportunities to provide performance solutions with other post-secondary schools as well as corporate and non-profit organizations. Linda was born in Washington D.C. during the height of the civil rights era. She attributes her exposure to social injustice at a young age which gave her the desire for teaching and facilitating conversations that focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion