Kim W. Bell is an associate professor of management with an emphasis in statistics at Athens State University, where she has been a faculty member since 2010. From 2015 to 2019, she served in a dual role as the director of the Athens State Center for Lifelong Learning, a role to which she was appointed by the provost. During this tenure, she designed and implemented professional development and community engagement programs at the city, state and national levels.

Prior to her roles at Athens State University, Bell served as a statistician, instructor and data consultant in various business sectors including textile, chemical, government, automotive, transportation and logistics, healthcare, pharmaceutical, education, financial services, insurance and research technology industries. She has also taught biostatistics as a graduate instructor at Auburn University and previously worked for a major chemical corporation for over nine years as the plant statistician, quality assurance manager, quality assurance specialist and physical testing laboratory manager.

As a leader in quality improvement, Bell has helped transition numerous companies to the most current quality improvement techniques, including the ISO 9001 quality standard, the ISO 14001 environmental standard, Lean Manufacturing for the Manufacturing Floor, Lean Manufacturing for Office, Six Sigma and customer relationship management. She is a member of the Society for Experiential Education (SEE), a certified graduate of the Experiential Education Academy (EEA), and serves as both a fellow and mentor in Athens State University's experiential education programs. She is also a member of the Consortium for Research on Education Assessment and Teaching Effectiveness and a member of the Alabama Women Leaders Association.

Bell holds a master's in probability and statistics from Auburn University and a bachelor's in mathematics and computer science from the University of North Alabama. In 2013, she received the Athens State University Excellence in Teaching award and was named Educator of the Year in 2014 by the University of North Alabama Alumni Association.

During her tenure as the faculty advisor for the Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society in business (2011-2017), she helped re-establish the Athens State chapter as a nationally recognized STAR chapter and received the DMD Service Award for her contributions. She is currently the College of Business advisor for the Phi Theta Kappa Alumni Honor Society at Athens State University. Outside of her professional commitments, she enjoys time with her husband of 28 years, Julian, and her two sons.