Christen Hairston

Christen Hairston is the Associate Dean of Student Success at Emory School of Medicine where she serves 1100 students across 6 academic programs. In her first year at Emory, she opened the Center for Holistic Student Success focused on a mind, body, and spirit lens to academic support, mental health and well-being, as well as students' trust and sense of belonging. Before Emory, Christen served in healthcare, higher education, and policy spaces with a focus on access and success for underserved students, student development, student success, community outreach, and the implications of policy on lived experiences. Christen has worked at Prisma Health in South Carolina, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, American University of Antigua, Institute of Higher Education Policy, the College of William and Mary, as well as Furman University and was a visiting researcher at the University of Potsdam in Germany. Christen has a Bachelor’s in German and History from Furman University, Master of Education in Counseling, Student Affairs from Clemson University, Ph.D. in Higher Education Policy, Planning, and Leadership from the College of William and Mary, a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University, and Certificate in Clinical and Translational Research from Clemson University. Christen lives in Atlanta with her husband and three children. She's currently training for a 10K race and is beyond excited to be part of this program.