Fredrick Douglass Dixon, Ph.D.
Fredrick Douglass Dixon is a second-generation educator, historian and committed community
advocate. Dixon serves as director of African American Studies and the Black Studies
Institute at Radford University. He has received multiple awards for his outstanding
work in higher education, bridging the often-divisive realms of campus, community
and the most at-risk student populations. A seasoned TV and radio host as well as
a grassroots organizer, he documents esoteric histories that illuminate the unique
Black experience through a liberatory lens. Dixon earned a B.A. in sociology from
Purdue University, an M.A. in inner city studies education from Northeastern Illinois
University and a Ph.D. in the history of education with a concentration in African
American studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Expertise: African American studies.
Email: fddixon@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5615
Karen Powers, Ph.D.
Karen Powers is a professor of biology. Her research interests are broad, encompassing many aspects of vertebrate ecology and habitat management. Powers’ recent projects and publications have focused on the effects of white-nose syndrome on bat communities in the eastern United States and the status of Allegheny woodrats in Virginia. She and her students have examined ectoparasites (bot flies and fleas) in woodrats in recent years. On campus, Powers and her students have documented bird-window collisions since 2018 and recently published their fourth article. The bird-window collision research project continues to welcome eight to 10 students a semester, each student collaboratively collecting data and developing independent research questions based on a growing data set.
Expertise: Community ecology and wildlife management, white-nose syndrome on bat communities in the eastern United States, the status of Allegheny woodrats in Virginia, bird-window collisions, rare mammals in Virginia.
Email: kpowers4@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6537
David S. Anderson, Ph.D.
David S. Anderson is an associate professor of anthropological sciences. He received his Ph.D. in anthropology from Tulane University in 2010 with a focus on the archaeology of the ancient Maya. His fieldwork has focused on studying the development of Maya sociopolitical complexity and cultural institutions during the pre-classic period. Over the past 10 years, Anderson has become increasingly involved in examining how the academic community should engage with pseudoarchaeological claims such as the existence of Atlantis or ancient alien contact. His work has sought to move past simply debunking such claims and instead has turned to looking for the roots that allow these ideas to thrive and shape the public perception of archaeology.
Expertise: Archaeology, Maya and Mesoamerican cultures, pseudoscience.
Email: danderson10@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-1144
Jake Fox, Ph.D.
Jake Fox is a professor of anthropological sciences. His research interests include archaeology, the world’s first farmers, human impacts on the natural environment and human biological and cultural evolution. He has led or contributed to archaeological field investigations in Peru, Bolivia, Belize, Jordan, the American Midwest and Virginia.
Expertise: Anthropology, archaeology, human evolution, prehistoric cultures, economies and technologies, human impacts on the environment, anthropology of race and ethnicity.
Email: jfox32@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6603
Aysha A. Bodenhamer, Ph.D.
Aysha Bodenhamer is Radford University’s sustainability manager as well as an associate
professor of sociology in the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences at Radford
University. Her major areas of expertise include environmental sociology, environmental
health, occupational health, natural resources, and energy. Bodenhamer also specializes
in rural sociology and Appalachian Studies. She has published research in peer-reviewed
journals on occupational health, environmental health, Latino youth, rural poverty,
health disparities, health advocacy, and natural resource extraction. She earned her
Ph.D. and master’s in sociology at North Carolina State University, and her bachelor’s
degree in sociology, with substantive coursework in international studies and Mandarin
Chinese, at Radford University.
Expertise: Sociology, environment, sustainability, natural resources, coal, energy, renewable energy, environmental health, health disparities, social determinants of health, occupational health and safety, rural communities and Appalachian Studies.
Email: abodenham3@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5067
Rhett Herman, Ph.D.
Rhett Herman is a professor of physics. Herman’s background is in semiclassical gravity, studying the spacetime in and within charged black holes. His career path has evolved to applied physics, a route that has opened the door to project-based learning and course-based undergraduate research experiences. He is a frequent user of microcontrollers and microprocessors for both classroom physics education and a number of ongoing student-centered, student-initiated research projects in geophysics, especially Arctic geophysics. He works closely with students as they build their own environmental sensor systems, deploying them in the area as well as on the Arctic Sea ice in Utqiagvik, Alaska, every two years.
Expertise: Geophysics, ground-penetrating radar (burials and forensic work), Arduino microcontrollers with environmental sensors, Raspberry Pi microprocessors with environmental sensors, electrical resistivity studies of the shallow subsurface, semiclassical gravity (black holes), astronomy education.
Email: rherman@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5441
Paige Tan, Ph.D.
Paige Tan is a professor of political science. She teaches courses in comparative politics and international relations, with a primary focus on political parties, democratization and dictatorships. Tan has contributed articles to Current History, Indonesia, Contemporary Southeast Asia, Asian Journal of Political Science, Inside Indonesia, Education about Asia, Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, and Asian Perspective. She directs the exciting and unique Wicked Problems program at Radford, where students become authorities in the most challenging and persistent public problems facing the world today.
Expertise: U.S. foreign policy, authoritarian regimes (Russia, China, North Korea), military coups, decline of democracy globally, international elections, international activism (climate activists, etc.), terrorism.
Email: etan3@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6598
Laura Gruss, Ph.D.
Laura Gruss is an associate professor of biology. She teaches human anatomy and manages the Department of Biology’s cadaver lab, also overseeing all cadaver dissections. In the Human Biomechanics Research Lab, Gruss performs experimental research on how aspects of human anatomy interact with gait (walking) and what the implications may be for the biomechanics and behavior of our prehistoric ancestors.
Expertise: Human evolution, biological anthropology, human biology, human anatomy, biomechanics.
Email: lgruss@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5143
Donna Weaver McCloskey, Ph.D.
Donna Weaver McCloskey is the dean of the Davis College of Business and Economics and a professor of management. She earned her Ph.D. in decision sciences/MIS from Drexel University, an MBA from Widener University and a bachelor’s in business administration (finance/MIS) from the University of Delaware. McCloskey has won numerous teaching and research awards during her career. Her research interests include the adoption of new technologies and the changing work-life boundary. McCloskey’s work has been published in more than 16 academic journal articles and 10 book chapters, and she has presented at numerous regional, national and international conferences. McCloskey strives to connect theory to practice and is intentional about sharing her research with practitioners in workshops and mainstream outlets.
Expertise: Business education, experiential learning, technology adoption, work-life boundary.
Email: dmccloskey@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5187
Rick Van Noy, Ph.D.
Rick Van Noy is a professor of English. He is the author of “Surveying the Interior: Literary Cartographers and the Sense of Place” (2003),” A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature Through the Seasons” (2008), and “Sudden Spring: Stories of Adaptation in a Climate-Changed South” (2019). “Borne by the River: Two Hundred Miles on the Delaware from Headwater to Home” (Cornell UP), was published in Spring 2024.
