Women in Business 2026: Joyce T. Heames, Ph.D

Nashville has by no means been brief on formidable girls — professionals who dream larger, work tougher, and open doorways for individuals who comply with.

From entrepreneurs and executives to creatives, advocates, and innovators, these girls are making an affect of their industries, strengthening our group, and proving that success is much more significant when it’s shared. They are leaving an enduring mark on Music City — one daring choice at a time.

In your individual phrases, how would you describe what you do?

As Dean of the Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University, I function each the chief govt officer and chief tutorial officer of a posh, multi-million-dollar enterprise. My accountability is to offer strategic management for the school whereas making certain tutorial excellence throughout our undergraduate, graduate, and govt education schemes. My position is to construct an setting the place college students, college, and trade companions can thrive whereas advancing the financial and workforce wants of Middle Tennessee.

What have been you want rising up, and when did you first start to think about the trail you’re on as we speak?

Growing up, I used to be curious, decided, and all the time wanting to be taught.  However, changing into a enterprise faculty dean was by no means a part of my unique plan. The evening I met Dr. Marlene Reed was life-altering. She was my first feminine enterprise professor, and it didn’t occur till my junior yr in faculty.

What are three skilled accomplishments that imply loads to you?

1. Earning my Ph.D. at age 46 whereas working full-time and elevating youngsters. This achievement represents perseverance, dedication, and a perception that it’s by no means too late to pursue your targets.

2. Becoming a Business School Dean. Women stay underrepresented in enterprise faculty management, with fewer than 30 p.c of enterprise deans being feminine. Earning this position was each professionally rewarding and personally vital.

3. Serving as the one feminine enterprise dean inside the Tennessee State University System. This distinction jogs my memory of the significance of illustration and the accountability to function a task mannequin for future generations of girls leaders. 

What do you’re keen on most about what you do?

What I really like most is the chance to rework lives. Every day, I’ve the privilege of serving to college students put together for significant careers and profitable futures.

What recommendation would you provide younger girls who hope to comply with a path much like yours?

My academic journey was something however conventional. It took me eight years to finish my undergraduate diploma and 4 years to earn my MBA whereas working full-time and elevating youngsters. Then, at age 43, with my youngsters grown, I made a decision to return to high school and pursue a Ph.D., which I accomplished at 46.

Those experiences taught me that your place to begin doesn’t decide your vacation spot.

My recommendation to younger girls is easy:

First, don’t let anybody else outline your potential. Set formidable targets and imagine you’ll be able to obtain them, even when the trail ahead is unclear. Second, be keen to embrace challenges that stretch you. Growth not often occurs inside your consolation zone.

Third, search mentors and sponsors who will encourage you, advocate for you, and supply trustworthy suggestions.

Fourth, do not forget that careers are not often linear. Think of your profession as a lattice moderately than a ladder. Some of a very powerful alternatives in my life got here from sudden instructions, relationships, and experiences.