Dr. Matthew Roberts is Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Provost for King University. Dr. Roberts earned his Bachelor of Arts from East Tennessee State University in English and Foreign Languages, his Master of Arts in Applied English Linguistics from the University of Houston, and his Doctor of Education from Appalachian State University with cognates in language and literacy acquisition.
Roberts’ teaching career in literature, language, and education has focused on diverse learners and linguistic minority groups in Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Prior to King, Roberts’ teaching experience includes appointments at Rice University (Houston, TX), University of Houston, Houston Independent School District, Paideia Academy (Cary, NC), and Appalachian State University (Boone, NC).
In 2007, Roberts was recipient of the prestigious Cratis D. Williams Fellowship for his contributions to rural education in North Carolina. Roberts was the co-founder and editor of the Appalachian Family Storytelling Project, a family literacy initiative that spanned five counties in western North Carolina; this project worked to connect pre-service teachers at Appalachian State with students and families in documenting the region’s oral history.
Dr. Roberts came to King in 2008 as a faculty member in the School of Education where he continues to teach courses in literacy development and educational psychology. In 2010, Roberts was named King’s first Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Director. The QEP is part of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ (SACSCOC) requirement for institutions to identify a focus and direction where signature curricular improvement would be positively impactful. Roberts’ support through QEP initiatives assisted peer mentor-based programs to flourish and define distinct learning communities visible in King’s undergraduate core curriculum classes, as well as meeting King’s commitment to improving written communication as the institution’s QEP topic. In 2014, King University’s QEP Impact Report successfully received no referrals in a review by the Committee on Fifth-Year Interim Reports. In 2019, Dr. Roberts was appointed Provost for King University, where he continues to fulfill the role of Chief Academic Officer since coming to Academic Affairs in 2013. Other notable achievements and improvements have occurred for King University under Roberts’ leadership. King was approved as a SACSCOC Level V institution (granting the institution the capability of doctorate programs) with its first doctoral degree, the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in 2014. For the institution’s interim accreditation report in 2014, King secured the successful completion of SACSCOC on-site committee reviews of instructional locations in Knoxville, TN, and Big Stone Gap, VA with no referrals. In 2018, King University received no academic recommendations, referrals, or concerns from the institution’s decennial review by SACOCOC. Currently, King University continues the investment and development of over 30 articulation agreements and partnerships with community colleges and institutions throughout Tennessee and Virginia. Most importantly, faculty development opportunities have grown to support King’s commitment to the integration of faith and learning as inscribed in the institution’s motto Ecclesiae et Litteris (For the Church and Learning).
Provost Roberts’ current research interests include social cognitive theory and self-efficacy as they relate to instructor performance and demands in a quickly changing higher educational landscape. He has published and presented papers on teacher efficacy and religious education in higher education institutions in the 21st century. His scholarship is both broad and focused, studying the work of Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky, under renowned scholar Michael Cole (UC Davis), and playwriting under Edward Albee at the University of Houston.
Roberts serves as Chair of the Administrative Council at Mountain View United Methodist Church in Kingsport, TN where he is also a lead musician in the praise band. Roberts and his wife, Jessie, have two girls, Lucy and Emma, ages 11 and 7, and one son, Jack, age 2. They enjoy hiking and singing loudly in the car.
- Ed.D. in Educational Leadership – Appalachian State University: Boone, NC (2008)
- Concentrations in language and literacy education
- M.A. in Applied English Linguistics – University of Houston: Houston, TX (2000)
- Concentration in Second Language Acquisition
- Post-baccalaureate; teacher licensure – University of St. Thomas: Houston, TX (1999)
- B.A. in English and Foreign Languages (German) – East Tennessee State University: Johnson City, TN (1997)