Expertise: Nature and children. Also: climate change, environmental writing and issues, natural history, American literature and rivers.
Email: rvannoy@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5597
Matthew R. Turner, Ph.D.
Matthew R. Turner, a professor of media studies, earned a B.A. in communication and B.A. in English at Virginia Tech and earned both his M.A. in telecommunication and Ph.D. in interdisciplinary arts at Ohio University. He also earned an MBA in business analytics from Radford University. Turner’s research interests include comedy, interdisciplinary studies, semiotics, film, television, Brazilian media and video production and editing. He is a faculty fellow at the Television Academy Foundation and the National Association of Television Program Executives, as well as an award-winning photographer. Turner has presented at numerous national and international conferences in interdisciplinary studies, theater, art history, philosophy, English, popular culture and film. He has published articles and book chapters on comedy Westerns, “Weird Al” Yankovic and the Marx Brothers. Turner has worked as an editor and consultant to Jonesfilm Group Ltd. and has edited several documentary films for the group. His travels and interest in international education have led him to teach students on five continents. He has studied several languages, including Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German, French and Arabic. He has been employed professionally as a translator from Portuguese.
Expertise: Comedy, comedy and the internet, interdisciplinary studies, semiotics, film, television, Brazilian media, video production and editing, “Weird Al” Yankovic, the Marx Brothers.
Email: mrturner@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6023
Hwajung Lee, D.Sc.
Hwajung Lee is a professor and director of the School of Computing and Information Sciences. She holds a Doctor of Science degree in computer science from The George Washington University. Her research interests span computer networks, network security and algorithms, with recent focus areas including resilient networks in overlay networks, distributed networks and wireless sensor networks. Lee's contributions to Radford University include the transformation of the networks concentration within the computer science program, where she established the Network and Security Research Lab and integrated the Cisco Networking Academy into the curriculum. Lee has actively involved undergraduate students in her research endeavors, with a substantial portion of her publications featuring student co-authors, particularly emphasizing support for underrepresented minority students. Furthermore, her efforts extend beyond academia, as evidenced by her prior roles at the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., where she contributed to developing customized indexes for investment bankers and implemented risk management modules using computational finance techniques.
Expertise: Computer networks, network security, algorithms.
Email: hlee3@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5238
Tiesha R. Martin, Ph.D.
Tiesha R. Martin is an assistant professor of sport management. She earned her Ph.D. in sport leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, an M.S. in kinesiology from East Carolina University and a B.A. in exercise sport science from the University of North Carolina. Martin’s research primarily has focused on highlighting the link between sport for development (SFD) and social issues that exist within marginalized populations. Particularly, she explores how community-based sport programs can purposely and intentionally address things such as access and opportunity in sport and education or health disparities in low-income communities. Her secondary research line deals with promoting physical activity among low-income individuals, specifically the role sport can play in addressing public health outcomes. Martin has published research in reputable sport management and health journals such as Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, Psychology & Health and the Journal of Sport for Development. She also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Athlete Development and Experience (JADE).
Expertise: Community-based sport programs, sport for social change, sport and health promotion.
Email: tmartin116@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5108
Liang Shao, Ph.D.
Liang Shao is an associate professor of finance. His research interests encompass
international finance, corporate finance and national institutions. He has taught
various finance courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including corporate
finance, investment, international finance and personal financial planning. His research
has been published in journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies,
Financial Management and the Journal of Corporate Finance, among others.
Expertise: International finance, corporate finance.
Email: lshao@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5668
John Brummette, Ph.D.
John Brummette is a professor of communication. His areas of research include public relations, crisis management, social media analytics, data storytelling and data visualization. He is the director of the Social Media Analytics and Research Technology (SMART) Lab at Radford University. Brummette is a business owner and serves on editorial boards for the Journal of Public Relations Research and Public Relations Journal. He has also been named a legacy scholar for the Arthur Page Society. He holds a Ph.D. in communication and information from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; an M.S. in corporate and professional communication from Radford University; and a B.A. in communication from the University of Pittsburgh. Brummette has published manuscripts in top-tier journals in his field, providing valuable insights into the dynamics of public relations and crisis communication.
Expertise: Public relations, crisis management, social media analytics, data visualization, data storytelling.
Email: jbrummette@radford.edu
Phone: 540-797-2908 (cell)
Neil P. Sigmon, Ph.D.
Neil P. Sigmon is a professor of mathematics. His research interests include applied algebra and cryptography. He is co-author of two textbooks, “Cryptology Classical” and “Modern and Applied Abstract Algebra with Maple and MATLAB”. Sigmon earned his Ph.D., M.S. and B.S. degrees in applied mathematics from North Carolina State University.
Expertise: Cryptography and applied algebra.
Email: npsigmon@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5340
Jamie L. McDaniel, Ph.D.
Jamie L. McDaniel is a professor of English, teaching courses in 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century British literature, disability studies, game design, professional writing and film studies. He also serves as an affiliate faculty member in Cinema and Screen Studies, founding coordinator of the major in English with a concentration in game studies, and director of Women’s and Gender Studies. He has published articles on accessibility in business games, representations of disability in horror films and the relationship between film adaptation and disability in a variety of edited collections and journals, including Gender and History; Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry; The Midwest Quarterly; Where Is Adaptation? Mapping Cultures, Texts, and Contexts; and Not Your Mama’s Gamer Journal.
Expertise: Disability studies; game studies and game design; horror studies; writing for the web; film adaptation; British literature.
Email: jmcdaniel30@radford.edu
Phone: 256-310-2100
Ben Biermeier-Hanson, Ph.D.
Ben Biermeier-Hanson is an assistant professor of management. As an industrial-organizational psychologist by training, his work looks at “people issues” within organizations, studying topics such as leadership, aging at work and human resources-related issues. In addition to his academic work, he has over a decade of consulting experience working with organizations on organizational culture, employee engagement and retention and staffing.
Expertise: Employee engagement and morale, organizational culture, staffing, talent management, health/stress in the workplace.
Email: bbiermeierhan@radford.edu
Courtney Watson, Ph.D.
Courtney Watson is an associate professor of English. Her scholarship focuses on literary travel and literary tourism, and she has spoken at conferences in France, Spain, Iceland, Croatia and Egypt. Watson’s research examines how the legacies of authors are marketed through commodified literary landmarks in heritage economies throughout the South. She also explores the theme of travel in her creative work. A past recipient of the National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, Watson uses her love of travel as the foundation for many of her stories and essays.
