Samantha Bottoms Profile and Contact Information

Samantha Bottoms serves as the Dean of Student Success at Houston Christian University, where she reports to the provost and vice president of academic affairs on institution-wide initiatives designed to enhance student achievement, persistence, and graduation outcomes. In this role, she provides strategic oversight for key student support areas, including TRIO Student Support Services, advising, career services, tutoring, student persistence, and commuter life programs. Ms. Bottoms is deeply committed to fostering a holistic model of student success grounded in data-informed decision-making and best practices in higher education.

With more than a decade of progressive leadership experience at Houston Christian University, Ms. Bottoms has played an integral role in expanding and strengthening student success initiatives across the institution. Before her current role, she served as Director of Academics for the HCU Athletics department, where she supported the academic success and NCAA compliance of more than 350 student-athletes across 17 varsity sports. She also held leadership roles within the Academic Success Center, where she managed comprehensive tutoring, coaching, and supplemental instruction programs and helped secure and implement grant-funded improvements to student services.

Ms. Bottoms is also the co-founder of two residential summer bridge programs, Summer Launch and HCU Embark, focusing on preparing incoming students for academic and spiritual success. The programs provide transformative early college experiences for first-year students through mentorship, faith integration, and college-readiness training.

In addition to her administrative leadership, Ms. Bottoms is an adjunct professor in the School of Christian Thought, where she teaches courses including Introduction to the Bible, Christian Theology and Tradition, and Introduction to the Bible & Theology. Her teaching reflects her commitment to integrating faith, learning, and student development.

Ms. Bottoms was selected for the Rising Higher Education Leaders Fellowship (EAB) in 2024, and she is certified in Emotional Intelligence (EQ-i 2.0 and EQ-i 360). She brings a strong emphasis on emotional intelligence, leadership development, and student engagement to her work.

Ms. Bottoms holds an MA in Theological Studies from Houston Christian University and a BS from Texas A&M University.