Dr. James Cousins
james.cousins@greatesthitrecords.com
270-852-3104
Barnard-Jones Administration Building, Room 102
Dr. James Cousins was named the 36th president of Kentucky Wesleyan College in April 2024 and began his role on July 1, 2024.
Cousins served as the provost and vice president of academic affairs at Kentucky Wesleyan College since 2021 and has a distinguished career in higher education, including faculty and administrative leadership positions at several other colleges and universities.
During his tenure as provost at Kentucky Wesleyan, Dr. Cousins spearheaded numerous strategic initiatives. These included the design and implementation of a comprehensive first-year student retention program, which yielded a substantial increase in retention rates. Additionally, he strategically reorganized online education, leading to record levels of online enrollment. Dr. Cousins also oversaw the successful completion of the College’s Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) fifth-year accreditation report, and under his leadership, the College completed several significant institutional partnerships providing Kentucky Wesleyan graduates with expedited graduate and career pathways.
Prior to his arrival at Kentucky Wesleyan, Cousins served as associate dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University, overseeing student success, faculty engagement, assessment and curriculum development. Dr. Cousins was previously a faculty member and director of undergraduate studies in Western Michigan University’s Department of History. At Western, Cousins was instrumental in the creation of new academic programs, general education reforms, extra-institutional partnerships and a number of initiatives designed to increase student engagement and success.
Cousins has been recognized for many career accomplishments, highlighted by fellowships and awards, including serving as a scholar in residence at Transylvania University (Lexington, Ky.), an American Council on Education Fellowship and the University of Chicago Library’s Robert L. Platzman Memorial Fellowship.
An historian specializing in the history of the Early American Republic, Dr. Cousins has presented at national conferences and has published over 40 articles, essays, reviews and translations in popular journals such as The Journal of Southern History, The Journal of American History and The History Teacher. Dr. Cousins has also published two books: “Horace Holley: Transylvania University and the Making of Liberal Education in the Early American Republic” (Kentucky, 2016) and a co-authored work titled “Collaboration and the Future of Education: Preserving the Right to Think and Teach Historically” (Routledge, 2016). His upcoming third book is a history of America’s college and university presidents in the early 19th century. Dr. Cousins was recently featured in the PBS documentary, “Under Pressure: Changes & Challenges In Higher Education.”
After beginning his career as a teacher of history and Latin at Millersburg Military Institute in Millersburg, Ky., Dr. Cousins held teaching appointments at Kentucky State University, Berea College, Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and both an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky.
Dr. Cousins and his wife, Carrie, a native of Georgetown, Ky., and Murray State University alumna, have one son, James “JP,” who is 8 years old. Carrie is a successful entrepreneur who owns and operates a chain of coffee shops.