At Radford University at Carilion, Watson teaches composition and literature with a focus on women writers and Southern authors. She also developed and teaches writing and research courses for the undergraduate and graduate health sciences programs. These collaborations support and inform her research into the intersection of science, healthcare and the humanities.
Expertise: Travel, tourism, literary travel and tourism, modern expatriate American writers, Southern literature, health humanities, women writers, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Email: cwatson1@radford.edu
Phone: 540-985-9935
Kevin Ayers, Ed.D.
Kevin Ayers is a professor of health and human performance and director of the sport management program. His research interests deal with the financial aspects of sport, specifically regarding economic impact of sport and the financial aspects of collegiate sports. Ayers is a member of the Drake group, an advocacy group for college athletes, and a regular attendee and presenter at the College Sport Research Institute (CSRI). He has been a member of the Radford University faculty since the fall of 2009. Prior to this, he served as a professor and director of sport management at Western Carolina University from 1998 -2008.
Expertise: Financial aspects of sport, specifically regarding the economic impact of sport and the financial aspects of collegiate sports.
Email: ekayers@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5712
Seife Dendir, Ph.D.
Seife Dendir is a professor and chair of the Department of Economics. His teaching and research focus on economic development, applied microeconomics and econometrics, data analytics and pedagogy. Dendir’s current research examines returns to schooling, educational investments in children and generally intrahousehold resource allocation issues in developing countries. He regularly publishes on topics involving sports analytics and economics pedagogy.
Expertise: International economic development, sports economics/analytics. economics pedagogy.
Email: sdendir@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5437
Thomas K. Duncan, Ph.D.
Thomas K. Duncan is an associate professor of economics. Duncan has taught courses in principles-level macroeconomics, comparative economic systems, institutional economics and international economics.
Expertise: National defense, national security, politics and economics, conflict, international relations and current macroeconomic trends (unemployment, inflation, GDP and recessions).
Email: tduncan13@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6057
Jennifer Elias, M.A.
Jennifer Elias is an instructor of economics. She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago. Elias holds a master’s degree in economics with a specialization in industrial organization and labor economics and a bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies. She has more than 20 years of experience with D-H-C Consulting, which she helped found in 2007, the World Bank, Safety Performance Solutions and the Enterprise Research Institute. Currently, Elias works with public and private sector clients to advance initiatives toward broad-based economic and social development as well as managing large-scale projects, researching and writing relevant articles and teaching classes at Radford University.
Expertise: Micro- and macro-economics, global business, innovation-based growth, international development and private sector growth, domestic monetary and fiscal policy.
Email: jsobotka@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6225
Daniel Farhat, Ph.D.
Daniel Farhat is an associate professor of economics. His central research interests are in artificial social simulation with applications to economic dynamics, social systems, macroeconomics, labor economics and the evolution of economic behavior. Farhat has also completed several empirical studies related to international trade, entrepreneurship, culturomics, health, consumer spending, marketing, gender and environmental management. Instead of focusing on a single sub-field of economics, Farhat has focused on breadth. He has experience with a diverse set of analytical tools, which he uses to study a large variety of problems/issues. Farhat has a B.A. in economics and anthropology from the University of California, San Diego, an M.S. from the University of Oregon and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Riverside.
Expertise: Economic behavior, social simulation, unusual topics in economics.
Email: dfarhat@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5191
Darryl Corey, Ph.D.
Darryl Corey is a professor and program coordinator of the online master’s and certificate program in mathematics education. With more than 25 years of experience, he has been at the forefront of distance-delivered education programs and virtual professional development for mathematics educators. Originally from Newport News, Virginia, he earned his B.A. and M.S. in applied mathematics from Hampton University and his Ph.D. in mathematics education from Florida State University.
Expertise: Mathematics teacher education, online/virtual teaching and learning, culturally responsive teaching.
Email: dcorey3@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-7622
Brian Kitts, Ed.D.
Brian Kitts teaches courses in the educational leadership master’s program and supervises field experiences for aspiring school administrators. In addition, Kitts coordinates the Schoolhouse living-learning community on campus and helps plan events and activities to engage first- and second-year Highlanders as they transition to campus.
Prior to joining the Radford faculty, he spent two decades in K-12 public schools within Montgomery County, serving as teacher and then principal at both the elementary and secondary levels. Kitts was first hired into the principalship at age 26 and led one of the most prestigious high schools in the commonwealth for nearly a decade.
Expertise: The improvement science framework that integrates applied and theoretical research knowledge to solve complex problems of practice through collaborative work with diverse stakeholders. Kitts’ has focused on the impact of homework and equitable grading practices for students from low-income families.
Email: bkitts@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5118
Darren Minarik, Ph.D.
Darren Minarik is an associate professor in secondary social studies and special education teacher preparation and serves as co-director for the Virginia Inclusive Practices Center. Minarik just completed a three-year term on the board of directors of Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), an organization dedicated to advancing the rights, inclusion and equity of people with disabilities through high-impact litigation, education and advocacy. He now serves on the DRA advisory board. For 17 years, Minarik was a senior partner for the American Civics Center, a nonpartisan civic education organization based in Washington, D.C. Minarik presents at the state, national and international levels, and his research interests address educational intersections between the social sciences and special education, with an emphasis on inclusive educational practices, self-determination, disability history and civic engagement. His National Council for the Social Studies publication, “Social Studies and Exceptional Learners” (2016), was the first comprehensive guide to address teaching students with disabilities in inclusive K-12 social studies classrooms. He also co-authored the Virginia Department of Education’s K-12 Inclusive Practices Guide (2019).
Expertise: Inclusive education for students with disabilities, self-determination for students with disabilities, civic education, disability history, inquiry-based learning in schools, teacher preparation for middle and secondary pre-service teachers.
Email: dminarik@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-7660
Jennifer S. McDonel, Ph.D.
Jennifer S. McDonel is an associate professor of music and director of music education in the Department of Music. Her research interests include measurement and evaluation of music learning and historical scholarship on music learning theory. Her creative scholarship is focused around developing music curricula for preschool-aged children. She is co-author of “Harmony and Heart,” a comprehensive, 12-month music curriculum for Primrose Schools, a national early learning and care franchise. McDonel also writes songs and music activities for Zero-to-Three, a nonprofit organization focused on reducing learning gaps for young children by developing and distributing free curricular materials. Her album “Little Beats: Counting, Shapes, and Sets” was in consideration for a Grammy award in 2024. McDonel is a teacher-trainer for the Gordon Institute for Music Learning (GIML) and a member of Primrose Schools’ Early Learning Council and Zero-to-Three’s Expert Work Group, lending her experience in early childhood music education. She earned her Ph.D., in elementary education, early childhood music concentration, from the University at Buffalo, an M.M. (Master of Music, music education) from the University of Rochester and a B.M.E. (Bachelor of Music Education) from The Ohio State University. McDonel was the recipient of Radford University’s Dedmon Distinguished Teaching Professor Award in 2022.
