Accountability Plus
The Accountability Plus Team
Donna Powell Davis, Project Coordinator, serves
as The University of Mississippi’s Project Coordinator
for the Mississippi School Improvement System Project.
Ms. Davis has over 26 years of experience as a classroom teacher
in the areas of elementary and special education. Additionally,
she holds certification as a school psychometrist. Ms. Davis
served on the Mississippi State Board of Education for nine
years, including two terms as Board Chair. During her tenure,
she made assignments to and served on the Ad Hoc Committee
charged with developing the plan for the state’s accreditation
system. More recently, she was employed by Educational Testing
Service, K-12 Assessment Division, as National Accounts Manager.
Dr. Charles L. Harrison serves as Program Manager.
As Program Manager, Dr. Harrison brings his extensive experience
in both K-12 public education and higher education to this
project. Prior to assuming his current position as Executive
Director of The University of Mississippi’s regional
campus in Tupelo, Dr. Harrison served in various educational
leadership roles, including over 14 years of service as Superintendent
of the Pontotoc City School District. Under his leadership
in Pontotoc, the District was the first in the state to achieve
a Level 5 accreditation status. Dr. Harrison has also served
as a member of the Itawamba Community College Board of Trustees
and as a member of the Mississippi State Board of Education.
While on the Board, Dr. Harrison served on the Ad Hoc Committee
assigned to develop the plan for the state’s new accreditation
system. In addition to his duties with the Advanced Education
Center, he works with school districts and community development
organizations across the Southeast on a variety of school
improvement issues.
Dr. Collett B. Cross has worked in various capacities
for 26 years in the New Albany (MS) Public Schools before
joining The University of Mississippi as an Assistant Professor
of Curriculum and Instruction. She is currently a member of
the Mississippi Committee, Commission on Elementary and Middle
Schools, and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
(SACS). A Milken National Educator Award recipient, Dr. Cross
is also a trainer and facilitator for the Mississippi Department
of Education.
Dr. Vaughn L. Grisham currently serves as the Director
of the McLean Institute for Community Development and Professor
of Sociology at The University of Mississippi where he has
taught for the past 35 years. Dr. Grisham is the author of
four books: a book on leadership development, Link 2000; two
books on community development, Tupelo: The Evolution of
a Community, and Hand in Hand: Community and Economic
Development; and a book on a model school. Considered
an expert in the field of community leadership, Dr. Grisham
is currently writing a leadership development manual and a
booklet on successful community development projects, and
has authored more than one hundred papers and articles. Dr.
Grisham has also helped to establish leadership development
programs in more than 300 counties in more than 20 states
and has worked in leadership and community/economic development
in more than 30 states and two Canadian provinces. Among his
teaching accolades are his selections as Outstanding Teacher
at The University of Mississippi, member of Who’s Who
Among America’s Teachers, and member of the Teaching
Resource Group by the American Sociological Association. Dr.
Grisham also serves as a Senior Fellow with the Southern Growth
Policies Board, a think tank agency that advises southern
governors in economic matters, and an Associate with the Kettering
Foundation.
For more information:
UM Educational Accountability Service Center
Advanced Education Center
1918 Briar Ridge Road
Tupelo, MS 38804
Phone: 662-690-6219 or 662-690-6220
Fax: 662-844-5625
Email: davisdp@olemiss.edu
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