On July 1, 2001, Dr. Ramona Lumpkin commenced her term as the 15th Principal of Huron University College and the first woman leader in the College's history.
Dr. Lumpkin attended the Austin Peay State University in Tennessee where she graduated with her B.A. in English. She then left for England on a Fulbright Fellowhip to study modern English drama at the University of Birmingham. Dr. Lumpkin subsequently took up a Research Fellow position at Dartington College of Arts, and later taught high-school English at Talbot Heath Girls School in Bournemouth.
Upon her return to the United States, Dr. Lumpkin received her M.A. at the University of Tennessee for research on the British playwright John Arden, and received her Ph.D. in English from the University of Kentucky for a dissertation on female selfhood in Anthony Trollope's Palliser novels.
Dr. Lumpkin has had a varied academic and administrative career, which began as a faculty member in English at Kentucky State University. She then was appointed Director of the Appalachian College Program where she administered research fellowships and development programs for humanities and social science faculty at thirty-two liberal arts colleges in Appalachia. Dr. Lumpkin was subsequently appointed Executive Director of the Kentucky Humanities Council, a state-based agency of the National Endowment for the Humanities with a mission to promote public understanding of the humanities and social sciences. In that position, she endeavoured to build bridges between communities and universities and to secure funding for innovative programs. The latter included a very successful literacy program, New Books for New Readers, and a humanities institute for school administrators. Dr. Lumpkin then became the Associate Dean of the College of Lifelong Learning at Wayne State University, and subsequently the Dean of Continuing Education at the University of Windsor. Prior to taking on her new appointment as Principal of Huron, Dr. Lumpkin was Vice-President Learning and Provost of Royal Roads University.
Dr. Lumpkin's research interests and publications have centred on 19th-Century poetry and fiction as well as adult and continuing education. In recognition of her commitment to lifelong education, Dr. Lumpkin was inducted as an Honorary Life Member of both the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education, and the Ontario Council of Universities for Lifelong Learning. Dr. Lumpkin has also served on the Board of Directors of CANARIE, Canada's organization for the advancement of the high-speed internet. Currently, she is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada's [AUCC] Standing Advisory Committee on International Relations [SACIR].
Dr. Lumpkin has a strong personal commitment to community service and has been a volunteer with various not-for-profit organizations such as Big Sisters, the Kentucky Women's Resource Center, Windsor Women Working With Immigrant Women, and Leadership Victoria. In 2004, she accepted an invitation to serve on the Board of Directors of the Big Sisters of London. She also volunteers with the McCormick Home. She considers herself to be an activist on behalf of the values of a liberal arts education.
