DEGREES AND CERTIFICATIONS

• BS Music Education, Pensacola Christian College
• MA Curriculum and Instruction, Music Concentration, Tennessee Tech University
• Ed.D. Learning Organizations and Strategic Change, Higher Ed Cognate, Lipscomb University

BIO

Jennifer Ledbetter received her bachelor’s degree in Music Education with a concentration in piano and a second teaching field in Spanish from Pensacola Christian College in 1993. After working as a music education specialist for over 20 years, she returned to school and received her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a music concentration from Tennessee Tech in 2019. This experience sparked a new interest in student retention and success which led her to pursue a doctorate in Education from Lipscomb University which she earned as a member of the higher education cognate in 2022. Her team dissertation, The Impact of COVID-19 on Teachers at a PreK-12 Independent, Faith-Based School in Tennessee: A Qualitative Phenomenological Case Study (ProQuest, 2022) explored the impact COVID-19 had on both the personal and professional lives of teachers. Jennifer developed a substantial interest in research through this endeavor and hopes to participate in future educational research studies.

Jennifer currently works in the College of Business Student Success Center as an academic advisor, which enables her to pursue her heart for students and her passion for partnering with them in achieving their academic and professional goals. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband of over thirty years, her three children and their spouses, and her two grandchildren. They all share an obsession with travel both foreign and domestic and are currently seeing who can see all fifty states first! Jennifer continues musical endeavors as well as a member of her church choir, a member of Cookeville MasterSingers which meets at Tennessee Tech, and a pit orchestra member for Cookeville Children’s Theater and Cookeville High School.