AUM Faculty & Staff
Directory
Jean Leuner
Dean | College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Dr. Jean Leuner is the founding dean and Barbara S. Witt Professor at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) in Alabama. Dr. Leuner received her Diploma from St. Luke’s Hospital in NYC, her BSN from Seton Hall Univ.in NJ, and her MSN and PhD from Boston College, MA. She was the founding dean at the University of Central Florida (UCF) from 2003-2013. From 1996–2003, she was the Associate Dean for Academics and Evaluation at the Medical University of South Carolina and from 1985- 1996 she held leadership positions at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston, MA. She has been the primary/co-investigator for over 37 grants and awards totaling over $19 million. She initiated a master of science in nursing and doctor of nursing practice program at AUM and she has consistently received external funding to maintain an interprofessional outreach program in the Black Belt underserved region of Alabama.
Dr. Leuner was a member of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) for eight years and she is currently a member of the Board of Commissioners for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). She has also been a long time CCNE team leader and site evaluator.
Timothy Lewis
Associate Professor | College of Education
Dr. Timothy Lewis is an Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Instructional Technology at Auburn University at Montgomery. He specializes in instructional design, educational technology integration, and accreditation processes, with a focus on preparing future-ready educators and leaders. His work bridges higher education, K–12 schools, and professional training, aligning technology initiatives with national and state standards. Dr. Lewis is also engaged in curriculum innovation, accreditation support, and professional development across diverse educational and training contexts.
Faculty’s Expertise: Instructional Technology, Educational Leadership, Accreditation (CAEP, SACSCOC), Instructional Design, Curriculum Development, Digital Learning, Teacher Preparation, Professional Development, Learning Futures, Educational Standards Alignment (ISTE, IBSTPI, AECT, ATD)
Wei Li
Lecturer | College of Sciences
Jesus Linares
Lecturer | College of Sciences
Xiao Ling
Assistant Professor | College of Sciences
Weiqi Liu
Assistant Professor | College of Sciences
Juanita Lloyd
Assistant Clinical Professor | College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Steven Lobello
Professor | College of Sciences
BA, Christian Brothers College, Psychology
MS, Mississippi State University, Clinical Psychology
PhD, University of Southern Mississippi, Counseling Psychology
MSPH, University of Alabama in Birmingham, Epidemiology Education
Bio: Steven LoBello completed his PhD in counseling psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi in 1986. He began his career as a psychologist in clinical practice, specializing in psychological assessment of clinical cases requiring intellectual assessment. He is a licensed psychologist in Alabama. He joined the AUM Psychology faculty in 1989. His initial research program involved statistical issues in I.Q. tests and best practices in teaching test administration and scoring to graduate students.
In 1998, he returned to graduate school at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Attending classes on a part time basis, he earned a master’s degree in epidemiology in 2003. While at UAB, he was fortunate to become affiliated with the Injury Control Research Center as a Senior Scientist, and was principle investigator of a longitudinal study of rehabilitation outcomes. This project was planned and initiated by others many years earlier, and was brought to completion during this grant period. The project was a study of outcomes among individuals with spinal cord, head, and multiple trauma, as well as severe burns. The project was funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Dr. LoBello has an active research lab with graduate students who have a broad range of heath behavior interests. Research topics have included studies of quality of life among people with asthma who use alternative and conventional medicines, influenza vaccination among people with asthma, prevalence of depression among pregnant women, and the relationship of depression to chronic illness. In his research program, Dr. LoBello frequently uses the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data sets. He is a student of using population-based health survey data and epidemiological methods to investigate health behavior research problems.
Amy Lee Marie Locklear
Distinguished Senior Lecturer | College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. Amy Lee Locklear is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer and Honors Faculty in the Department of English and Philosophy. She specializes in digital writing and rhetoric, composition pedagogy, and learning sciences. Her research interests include teaching rhetoric in the composition classroom, cognitive science and education, digital writing spaces and rhetorical practices, and research writing. She has published a number of works related to the intersections of cognitive science and critical thinking and learning, especially in terms of writing pedagogy. In addition to her teaching and research pursuits, Dr. Locklear is a fan of science fiction, cats, and dragons.
She teaches first year writing courses, Advanced Writing, and first-year Seminars for the Honors Program (The Hero’s Journey Into Thinking – Honors 1757).
Dr. Locklear earned her BA in English Literature from the College of William & Mary in Virginia. From there she moved around the country as an Air Force spouse, ending up in Alabama in 2000. She earned her MA in English from Auburn University, specializing in rhetoric and literature, and her PhD from Old Dominion University in Digital Rhetoric and Composition. Her dissertation, “Concept Maps as Sites of Rhetorical Invention: Teaching the Creative Act of Synthesis as a Cognitive Process,” is based on interdisciplinary research on the brain, active learning, and writing pedagogy.
