Barry Aron Vann is a native of southern Appalachia. An accomplished author, professor, speaker, and administrator, Dr. Vann came to University of the Cumberlands in 2008 as the Director of the Doctor of Education Program.

Vann holds two doctorates: a Doctor of Education degree in Adult Education from the University of Arkansas, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree dually awarded by the Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences and the School of Divinity at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.  In addition, he also possesses a Master of Science degree in Geosciences from Western Kentucky University.

Vann has served as the founding director of a dozen degree programs in such places as Delta State University in Mississippi and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.  Before coming to the University of the Cumberlands as the founding director of the Doctor of Education program, he served as the founding director of Lincoln Memorial University’s Appalachian Development.

As an author, Vann has published twenty articles and three books with a fourth entitled The Rise of Islam: A Geotheological Perspective in the editing stages.  His writings have appeared in such publications as The Journal of Transatlantic Studies, The Journal of Historical Sociology, and the Geography of Religions and Belief Systems. 

Vann has spoken in a number of settings, including his lecture on Celts and settlements in Appalachia that he delivered to the Appalachian Literature class at University of the Cumberlands, taught by English Department Chair Dr. Thomas Frazier.  Of Vann’s visit, Frazier notes that Vann is “engaging, knowledgeable, and entertaining” when speaking about his subject matter.