Expertise: Developing music curricula for preschool-aged children, measurement and evaluation of music learning, historical scholarship on music learning theory.
Email: jmcdonel2@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6626
Heather E. Keith, Ph.D.
Heather E. Keith is executive director of Faculty Development and a professor of philosophy. Her research interests include theoretical and applied ethics, including disability ethics, feminist care ethics, pragmatist ethics and environmental ethics; innovative teaching and learning, including wicked problems and sustainability pedagogies; and holistic faculty development. She is the co-author of “Intellectual Disability: Ethics, Dehumanization, and a New Moral Community” (Wiley, 2013) and “Lives and Legacies of People with Intellectual Disability” (AAIDD, 2022), and the co-editor of “Pragmatist and American Philosophical Perspectives on Resilience” (Lexington, 2019). Keith has served on the board and committees for national and international organizations such as the John Dewey Society, the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy and the Professional and Organizational Development's Earth-Centered Pedagogy special interest group. She earned her Ph.D. in philosophy from Southern Illinois University. Keith was the recipient of Radford University's College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences Research award in 2023 and the University's Anna Lee Stewart Award for Faculty Development in 2023.
Expertise: Ethics, including disability ethics and environmental ethics; faculty development, teaching and learning.
Email: hkeith1@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5974
Jeanne Mekolichick, Ph.D.
Jeanne Mekolichick is associate provost of Research, Faculty Success and Strategic
Initiatives and a professor of sociology at Radford University. During her tenure
at Radford, Mekolichick has served in a variety of leadership roles, winning awards
for both teaching and leadership. Her work has been funded by public and private sources
for mission-central efforts, including inclusive excellence initiatives, community-based
research, undergraduate research and career readiness. Mekolichick graduated Phi Beta
Kappa with a B.A. in sociology from Kent State University. She also earned her M.S.
and Ph.D. in sociology from Kent State University. Mekolichick has held several leadership
roles in the Council on Undergraduate Research, serving as president in 2021-2022.
Expertise: Experiential learning, undergraduate research, experiences as a tool for career readiness development.
Email: jmekolic@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5114
Michele Ren, Ph.D.
Michele Ren is a professor of English and women's and gender studies. Her research
interests include race, class and gender in 19th through 21st Century American literature
and culture, antiracist and inclusive pedagogies, feminist theory and women's literature.
She received her Ph.D., in American studies from Washington State University. Her
M.A. and B.A. are both in English from Radford University. Ren was the recipient of
the Radford University Distinguished Service Award in 2021 and the Radford University
College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award in 2023.
Expertise: Antiracist and inclusive pedagogies, feminist theory and women's literature
Email: mren2@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831- 5614
Stockton Maxwell, Ph.D.
Stockton Maxwell is a professor of geospatial science. Much of his work uses dendrochronology, or tree-ring analysis, to understand the past environment and climate as recorded by trees. For example, Maxwell has reconstructed the past fire history of forests in Appalachia to the Rocky Mountain West and reconstructed the history of drought and temperature in several areas across the United States. Maxwell also teaches courses in environmental studies and sustainability, geographic information systems and geography.
Expertise: Forestry, forest ecology, wildfire, climatology, paleoclimatology, environmental science.
Email: rmaxwell2@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-7604
Ryan Sincavage, Ph.D.
Ryan Sincavage is an associate professor of geology. His research focuses on sedimentary
geology, particularly regarding how river systems respond to changes in climate and
tectonics. Much of this research is international in scope, with focus areas in Southeast
Asia and South America. Sincavage is also the associate director of West Virginia
Programming at the National Youth Science Academy in Davis, West Virginia, and will
be a visiting scholar in the Department of Biology, Ecology, and Earth Sciences at
the University of Calabria in Quattromiglia in Italy for the spring semester of 2025.
He received his Ph.D. in Earth science and environmental engineering from Vanderbilt
University, an M.S. in geology from the University of Colorado-Boulder and a B.S.
in Earth sciences from Pennsylvania State University.
Expertise: Geology, particularly regarding how river systems respond to changes in climate and tectonics.
Email: rsincavage@radford.edu
Rhett Herman, Ph.D.
Rhett Herman is a professor of physics. Herman’s background is in semiclassical gravity, studying the spacetime in and within charged black holes. His career path has evolved to applied physics, a route that has opened the door to project-based learning and course-based undergraduate research experiences. He is a frequent user of microcontrollers and microprocessors for both classroom physics education and a number of ongoing student-centered, student-initiated research projects in geophysics, especially Arctic geophysics. He works closely with students as they build their own environmental sensor systems, deploying them in the area as well as on the Arctic Sea ice in Utqiagvik, Alaska, every two years.
Expertise: Geophysics, ground-penetrating radar (burials and forensic work), Arduino microcontrollers with environmental sensors, Raspberry Pi microprocessors with environmental sensors, electrical resistivity studies of the shallow subsurface, semiclassical gravity (black holes), astronomy education.
Email: rherman@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5441
Jamie L. McDaniel, Ph.D.
Jamie L. McDaniel is a professor of English, teaching courses in 19th-, 20th-, and 21st-century British literature, disability studies, game design, professional writing and film studies. He also serves as an affiliate faculty member in Cinema and Screen Studies; founding coordinator of the major in English with a concentration in game studies; and director of Women’s and Gender Studies. He has published articles on accessibility in business games, representations of disability in horror films, and the relationship between film adaptation and disability in a variety of edited collections and journals, including Gender and History; Culture, Medicine, and Psychiatry; The Midwest Quarterly; Where Is Adaptation? Mapping Cultures, Texts, and Contexts; and Not Your Mama’s Gamer Journal.
Expertise: Disability studies; game studies and game design; horror studies; writing for the web; film adaptation; British literature.
Email: jmcdaniel30@radford.edu
Phone: 256-310-2100
Laura Gruss, Ph.D.
Laura Gruss is an associate professor of biology. She teaches human anatomy and manages the Department of Biology’s cadaver lab, also overseeing all cadaver dissections. In the Human Biomechanics Research Lab, Gruss performs experimental research on how aspects of human anatomy interact with gait (walking) and what the implications may be for the biomechanics and behavior of our prehistoric ancestors.
Expertise: Human evolution, biological anthropology, human biology, human anatomy, biomechanics.
Email: lgruss@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5143
David S. Anderson, Ph.D.
