A-State Announces First Recipients of Vaughn Endowed Professorships

Cherisse Jones-Branch, Argelia Lorence and John D. Hall are the first three holders of the Vaughn Endowed Professorships at A-State.

Arkansas State University announced Tuesday that three veteran faculty members are the first recipients of $250,000 Vaughn Endowed Professorships.

These will be funded by a portion of the $3.69 million estate gift, the largest estate gift in the university’s history, from James E. and Wanda Lee Vaughn of Jonesboro, formerly of Delaplaine.

The Vaughns were long-time benefactors of ASU, having supported academic and athletic programs with previous gifts. They were inducted in 1999 into the university’s Legacy Society for donors of planned gifts. 

Both were graduates of the institution; she completed a bachelor’s degree in education in 1961, and he earned a master’s degree in education the following year. James Vaughn died in 2013; Wanda Lee died in 2015. 

Earnings from each new endowment will be available to the selected professors to conduct research, create special learning opportunities for students and support other facets of their academic pursuits.

The recipients are John D. Hall, Cherisse Jones-Branch and Argelia Lorence. 

Hall received the Vaughn Professorship in the College of Education & Behavioral Science. He is a professor of psychology and counseling.

Hall joined the A-State faculty in 1991. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at A-State, then earned another master’s degree and a doctorate from the University of Cincinnati. Hall is coordinator of the nationally-approved school psychology track of the educational specialist degree program in psychology and counseling.

Jones-Branch received the Vaughn Professorship in the College of Liberal Arts & Communication. She is a professor of history.

Branch, a faculty member since 2003, was named Research Professor of the Month at A-State in February. She completed her master’s degree at the University of Charleston and earned her doctorate at Ohio State University. Branch also wrote “Crossing the Line: Women’s Interracial Activism in South Carolina during and after World War II,” which was published by University Press of Florida.

Lorence received the Vaughn Professorship in the College of Sciences & Mathematics. She is a professor of metabolic engineering.

Lorence, who came to A-State in 2005, completed her master’s degree and doctorate at National Autonomous University of Mexico. She conducts research at the Arkansas Biosciences Institute. Recently, Lorence and the research team she is associated with received a major grant from the National Science Foundation to study how heat stress affects rice yields. She is the project’s co-principal investigator.