Faculty

Ph.D. Director, The Professional MBA Program Professor of Health Care Administration Dr. McDonald is an internationally recognized educator, consultant and practitioner. He is currently the Director of The Professional MBA program and Professor of Health Administration, Reeves School of Business, Methodist University, located in Fayetteville, NC, and the Chief Executive Officer of McDonald and Associates, LLC, a consulting firm dedicated to the optical industry and related professions. He is a Registered Optician in the State of North Carolina, and serves as a consultant to a number of ophthalmic and general health care organizations in the areas of staff development and training, practice management and specialty contact lenses. His academic background includes undergraduate degrees in Opticianry and Management. He holds graduate degrees in Health Care Management, Education and the Doctor of Philosophy in Health Sciences, as well as a number of professional certifications, including the prestigious Master of Ophthalmic Optics, and Advanced Certification in Contact Lenses from the National Contact Lens Examiners. He is a member of the Class of 2005 at the Institute for Management and Leadership in Higher Education at Harvard University.

Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Financial Economics

M.B.A. - Marketing Associate Director of Professional Golf Management, PGM Education Professor Bruns has worked in both the banking and golf industries. He spent 10 years managing golf facilities in Texas, Illinois and Iowa. During this time he served as General Manager of the TPC at Deere Run hosting 3 PGA TOUR Events. Prior to this time he served as Associate Professor of Business at Central College in Iowa teaching Marketing and Management classes. He currently teaches classes in Golf Shop Operations, Business Planning & Facility Management and Golf Instruction.

Ph.D., M.B.A., M.S.M. Assistant Professor of Marketing Mark Kendrick is a graduate of Methodist University (then College), with a B.A. in Social Work and Economics. He completed his graduate work at Thomas Edison State College with a Master of Science in Management degree in 2004. He completed his Master of Business Administration in 2007 and Ph.D. in Business Administration in 2010 at Northcentral University. Dr. Kendrick has completed an extensive thesis project on improving the air transportation system at the major airports in the U.S. for his M.B.A. His dissertation centered on improving governmental customer service at the local level through municipal annexation. A native of Pinehurst, NC, Dr. Kendrick comes to The Professional MBA program with a keen perspective on how positive change can take place within a community. For 20 years, he served as an elected official on the Fayetteville City Council as a Councilmember and Mayor Pro-tem. It is also worth noting that he was the Chairman of the Fayetteville Area Transportation Committee for most of those twenty years. He has a wealth of firsthand experience with land use development, strategic planning, state and local development ordinances, and developing multi-million dollar budgets for local governments. Dr. Kendrick is also credentialed in SPHR, CEAP, and SAP. He has been in the HR field for the past twenty years assisting local and regional industry in developing their Human Resource Programs. Dr. Kendrick has been active in our community for many years by serving on numerous business and civic organizations. He and his wife, Dr. Sharon Kendrick, are members of Hay Street United Methodist Church.

Ph.D. Director, Resort and Club Management Assistant Professor of Business Administration Dr. Kendrick comes to Methodist University with over 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Hotel/Restaurant Management from the University of Georgia, her master’s degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix, and her Ph.D. in Business Administration from Touro University International. Dr. Kendrick has enjoyed being involved in the academic environment since 2001, and looks forward to an exciting career in the Resort Management field at Methodist University. Her research interests include following the aging worker as contemplating pending retirement, work-related retirement issues facing pre-retirees, and the placement of older workers in ‘Bridge Employment’ jobs before they enter the ‘full retirement’ phase of life. She received a “Best Paper” award at the Institute for Behavioral and Applied Management conference for her presentation on older workers and why they continue to work after retirement, and she looks forward to being published in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management. Dr. Kendrick is a member of the Academy of International Business, the Association for Operations Management, and serves on the Cultural Heritage Tourism Advisory Council with the Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Ph.D., CPA Chair, Accounting and Financial Economics Professor of Accounting

Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Marketing

Ph.D. Director, Institute for Business and Marketing Research Dr. Lin is a Professor of Business Administration in the Reeves School of Business and Economics. Dr. Lin joined the Methodist University faculty in 1988 and is tenured. In addition to his teaching duties, he serves as the Director of the Institute for Marketing and Business Research. Dr. Lin holds a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University in Economics and Statistics. His undergraduate course load includes Managerial Economics, Business Statistics, Management Science, and Microcomputer Business Applications. He has taught similar courses at the graduate level as an adjunct professor for both regional universities and accredited online programs. Among Dr. Lin's recent research presentations is a paper entitled "Global Economy: The Trends and Issues" at the Chinese-American Academic and Professional Association Annual Conference in 2002.

J.D., CPA Assistant Professor of Accounting Professor Pelham is a North Carolina CPA and a Florida attorney. She worked in public accounting after graduating from Texas Lutheran University in 1992 and then returned to school in 2000 for her law degree. After graduating from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 2003, she worked for a large Orlando law firm. She then started her own firm, where she focused on family law and special education law. Currently, Professor Pelham is an Assistant Professor of Accounting at Methodist University, teaching accounting as well as business law, both at the undergraduate and MBA level.

Ed.D. Assistant Professor of Management

D.B.A., CPA Associate Professor of Accounting

M.H.A., M.S., FACHE Professor of Health Care Administration Professor Sullivan joined the Methodist University faculty and started the Health Care Administration Program as a concentration in the Reeves School of Business in 1994. He is a retired Army Officer (Medical Service Corps) and earned his M.S. Degree in Biology from Austin Peay State University (1977) and the M.H.A. degree from Baylor University (1992). Professor Sullivan has served as a consultant to a number of medical group practices in the region in the areas of practice management, strategic planning, and staff development. Currently, Professor Sullivan is teaching Financial Management of Healthcare Organizations at the graduate level, and Medical Terminology, Managed Care/Medical Group Practice Management, Financial Management of Healthcare Organizations, and Medical Coding at the undergraduate level. He has taught similar courses at the graduate level as an adjunct professor for Webster University.

J.D. Director of Legal Studies Associate Professor of Legal Studies Wendy Vonnegut received her BA from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and her Juris Doctrine from Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. She is President of the Southern Association of PreLaw Advisors and currently serves on the board of directors for the Child Advocacy Center of Cumberland County. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Small Business Center at Fayetteville Technical Community College.