David S. Anderson is an associate professor of anthropological sciences. He received his Ph.D. in anthropology from Tulane University in 2010 with a focus on the archaeology of the ancient Maya. His fieldwork has focused on studying the development of Maya sociopolitical complexity and cultural institutions during the pre-classic period. Over the past 10 years, Anderson has become increasingly involved in examining how the academic community should engage with pseudoarchaeological claims such as the existence of Atlantis or ancient alien contact. His work has sought to move past simply debunking such claims and instead has turned to looking for the roots that allow these ideas to thrive and shape the public perception of archaeology.
Expertise: Archaeology, Maya and Mesoamerican cultures, pseudoscience.
Email: danderson10@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-1144
Don W. Martin Jr., J.D.
Don Martin is a special purpose instructor of criminal justice. During his career as an attorney, Martin has worked as a corporate litigator for McGuireWoods, LLP; an assistant general counsel for the Central Intelligence Agency and general counsel for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. In addition to his current full-time faculty duties at Radford University, Martin is of counsel with Farthing Legal, where he specializes in assisting local governments. At Radford, Martin teaches constitutional law, criminal law and court processes and coaches the Radford University Mock Trial team.
Expertise: National security, intelligence and espionage.
Email: dwmartin1@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6326
Dannette Gomez Beane, Ph.D.
Dannette Gomez Beane is the vice president for Enrollment Management and Strategic Communications at Radford University. Her research interests include college access, gender and racial equity and mentorship. Beane is a trained counselor educator with experience designing curricula and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses on healthy relationships, diversity and student development. Her professional expertise is in enrollment management and strategic communications, where she has led several enrollment growth strategies. Beane earned her B.A. in communication studies from Hollins University and M.A. and Ph.D. in counselor education from Virginia Tech. She is a member of national organizations such as the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers; the National Association for College Admission Counseling; and NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management, presenting and publishing on topics such as holistic admissions and enrollment strategies, and is a member of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and the American Counseling Association, presenting and publishing on mentorship, racial identity development and having difficult dialogues.
Expertise: Admissions, enrollment, marketing, racial identity, multicultural counseling.
Email: dgbeane@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6044
Brock Cutler, Ph.D.
Brock Cutler is an associate professor of history, teaching Middle East, environmental and world history. His scholarship focuses on imperialism and ecology in modern North Africa and the Mediterranean, especially Algeria and France. In addition, Cutler leads student activities around topics of environmental stewardship and sustainability with an emphasis on engagement with the Appalachian environment.
Expertise: History and politics in France, North Africa and the Middle East; sustainability and environmental issues globally and within southern and central Appalachia.
Email: cutler2@radford.edu
Matt Oyos, Ph.D.
Matt Oyos is a professor of history. He teaches courses on the history of warfare, including World War I, World War II, America’s war in Vietnam, war in the modern age and war and American society, and he also teaches on the most recent decades in American history and the history of Latin America. Oyos’ research focuses on Theodore Roosevelt. In 2018, he published “In Command: Theodore Roosevelt and the American Military,” which won the Roosevelt Book Prize the following year.
Expertise: Military and strategic affairs, Theodore Roosevelt, American military history.
Email: moyos@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5283
Anthony E. Guidone, Ph.D.
Anthony E. Guidone is an assistant professor of history. Guidone earned an M.A. in
American History from Marquette University and a Ph.D. in American history from George
Mason University. His research interests include early American history 1600-1830;
New England history, particularly the history of Salem, Massachusetts, from 1780-1820;
and the history of commerce, exploration, maritime history, and trade between the
United States and Asia from 1780-1820. Guidone also teaches digital history and Virginia
history from 1600-1820. His knowledge of Virginia history includes commerce, slavery,
and trade networks, among other topics.
Expertise: Early American history, maritime and commercial history, digital history, Virginia and New England history.
Email: aguidone@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5147
Jennifer Resor-Whicker, MLIS
Jennifer Resor-Whicker is an associate professor and the university librarian, providing
leadership for the University Libraries. With over 14 years of experience in academic
libraries, she oversees strategic planning, budget allocation and staff development.
She holds an MLIS and a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Her research interests include mentorship in libraries, fostering a supportive work
environment and library administration. She is the co-chair of the Innovative Library
Classroom Conference (TILC) founded in 2014. She is a member of the Virginia Library
Association and the American Library Association. Resor-Whicker has also served on
the Virginia Library Association's executive committee as secretary (2016-2018) and
as president-elect/president/past-president (2018-2022).
Expertise: Academic libraries, research and instruction services in libraries, information literacy, mentorship in libraries, sexual harassment in libraries, library conference leadership.
Email: jrwhicker@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6624
Agida Manizade, Ph.D.
Agida Manizade is the interim associate dean at the College of Graduate Studies. She
joined the colleges on Feb. 10, 2023. Manizade has been a tenured professor in the
Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Radford since 2018. Her research interests
include mathematics teaching and learning, different approaches for teaching mathematics,
mathematics teacher knowledge and effective use of technology in mathematics classroom.
Manizade is a highly respected scholar and educator recognized with the Outstanding Faculty Award by the State Commission of Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV), the Dalton Imminent Scholar Award and the Distinguished Creative Scholar Award by the Radford University Foundation, the Outstanding Publication Award by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Million Dollar Circle award, Artis Outstanding Faculty Award for Scholarship and Service, and more than $3,000,000 in grant funding. Her other leadership roles include, but are not limited to, president of the Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics, founding director of the Secondary Mathematics Professional Development Center and president of Radford Child Development.
Manizade received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics from Baku State University, her second master’s degree in mathematics education from the College of William and Mary and her Ph.D. in mathematics education from the University of Virginia.
Expertise: Mathematics education, mathematics teacher education.
Email: amanizade@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5723
Bill Kovarik, Ph.D.
Bill Kovarik is a professor of media studies. Kovarik is a historian whose research is located at the intersection of history, communications and the environment. His work spans the history of media technology, science journalism, communications law and environmental history.
Kovarik’s career has included work at wire services, daily newspapers, national news magazines and the environmental press, among others, including (specifically) the Associated Press, the Baltimore Sun, The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina), columnist Jack Anderson, The New York Times, Time Magazine and Time-Life Books. He has served as editor of Energy Resources and Technology, Latin American Energy Report, Appropriate Technology, and Appalachian Voice.
Kovarik has also studied international comparative media law as a post-doctoral fellow at the Oxford University PCMLP Summer Institute. His books include “The Forbidden Fuel” (1982, republished 2010) with Hal Bernton and Scott Sklar), “The Ethyl Controversy” (1993); “Mass Media and Environmental Conflict” (1996, with Mark Neuzil, Sage); “Web Design for the Mass Media” (2001, Pearson) and “Revolutions in Communication” (2011, 2016, Bloomsbury, with a third edition underway).
