TICUA Staff Members

Dr. Cameron Conn

Cameron Conn, Ph.D. joined TICUA in September of 2024 after 20 years of experience working on private higher education campuses. As president, Dr. Conn will serve as the chief advocate for TICUA’s 34 member campuses at the state and federal levels. She began her career in student affairs at Mississippi College and then transitioned to focus on healthcare education at Baylor University and, most recently, at Baptist Health Sciences University in Memphis, where she was instrumental in launching their College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Conn has experience in strategic planning, institutional effectiveness, enrollment management, and academic leadership. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies and Teaching English as a Second Language from Union University, a Master of Science from Florida State University and a Doctor of Philosophy from Azusa Pacific University, both in Higher Education.

Dr. Conn remains active as a quantitative researcher and peer reviewer in the field of higher education. She enjoys writing research articles, regularly presents at national education conferences, and mentors doctoral students by serving on dissertation committees at Azusa Pacific University and Bethel University (Minnesota). Her research interests include student-faculty interaction, college student outcomes, and Christian higher education. Dr. Conn also earned a Doctoral Certificate in Strengths-Oriented Higher Education during her time at Azusa Pacific University and enjoys facilitating professional development workshops to build effective, diverse teams.

Dr. Cameron Conn is a native of Dyersburg, TN and currently lives in Nashville with her husband Patrick. They enjoy traveling, trying new restaurants, listening to live music, and watching college sports.

Ms. Laura Cornick

Cornick has been with TICUA for over 14 years, during which time has held positions in administration and member services.  Her role has grown to include leading several of TICUA’s professional development opportunities and most recently launching TICUA’s ACT for Equity initiative.  She holds degrees from two TICUA member institutions: a Bachelor of Science degree from Aquinas College and a Master of Arts from Lipscomb University.

Laura has two adult children and a high school senior. Her oldest daughter recently graduated from Lipscomb University and her son is currently serving in the U.S. Navy.

Ms. Tailor Shaffer

Shaffer graduated from Austin Peay State University in July 2020 with a Master of Science in Management. While completing her graduate program, she served as the university’s dual enrollment Graduate Teaching Assistant for Robertson County high school students. Prior to completing her graduate program, Shaffer obtained her Bachelor of Science in General Studies with a Focus in Education from Austin Peay State University in May 2019. Throughout her academic career, she maintained employment with a retail pharmacy, where she held a leadership role as a senior certified technician. She has been happily married for six years and has a young daughter. Shaffer began her career with TICUA in January 2022.

Ms. Amy Heckman

Ms. Heckman joined the TICUA staff in January 2008. Prior to working at TICUA, she worked at Union University as a Staff Assistant in the Office of Student Financial Planning. Heckman is also a graduate of Union University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science in 2003. Heckman is married to Kent Heckman and they have two sons and a daughter.

Dr. John M. Braxton

Professor Braxton is Professor Emeritus of Leadership, Policy and Organizations, Higher Education Leadership and Policy Program, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. He has two major programs of research. One program centers on the study of college and university faculty members. Faculty scholarly role performance and the normative structures of undergraduate college teaching and research are the primary foci of this particular program of research. His other program of research focuses on the college student experience in general and the college student departure process in particular. Within this program of research, Professor Braxton conducts research on college student departure, assesses current theory on college student departure, and constructs and tests theory on this phenomenon.

With colleagues at other universities, Braxton is currently conducting research focused on the empirical identification of normative structures for different areas with student affairs such as housing and residential life professionals, academic advising, Greek life, and the chief student affairs officer. Also with colleagues at other universities, Braxton is also engaged in a line of inquiry focused on the scholarship of practice that entails the identification of the research needs of practitioners.

Professor Braxton has published over 110 publications in the form of articles in referred journals, books, and book chapters. Of his books, five are full length co-authored and twelve are edited books. His full length books include: Rethinking College Student Retention (with William Doyle, Harold Hartley, Amy Hirschy, Willis Jones and Michael McLendon), Professors Behaving Badly (with Eve Proper and Alan Bayer), Faculty Misconduct in Collegiate Teaching (with Alan Bayer), and Institutionalizing a Broader View of Scholarship Through Boyer's Four Domains (with William Luckey and Patricia Helland).

Braxton is a recipient of the Research Achievement Award bestowed by the Association for the Study of Higher Education and the Contribution to Knowledge Award given by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA)-College Student Educators International. Both awards are for outstanding contributions to knowledge that advance the understanding of higher education.

Professor Braxton served as the 9th Editor of the Journal of College Student Development for seven years from 2008 to 2015. During his career, he has served on the editorial boards for the three core journals of higher education as a field of study: The Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education and the Review of Higher Education and as Associate Editor of Higher Education: A Handbook of Theory and Research. He is also a past President of the Association for the Study of Higher.