OUR TEAM
Dr. Christina Gladney is a native of Grenada, Mississippi. Dr. Gladney serves as the Executive Director for the HBCU Research & Innovation Network. Dr. Gladney has 10 years of experience in higher education, public health, and community outreach. Dr. Gladney earned a PhD in Health & Human Performance with an emphasis in Health Behavior from the University of Florida, a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology and Behavioral Sciences from Saint Louis University College of Public Health and Social Justice and a Bachelor of Science in Community Health Sciences from The University of Southern Mississippi.
Through formal education and professional training opportunities, Dr. Gladney has developed advanced skills in program planning, leadership and management, assessment, data analysis, research administration and program evaluation. Dr. Gladney brings experience working in various sectors of private and public higher education and experience working in clinical settings and community-based organizations. Her research interests focus on health promotion and equity among Black men, reproductive health among Black Women and teenagers, and addressing systemic issues of racial inequality among Black communities.
Dr. Gladney is the founder and CEO of The Health P.L.U.G. a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote health and wellness among Black men in the deep south through primary prevention and tailored health education interventions and programs. Dr. Gladney serves as the Director of Assessment for Stillman College and serves as an Adjunct Professor in Food, Nutrition, and Community Health Sciences at Alcorn State University.
Dr. Gladney has previously served in the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research and as the Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management & Student Services at Tougaloo College and Assistant Director of Health Promotion, Wellness & Sexual Assault at Mississippi State University. Dr.
Gladney enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, playing tennis, and watching great television.
Dr. Christina Gladney
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
John Rosenthall
President
John Rosenthall serves as President, HBCU Research and Innovation Network (HBCU RAIN), an entity whose sole purpose is to support the research and development mission of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The Research Foundation fulfills that mission by helping HBCUs and MSIs secure and execute Federal and private sector grants and contracts, and by facilitating partnerships with the federal agencies and the private sector.
Most of John’s career has been dedicated to working with or for HBCUs or a consortium of HBCUs. He has served as Director of the Urban Environment Institute at Howard University, Vice President for Research, Economic Development and Public Service, and Executive Director of 1890 Program at South Carolina State University, and Vice President for Research, Advancement and Economic Development at Grambling State University.
John has also served as Director, Environmental Justice for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and as the Washington Representative for the National Conference of Black Mayors. In 2007, John formed EJ Conference, Inc., a non-profit organization that produced the Annual State of Environmental Justice in America Conference for six consecutive years, until John assumed full-time duties at South Carolina State University.
John graduated from Tougaloo College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and from George Washington University with a Juris Doctorate Degree.