Kovarik was elected as an academic representative on the board of directors of the Society of Environmental Journalists and also served on the board of Appalachian Voices and the academic advisory board for the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism. He was named among the leading pioneers of environmental journalism by Environmental Health News in 2021 and is an environmental historian on a United Nations Foundation expert panel.
Expertise: Journalism, media history, communication law, environmental history, environmental journalism.
Email: wkovarik@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6033
Kathleen M. Arnold, Ph.D.
Kathleen Arnold is an associate professor of psychology. Her research interests include
memory, learning, metacognition and effective learning strategies. She earned her
B.S. in psychology from Furman University and her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at
Washington University in St. Louis.
Expertise: Retrieval practice, metacognition, learning from writing.
Email: karnold23@radford.edu
Daniel R. Berry, Ph.D.
Daniel R. Berry is an assistant professor of psychology and associate editor of the
journal Mindfulness. Berry earned his B.S. at Christopher Newport University, his
M.A. in experimental psychology from East Tennessee State University, and his Ph.D.
in experimental social psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to
joining Radford University in 2023, Berry worked as an assistant and associate professor
at California State University San Marcos. As a social psychologist, Berry’s research
focuses on how we regulate our emotions in challenging social interactions. Specifically,
he studies empathy, intergroup relations and personal stress resilience.
Expertise: Social psychology, social emotion regulation, mindfulness, empathy, ostracism.
Email: dberry7@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5361
Jennifer Walton, Ph.D.
Jennifer Walton serves as director of the School of Communication. Her research focuses on public scholarship and has been featured in USA Today, The Columbus Dispatch and The Tennessean, among many other publications. Walton published a scholarly book entitled “A Rhetorical Analysis of Six Hollywood Films about Politics: Presenting the Candidate as a Movie Star” and had two book chapters appear in “Teaching Communication Creatively: Practical Ideas to Enhance Student Learning.” She is currently working on a book highlighting the health and social issues portrayed in soap operas. Walton earned her B.S and M.A. at Indiana State University and Ph.D. at Bowling Green State University.
Expertise: Political communication
Email: jlwalton1@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6494
Steven Fesmire, Ph.D.
Steven Fesmire is a professor of philosophy and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. He also serves as the 2022-2024 president of the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy. Most recently, he is the author of “Beyond Moral Fundamentalism” (Oxford University Press, 2024). Fesmire edited “The Oxford Handbook of Dewey” (Oxford University Press, 2019), and his books “John Dewey and Moral Imagination: Pragmatism in Ethics” (Indiana University Press, 2003) and “Dewey” (Routledge Press, 2015) won Choice “Outstanding Academic Title” awards. A 2009 Fulbright Scholar in Japan, Fesmire has previously taught at Middlebury College, Green Mountain College, Siena College and East Tennessee State University. His public philosophy work has appeared in places such as Salon, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed and The Humanist.
Expertise: Ethics, political philosophy, history of philosophy and educational philosophy.
Email: sfesmire@radford.edu
Daniel C. Reed, Ph.D.
Daniel C. Reed is an associate professor of political science. Reed received a master’s and a doctorate in political science from the University of Georgia. His research and teaching focus on political parties, interest groups, campaigns, elections and election and campaign finance law. Reed has published several book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles in publications such as Social Science History and Representation. His teaching experience includes several courses in introductory American government, interest group politics, American political parties and electoral behavior, as well as research methods. Before joining the faculty at Radford in the fall of 2015, Reed taught in the Department of Government at American University in Washington, D.C.
Expertise: Political parties and elections.
Email: dreed33@radford.edu
Chapman Rackaway, Ph.D.
Chapman Rackaway is a professor and chair of the Department of Political Science. Rackaway is an accomplished scholar and author of “Civic Failure and its Threat to American Democracy: Operator Error”(Lexington Press, 2016) co-editor of “Parties Under Pressure” (Palgrave, 2017) and “The Unorthodox Presidency of Donald Trump” (University Press of Kansas, 2021), co-author of “Primary Elections and American Politics: The Unintended Consequences of Progressive Era Reform” (with Joseph Romance, SUNY Press, 2022) as well as other books and articles on American state and local politics, political electioneering organizations and political communication. Rackaway’s teaching interests focus on civic leadership as well as electioneering and campaigns at the state level. Rackaway teaches classes in state and local government, political communication, congress, and the presidency.
Expertise: Virginia politics, state and local politics, political parties, U.S. Congress, public opinion and polling, elections (local, state and federal), interest groups and lobbying, campaign finance, U.S. president and executive branch, American voting behavior (local, state and federal), campaign strategy and management, political communication, social media in politics, political polarization.
Email: crackaway@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6602
Paige Tan, Ph.D.
Paige Tan is a professor of political science. She teaches courses in comparative politics and international relations, with a primary focus on political parties, democratization and dictatorships. Tan has contributed articles to Current History, Indonesia, Contemporary Southeast Asia, Asian Journal of Political Science, Inside Indonesia, Education about Asia, Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia, and Asian Perspective. She directs the exciting and unique Wicked Problems program at Radford, where students become authorities in the most challenging and persistent public problems facing the world today.
Expertise: U.S. foreign policy, authoritarian regimes (Russia, China, North Korea), military coups, decline of democracy globally, international elections, international activism (climate activists, etc.), terrorism.
Email: etan3@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6598
Thomas K. Duncan, Ph.D.
Thomas K. Duncan is an associate professor of economics. Duncan has taught courses in principles-level macroeconomics, comparative economic systems, institutional economics and international economics.
Expertise: National defense, national security, politics and economics, conflict, international relations and current macroeconomic trends (unemployment, inflation, GDP and recessions).
Email: tduncan13@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6057
John Brummette, Ph.D.
John Brummette is a professor of communication. His areas of research include public relations, crisis management, social media analytics, data storytelling and data visualization. He is the director of the Social Media Analytics and Research Technology (SMART) Lab at Radford University. Brummette is a business owner and serves on editorial boards for the Journal of Public Relations Research and Public Relations Journal. He has also been named a legacy scholar for the Arthur Page Society. He holds a Ph.D. in communication and information from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; an M.S. in corporate and professional communication from Radford University; and a B.A. in communication from the University of Pittsburgh. Brummette has published manuscripts in top-tier journals in his field, providing valuable insights into the dynamics of public relations and crisis communication.
Expertise: Public relations, crisis management, social media analytics, data visualization, data storytelling.
Email: jbrummette@radford.edu
Phone: 540-797-2908 (cell)
Seife Dendir, Ph.D.
