WCU names Dr. Cassandra Conner associate provost
William Carey University announces the promotion of Dr. Cassandra Conner to associate provost for distance learning. As she assumes this new role, she will also remain vice president of the Tradition campus, a position she has held since 2021.
As associate provost, Conner will take part in the academic oversight of WCU’s online learning options – developing strategic planning goals, ensuring that online programs meet high standards and are responsive to student needs, collaborating with faculty to integrate distance learning into the academic framework, fostering dual credit partnerships with K-12 school districts, and making sure each program meets relevant standards for accreditation.
“Dr. Conner established herself as a proven leader with nearly 30 years of experience in K-12 schools on the Gulf Coast before coming to work at Carey,” said WCU President Dr. Ben Burnett.
Her leadership as vice president for the Tradition Campus is already paying off with enrollment growth and plans for expansion in the near future. In her new role as associate provost, she can use her experience to develop more fully our relationship with online students and K-12 school districts.
In 2011, Conner retired as an administrator in the Mississippi public school system, where she served two K-12 school districts as teacher, assistant principal, principal and, ultimately, director of curriculum and instruction and director of technology for the Harrison County School District. She joined the Carey family the same year as academic dean of the Tradition Campus and was later promoted to vice president.
“With Carey’s commitment to keeping college affordable, we must do all we can to keep administrative costs low. Dr. Conner’s promotion is one of several personnel changes involving fantastic leaders who are already on campus, making it unnecessary to hire more people,” Burnett said.
Conner is a member of the First Baptist Church of Gulfport, the Rotary Club of Gulfport-Orange Grove, Phi Delta Kappa, and the American Conference of Academic Deans. She is a board member of the Gulf Coast Business Council and the Rotary Club of Gulfport-Orange Grove. She was selected as a 2020 “Woman of Achievement” finalist for the Lighthouse Business and Professional Women’s Organization. Conner received a 2020 “Forever Young” award from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Young Professionals and a 2023 “Coast Top 10 Community Leader” award. Gulf Coast Woman magazine selected her as one of the “100 Successful Women to Know” in 2023. She is married to Johnny Conner, a Mississippi Power Company retiree, and they have two children and one grandson.