Kenneth Anthony is a leader—both as a civilian and military service member.

Beginning July 1, the MSU College of Education associate professor is stepping into the role of interim head of the Department of Teacher Education and Leadership, where he also serves as undergraduate coordinator for the elementary education program and teaches various courses pertaining to middle-school social studies.

He has just authored the forthcoming “Mississippi: Our History, Our Home” textbook for schools around the Magnolia State, and he’s continuously researching special topics of interest like homeschooling and parent involvement in education.

The longtime MSU faculty member has served much longer as a member of the Mississippi Army National Guard, after earlier serving with the U.S. Army Reserve.

During the 2022-23 academic year, he elevated his leadership abilities even further by attending the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, where he graduated with distinction and earned a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies. He has since been assigned to the 114th Digital Liaison Detachment as maneuver chief.

The lieutenant colonel also is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic, Maneuver Captains Career, Calvary Leaders, and Advanced Operations courses, as well as U.S. Army Command and General Staff College intermediate education courses in Advanced Operations and Common Core.

His awards include the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, NATO Medal, Air Assault Badge, Combat Infantry Badge and Combat Action Badge.

He also holds additional academic degrees, including a Ph.D. from MSU in secondary education and a master’s degree from Mississippi University for Women in gifted education.

Reflecting on his time at the Naval War College, Anthony said it helps teachers when they also continue learning as students.

“It was one of the best educational experiences and challenged me to write and think better and more succinctly, developing thesis statements, researching and developing counter arguments to challenge the core thesis, and also writing rebuttals to fully understand issues from every angle,” Anthony said.

He feels passionately that education is a source of national power—and that people should understand how their government works and how decisions are made, particularly those related to international affairs that may have implications for national security. His training as both an educator and military leader give him a distinctive vantage point on the value of social studies and civics education in preparing an effective, engaged citizenry.

As Anthony begins his interim department head role this week, he’s thankful for retired Department Head Janice Nicholson, who has coached and mentored him and left the department “in a fantastic position,” he said.

“I’m excited because the faculty and students in the department are outstanding. They’re doing great research and a lot of good service; but ultimately, the faculty are daily carrying out our mission of producing high-quality teachers for the state of Mississippi,” Anthony said. “Our faculty are extremely dedicated to their own students, as well as the students they are impacting as they prepare future teachers to be effective in the classroom.

“Mississippi has a teacher shortage, and we want to increase the number of students in our department so that we can increase the number of teachers we produce. Graduates of our program are doing extremely well out there—but we need more of them,” he said.

Anthony loves most of all spending time with his family. He and his wife Katie are parents to Emilie, Isabelle and Timothy.