Seife Dendir is a professor and chair of the Department of Economics. His teaching and research focus on economic development, applied microeconomics and econometrics, data analytics and pedagogy. Dendir’s current research examines returns to schooling, educational investments in children and generally intrahousehold resource allocation issues in developing countries. He regularly publishes on topics involving sports analytics and economics pedagogy.
Expertise: International economic development, sports economics/analytics. economics pedagogy.
Email: sdendir@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5437
Tiesha R. Martin, Ph.D.
Tiesha R. Martin is an assistant professor of sport management. She earned her Ph.D. in sport leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University, an M.S. in kinesiology from East Carolina University and a B.A. in exercise sport science from the University of North Carolina. Martin’s research primarily has focused on highlighting the link between sport for development (SFD) and social issues that exist within marginalized populations. Particularly, she explores how community-based sport programs can purposely and intentionally address things such as access and opportunity in sport and education or health disparities in low-income communities. Her secondary research line deals with promoting physical activity among low-income individuals, specifically the role sport can play in addressing public health outcomes. Martin has published research in reputable sport management and health journals such as Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, Psychology & Health and the Journal of Sport for Development. She also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Athlete Development and Experience (JADE).
Expertise: Community-based sport programs, sport for social change, sport and health promotion.
Email: tmartin116@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5108
Abhay Kaushik, Ph.D.
Abhay Kaushik is a professor of finance. His research has been featured on news media
outlets like “CBS MoneyWatch” and websites like Morningstar, Motley Fool and Mutual
Fund Observer.
Expertise: Investments and corporate finance. Kaushik’s research is focused on evaluation of active portfolio management (mutual funds performance).
Email: akaushik@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6426
Zachary A. Collier, Ph.D.
Zachary A. Collier is an assistant professor of management. His research interests include risk analysis, decision analysis and supply chain management. He is a fellow of the Center for Risk Management of Engineering Systems at the University of Virginia and a visiting scholar at the Center for Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust (CHEST). Collier is a member of the Society for Risk Analysis and INFORMS. He earned his Ph.D. in systems engineering from the University of Virginia, an M.E.M. (Master of Engineering Management) from Duke University and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Florida State University. Collier was the recipient of Radford University’s Dalton Eminent Scholar Rising Star Award in 2023 and the Society for Risk Analysis Chauncey Starr Distinguished Young Risk Analyst Award.
Expertise: Supply chain management, semiconductors, risk management.
Email: zcollier@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6732
Aysha A. Bodenhamer, Ph.D.
Aysha Bodenhamer is Radford University’s sustainability manager as well as an associate
professor of sociology in the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences at Radford
University. Her major areas of expertise include environmental sociology, environmental
health, occupational health, natural resources, and energy. Bodenhamer also specializes
in rural sociology and Appalachian Studies. She has published research in peer-reviewed
journals on occupational health, environmental health, Latino youth, rural poverty,
health disparities, health advocacy, and natural resource extraction. She earned her
Ph.D. and master’s in sociology at North Carolina State University, and her bachelor’s
degree in sociology, with substantive coursework in international studies and Mandarin
Chinese, at Radford University.
Expertise: Sociology, environment, sustainability, natural resources, coal, energy, renewable energy, environmental health, health disparities, social determinants of health, occupational health and safety, rural communities and Appalachian studies.
Email: abodenham3@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5067
Rob Warren, D.B.A.
Rob Warren is an assistant professor of accounting. His research areas include federal tax administration, the tax gap and financial fraud among Catholic clergy. Warren spent 25 years with the Internal Revenue Service investigating complex schemes involving tax fraud, money laundering, currency structuring and related financial crimes. He began his career as a revenue agent in the Examination Division in the District of Columbia, where he served as a technical tax advisor on the successful criminal investigation of a former treasurer of the United States. Warren transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS in 1994 and graduated from the Special Agent Basic Training program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia. Over the next 22 years, he investigated a wide variety of white-collar fraud cases involving human trafficking, bankruptcy fraud and identity theft, along with traditional cases involving income tax evasion. From 2001 to 2005, he served as a supervisory special agent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and ended his career as a senior analyst in the financial crimes section at IRS Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Warren received numerous awards during his career, including three U.S. Department of Justice Awards for Public Service presented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Warren worked for the accounting firm of Coopers and Lybrand prior to joining the IRS. He holds an MBA and an undergraduate degree in accounting (summa cum laude) from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.) degree from Case Western Reserve University. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) and earned the certified in financial forensics (CFF) designation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Expertise: Federal tax gap, IRS operations, Catholic clergy financial fraud.
Email: rawarren1@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6595
Michael J. Meindl
Michael J. Meindl is an associate professor of media production. He is also the director
of the Cinema and Screen Studies program. Meindl has worked as a media artist with
a focus on documentary-style work. His research interests include animation, educational
science media, film and television history and historical screen technologies. He
serves on the board of the Society for Animation Studies. Meindl received his M.F.A.
in dramatic media from the University of Georgia, his M.A. in theatre studies from
Oklahoma State University and his B.A. in theatre from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Meindl is currently finishing his Ph.D. in science and technology studies at Virginia
Tech.
Expertise: Animation history, historical film technologies, Hollywood blockbuster aesthetics, representation of science and technology in film/television, educational science media.
Email: mmeindl@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6039
Richard Dunham
Richard Dunham is a professor of theatre and chair/artistic director of the Department of Theatre and Cinema at Radford University. He is a scenic and lighting designer who has previously designed/taught at the University of Central Florida, Stephens College, Vanderbilt University and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He was the lead scenic/lighting designer and head of design for the University of Georgia for 19 years before coming to Radford University. He is active in the national leadership of USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Design and Technology) and is a fellow of the institute. Dunham currently serves on the Grants and Fellowship Committee (chairing it from 2008-2017). He is a former board member and was co-commissioner of the USITT Lighting Commission from 1998 to 2006.
Dunham's professional credits include numerous regional and stock productions throughout the East Coast. Notable credits include the Brunswick Music Theatre (Maine State Music Theatre), The Disney Institute, Music Theatre North, The Dunes and Okaboji Summer Theatres, The Springer Opera House and Atlanta Lyric Theatre, Opera in the Ozarks and Southwest Virginia Ballet. He has also designed scenery and lighting for a number of New York regional, off- and off-off Broadway theatres, including Circle Repertory Theatre, Theatre Three, Broadhollow Productions, The Jean Cocteau Repertory and Directors' Theatre.
Dunham is the author of two lighting texts, “Stage Lighting: The Fundamentals” (now working on the third edition) and “Stage Lighting: Design Applications and More,” as well as a number of feature articles and reviews for theatre trade publications. He was editor for “Practical Projects for Teaching Lighting Design” (second edition) and an advising editor to “Projects for Teaching Scene Design.” Two of his articles have won Herbert D. Greggs Awards from Theatre Design and Technology (TD&T). In addition to performance venues, he also designs architectural and landscape lighting through his design practice, Dunham Design Associates. Within this area, Dunham has earned the LC Lighting Certification (LC) and holds memberships in IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) and IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers).
