Joey Rutherford

Joey Rutherford serves as Associate Director of the Center for Research Evaluation (CERE) and holds the academic rank of Lecturer at the University of Mississippi's School of Business Administration in Oxford. His operational duties encompass end-to-end grant preparation and submission, financial oversight for CERE projects, IRB compliance, and adherence to university/state/federal research policies.

Education:

• B.A. in History, University of Mississippi (2005)
• B.A. in Philosophy, University of Mississippi (2006)
• M.A. in Higher Education/Student Personnel, University of Mississippi (2015)
• Ph.D. in Higher Education/Student Personnel, University of Mississippi (2021)

He also completed the university's Management and Administrative Seminars for Human Resources Program (MASH), Research Administration and Management Program (RAMP), Lead Your Team (LEAD), and earned Certified Research Administrator (CRA) certification in 2023.

Research Interests:

• Institutional efficiency metrics in higher education
• Research grant lifecycle management
• Early childhood literacy program evaluation
• Community-university partnership frameworks

His work emphasizes optimizing administrative systems for research integrity while bridging academic initiatives with community impact, particularly in literacy and educational outreach.

Grants and Advising: Rutherford manages all grant submissions and fiscal operations for CERE but has no documented student advising or independent research grants; his focus remains institutional administration rather than mentorship or principal investigator roles.

Professional Team: As a core member of CERE since 2006, he progressed from secretary to Associate Director (2019–present), driving the center's mission within the School of Business Administration to streamline research evaluation and policy compliance across Oxford campus operations.