Prudence LaBeach Pollard, Ph.D., MPH, RD, SPHR
Dr. Prudence LaBeach Pollard is Vice President for Research and Faculty Development and is a tenured Professor of Management in the School of Business at Oakwood University. She came to Oakwood University from La Sierra University where she served as a tenured Professor of Management in the School of Business and Management. Previous to La Sierra University she served Oakwood College as Vice-President for Administration, Planning and Human Resources, and as a professor at Andrews University and Loma Linda University. She is also an Examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards.
Dr. Pollard earned the Ph.D. in Evaluation, Measurement and Research Design from Western Michigan University. Her degree is applied to the research study of leadership behaviors of managers and executives in global organizations. While completing her Ph.D., Dr. Pollard was awarded the prestigious Women's Academic Achievement Award from Western Michigan University and was inducted by WMU into the Alpha Kappa Mu national honor society.
She has taught leadership, management, policy and business research at Loma Linda University School of Public Health (Hawaii and Guam), Andrews University, Oakwood University, and La Sierra University. She graduated from Oakwood University in 1978, the University of Michigan School of Public Health in 1983, and Western Michigan University in 1993. Dr. Pollard is a Registered Dietitian and has also earned certification from the Society for Human Resource Management as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
Dr. Pollard's professional career in management began at the Loma Linda University Medical Center. She has served in a variety of settings, including positions as: administrator of county and city government programs; program development consultant to Andrews University's College of Arts and Sciences; organizational effectiveness, program evaluation and human resource management and leadership development consultant to for-profit and not-for-profit corporations; and as a trainer to managers and supervisors. Her public and community service includes an appointment to the Human Resources Board in Riverside, California.
Dr. Pollard published Raise a Leader… God’s Way in 2012, proceeds fund scholarships for students at Oakwood University and she has authored a number of book chapters and devotional articles. Her scholarly publications include the Sloan Encyclopedia article on the glass ceiling, empirical research studies on gender and compensation for The Healthcare Manager, and articles on leadership development and strategic planning. In 2008 she was a Keynote Speaker for the Women’s Leadership Conference at Andrews University and in 2015 she was a Keynote Speaker for the Leadership Development Conference at Andrews University. Dr. Pollard’s presentations to business and lay audiences find her traveling from the United States to the Caribbean to Europe to Africa and Asia. When not writing or making presentations she spends her free time in Bible study, stained glass design and construction, sewing, and gardening.
Dr. Pollard designed and launched the Oakwood University Leadership Academy which is dedicated to the training of managers and administrators. She is the Research Director for LifeCore--a ground-breaking study to understand the spiritual life of Seventh-day Adventist youth and young adults. And Dr. Pollard wrote the UNCF-Lilly Foundation funded 5-year grant proposal for $6,000,000.00 to design and implement GEM-Connect, building a 21st Century Curriculum with Guided Career Pathways and co-Curricular programs at Oakwood University, Talladega College, and Tougaloo College. Oakwood University serves as the lead university for the three-campus cluster, with Dr. Pollard as the Principal Investigator.
Prudence is married to Dr. Leslie N. Pollard, 11th President of Oakwood University, whom she met while a student at Oakwood. The Pollards have two daughters who are also Oakwood graduates: Kristin Pollard Kiel, Esq., an attorney advisor with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center; and, Karin Pollard, PharmD, a pharmacist with Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children. Prudence is a proud “nana” to three-year-old Genesis Lillian Kiel and one-year-old Eden Leslie Kiel.
Edited and Updated January 2017 for Distribution Alumni Weekend 2017