Expertise: Theater and stage lighting design.
Email: rdunham6@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5012
David Beach, Ph.D.
David Beach, an educator, playwright, director, and dramaturg, is the director of undergraduate curriculum, a professor of English and affiliate faculty in Theatre and Cinema. At Radford since 2016, he has taught first-year writing, playwriting, screenwriting, dramatic literature, linguistics and literary scholarship. He is a faculty senator, currently serving his third term as secretary of the Faculty Senate. David served on the REAL Implementation Steering Committee, chairing the academic support subcommittee, and has been on the President’s Task Force on Freedom of Expression and Civil Discourse and the Academic Program Review and Enhancement Committee. He was advisor to two Highlander Student Media publications (Exit 109 and Whim), has taught in the Governor’s School and served on the Women’s and Gender Studies Advisory Board. In 2017, he received the Dorothy Golden Award for Excellence in Teaching First-Year Writing, a national award. His mantra is: “Whatever we do, we do in service to our students.” David is currently taking courses in screenwriting at the University of California, Los Angeles, to complement his M.F.A. in playwriting (Hollins University) and his Ph.D. in education with a focus on composition and rhetoric (George Mason University). As a playwright with over a dozen credits, he has won several awards for his work, notably the Kennedy Center’s John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play for “Mothers and Terrorists.” He currently serves as the vice-chair of the National Playwriting Program through the Kennedy Center’s Education Division and chairs the Charles M. Getchell New Play Contest at the Southeastern Theatre Conference. David has directed over 30 plays, including Radford’s Medieval Players’s contributions to the Mostly Medieval Theatre Festival (Western Michigan University, 2017 and 2019) and the York Corpus Christi Plays (University of Toronto, 2025).
Expertise: Theatre, musical theatre, playwriting, screenwriting, writing pedagogy, general education.
Email: dbeach6@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6031
Joshua Carroll, Ph.D.
Joshua Carroll is a professor of recreation, parks and tourism. His teaching and research focus on sustainable, nature-based tourism and recreation and how they can be used as a pathway toward positive community development and ecological integrity. He has engaged in projects with agencies and organizations such as the U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, State Parks, Bahamas National Trust, Bahamas Tourism Ministry and various beach communities and river systems. Carroll’s work has made valuable contributions to outdoor communities such as mountain bikers, road cyclists, surfers, swimmers, paddlers and sailors. Carroll holds a Ph.D. and an M.S. in human dimensions of natural resources, both from Colorado State University.
Expertise: Sustainable tourism, nature-based tourism, recreation and tourism management, Bahamas tourism and recreation and the impacts and management (especially for cruising sailors), sailing communities and their motivations as well as impacts and management challenges, outdoor recreation (especially water-based recreation, mountain biking, skiing & snowboarding), tourism and outdoor recreation trends.
Email: jcarroll6@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-7722
Courtney Watson, Ph.D.
Courtney Watson is an associate professor of English. Her scholarship focuses on literary
travel and literary tourism, and she has spoken at conferences in France, Spain, Iceland,
Croatia and Egypt. Watson’s research examines how the legacies of authors are marketed
through commodified literary landmarks in heritage economies throughout the South.
She also explores the theme of travel in her creative work. A past recipient of the
National Society of Arts & Letters Regional Short Story Prize, Watson uses her love
of travel as the foundation for many of her stories and essays.
At Radford University at Carilion, Watson teaches composition and literature with a focus on women writers and Southern authors. She also developed and teaches writing and research courses for the undergraduate and graduate health sciences programs. These collaborations support and inform her research into the intersection of science, healthcare and the humanities.
Expertise: Travel, tourism, literary travel and tourism, modern expatriate American writers, Southern literature, health humanities, women writers, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Email: cwatson1@radford.edu
Phone: 540-985-9935
Karen Powers, Ph.D.
Karen Powers is a professor of biology. Her research interests are broad, encompassing many aspects of vertebrate ecology and habitat management. Powers’ recent projects and publications have focused on the effects of white-nose syndrome on bat communities in the eastern United States and the status of Allegheny woodrats in Virginia. She and her students have examined ectoparasites (bot flies and fleas) in woodrats in recent years. On campus, Powers and her students have documented bird-window collisions since 2018 and recently published their fourth article. The bird-window collision research project continues to welcome eight to 10 students a semester, each student collaboratively collecting data and developing independent research questions based on a growing data set.
Expertise: Community ecology and wildlife management, white-nose syndrome on bat communities in the eastern United States, the status of Allegheny woodrats in Virginia, bird-window collisions, rare mammals in Virginia.
Email: kpowers4@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-6537
Molly Minnen Sloan, Ph.D.
Molly Minnen Sloan is an assistant professor of management. Her research interests
include work stress, employee well-being and the work-nonwork interface. Recently,
her work has been focused on the role of the work schedule in understanding how people
engage with their work roles and their life roles. She frequently conducts survey-based
research and investigates how relationships among work, life and stress play out over
time. She has published her research in such journals as the Journal of Organizational
Behavior and the Journal of Business and Psychology. Sloan earned her master’s and
Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology from Virginia Tech and her B.S. in psychology
from the University of Georgia.
Expertise: Work recovery, work stress, work-life balance, burnout, leadership
Email: mmsloan@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5139
Ben Biermeier-Hanson, Ph.D.
Ben Biermeier-Hanson is an assistant professor of management. As an industrial-organizational psychologist by training, his work looks at “people issues” within organizations, studying topics such as leadership, aging at work and human resources-related issues. In addition to his academic work, he has over a decade of consulting experience working with organizations on organizational culture, employee engagement and retention and staffing.
Expertise: Employee engagement and morale, organizational culture, staffing, talent management, health/stress in the workplace.
Email: bbiermeierhan@radford.edu
Rick Van Noy, Ph.D.
Rick Van Noy is a professor of English. He is the author of “Surveying the Interior: Literary Cartographers and the Sense of Place” (2003),” A Natural Sense of Wonder: Connecting Kids with Nature Through the Seasons” (2008), and “Sudden Spring: Stories of Adaptation in a Climate-Changed South” (2019). “Borne by the River: Two Hundred Miles on the Delaware from Headwater to Home” (Cornell UP), was published in spring 2024.
Expertise: Climate change, environmental writing and issues, nature and children, natural history, American literature and rivers.
Email: rvannoy@radford.edu
Phone: 540-831-5597