Urban Studies Department: Faculty

Vivian Nix-Early, PhD

Adjunct Professor, Urban Studies Department
Founder & COO, BuildaBridge International

Dr Vivian Nix-Early joined the leadership team of Eastern University (then Eastern College) in September 1995 as our first Dean of Graduate Programs and became the Founding Dean of the Campolo School For Social Change at its inception in 2001. Prior to joining the Eastern team, in 1991 and again in 1994, Dr. Nix-Early served as Associate Provost of West Chester University.

She has served in a variety of capacities in the field and discipline of education: as Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, Director of the Center for Academic Excellence, Coordinator of Faculty Development, Dean of Faculty for Educational Services and Associate Professor of Psychology. Having more than 25 years experience in higher education, she has provided consultation services to Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science (Philadelphia University), Widener University, Rutgers University and other institutions of higher education.

Educator

Dr. Nix-Early is a member of the Management and Leadership faculty for the Bryn Mawr Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration, and conducts faculty and staff development training workshops for a broad spectrum of educational associations and institutions.

Advocate

Passionate about music and the arts, as well as reconciliation and transformation, Vivian Nix-Early is the Co-Founder (along with Professor J. Nathan Corbitt) and Chief Operations Officer of BuildaBridge International, a non-profit arts education organization dedicated to bringing hope and healing to vulnerable children, families, and communities in the tough places of the world through direct arts-integrated intervention (social, spiritual, educational, and therapeutic) and cross-cultural service.

Artist and Musician

Dr. Nix-Early is faculty advisor to the Eastern University gospel choir, the Angels of Harmony. Over the past 10 years, she has assisted them in broadening both their local and international singing ministry. Under her leadership, and that of Professor J. Nathan Corbitt, the choir has traveled to South Africa, Kenya, The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Brazil and Slovakia. Dr. Nix-Early is herself a flautist and vocalist.

Church Member

An active member of the Star of Hope Baptist Church in Philadelphia, she serves as Director of Youth Activities, sings in the choir, advises the youth missionary group and directs the church’s annual youth retreat.

Scholar

Dr. Nix-Early received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970 and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from New York University in 1979. She is a licensed psychologist in the states of Pennsylvania and New York. Dr. Nix-Early has been in private practice since 1979, providing psychotherapy for individuals, couples and families. Her areas of therapeutic focus are career planning and personal growth, adolescent and adult religious conflict and marriage counseling.

Her most recent research interests include organizational culture change and arts-based approaches to education, healing and spiritual development in children and youth. Dr. Nix-Early’s post-doctoral work has included a Certificate in Fund-Raising, courses in biblical studies, and most recently, entry into a post-graduate Certificate in Creative Arts Therapy .

Author

Recent publications include the lead chapter in Dr. John Lee’s book, Storying Ourselves: A Narrative Perspective on Christians in Psychology. Dr. Nix-Early co-authored Taking the Gospel to the Streets: How the Arts Are Transforming Communities (Baker 2003) with Dr. J. Nathan Corbitt, a book that evolved from research conducted in 2001 on the work of artists of the Christian faith who were involved in urban community transformation.