Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Martin P. Sellers, PhD.
Professor of Political Science
Biography
Dr. Sellers is formally educated with a BA in Political Science and Public Administration from the College of New Jersey, an MPA in Public Administration from New York University and a PhD in Political Science from Temple University in Philadelphia. His career path has led him to the United States Air Force and then to the U. S. Department of Agriculture as a program evaluator, inner-city health program director, and assistant bureau chief with the Department of Law and Public Safety with the State of New Jersey. He began his career in higher education as a faculty member and then Chair of the Department of Government, History and Justice at Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. He was appointed as Dean of the Undergraduate College and the College of Arts and Sciences at Lincoln Memorial University in 2002, then Vice President for Academic Affairs at Cox College in Springfield, Missouri in 2006. He returned to LMU in 2011 as Dean of Research and Service and was appointed as Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences in 2012. Dr. Sellers is married to Tricia Sellers, has five children and a dog named Linc. His hobbies include playing guitar, writing Christian music, and running.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Sellers' academic and research interests are in the areas of state and local government, special district government, privatization, and prison education. He is currently working on projects regarding collaboration in local government and prison recidivism and education. His hobbies are playing guitar, writing Christian music, and running.
Publications/Presentations (last five years)
Articles:
Prisoners, Online Learning, and Recidivism, International Journal of Leadership in Education. Summer 2015.
"How to get things done through Outcomes Assessment and Strategic Planning", Appalachian College Association, June 2015.
"RIAA: an Assault upon Students in Higher Education." White paper, 2014.
"Changing Facilities to Meet the Needs of New Learning Methods", panel chair, Council of Independent Colleges, Annual Meeting, Williamsburg, VA.
"Program Development and Accreditation," Lincoln Memorial University, Orientation Week, 2012.
Workshops:
Faculty Scholarship, Classroom Management, Online Teaching, Mentoring, Teaching Methodologies, Scholarly Work, and How Faculty Think," Cox College, various dates.
Department of Fine Arts and Communication Faculty
Charlie Gee, Ph.D.
Communication and Media Program Director
Associate Professor of Communication
Biography
Dr. Gee received his Bachelor of Science degree in Radio/TV Management from Middle Tennessee State University. After working in the radio and television news for several years, he returned to academia to pursue a graduate degree. Dr. Gee obtained a Master of Science from the University of Tennessee concentrating in Journalism & Electronic Media. He would earn a Ph.D. in the College of Communication & Information Science at the University of Tennessee focusing on the role of backpack journalism on story quality in news presentations. After graduation, Gee applied his craft an assistant professor in the Journalism & Media Arts department at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Seeking warmer climate, he settled at Lincoln Memorial University.
Research Interests
Dr. Gee research interests surround the world of storytelling. He explores how the role of technology may influence journalistic presentations, legal responsibility of reality television play in adhering to privacy law, and pedagogical techniques applied to journalism and media ethics courses.
Publications and Presentations (last five years)
Gee, Charlie & Auger, Giselle. (2022). “More Than a Community of Practice: Journalist’s Emotional Support for Each Other in Time of Crisis,” Paper presented in Research-In-Progress BEA Research Division, April 23, Las Vegas, NV.
“Broadcast Standards in a Non-Broadcast Industry,” (2022), Broadcast Education Association national conference, April 25th , Las Vegas, NV.
“Advanced Newsgathering Techniques for Mobile Devices,” (2021). Media Trainer—University of Tennessee & United States Department of State. Invitation to teach a mobile device module for visiting students and faculty from the University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad, University of Niš, Serbia, July 5th, Knoxville, TN.
“Evaluating the ‘Long-term’ Impact of ‘Short-term’, Study Abroad Field Courses.” (2021). Brandt, Laroy, Gee, Charlie & Vogel, Rick. Lincoln Memorial University Research Day. April 12th. Pilot study based on student interviews with experience at primate research station in Costa Rica.
Prisoners of the Plateau. (2021—53 minutes documentary). University Film & Video Association National Conference premiere, July 29th, 2021. Producer, researcher, videographer. Prisoners explores the arrival of the first German prisoners of war in Crossville, TN, in late November 1942 and its social impact on the community. Accepted by Knoxville PBS station. https://vimeo.com/650915142
“Where In the World Would You Like to Teach Journalism?": Teaching Internationally.” (2019). Broadcast Education Association national conference, April 8th, Las Vegas, NV.
“Golden Age, Era of Decline, or Both? Producing Professional Media in Changing Times.” (2019). Broadcast Education Association national conference, April 8th, Las Vegas, NV.
“The Science of Fake News.” (2019). University of Tennessee-Knoxville Science Forum, February 8th, Knoxville, TN.
Auger, Giselle, Gee, Charlie, & Tanes-Elhe, Zeynep. (2019). “Mostly Credible and Transparent: Audience Perceptions of News Stories Produced with Traditional and Multiplatform Newsgathering Technologies.” Electronic News Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/1931243119883652.
Auger, G., Tanes-Elhe, Z., & Gee, C. (2017). "A Phenomenological Study of User Attitudes, Apprehensions and Experiences In Multiplatform Journalism". Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 72 (2), 212-227. DOI: 1077695816650324
Gee, Charlie, "Audience Preferences in Determining Quality News Production of Backpack Journalism," Electronic News Journal, In press.
Michael Giles, MFA.
Chair, Department of Fine Arts and Communication
Art Program Director
Associate Professor of Art
Biography
Michael Giles is a Venezuelan-American artist working primarily in painting and drawing. He has exhibited internationally, and currently lives and works in Knoxville, TN. Born in Maracaibo, Venezuela, he was raised in Baltimore, OH. He studied as part of the Reciprocal Exchange Program at Edith Cowan University (Perth, Australia, 1996) and received a BFA from the Ohio State University in 2000, and a MFA from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville in 2007. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN.
Academic and Research Interests
Giles' research currently centers on the exploration of abstraction and materiality in contemporary painting and drawing. He is exploring the methodology in making abstraction from the influences of literary and pop cultural sources. He is further interested in the intersection of meaning that comes from the interaction of artist and viewer and how it can foster a new understanding of what art is by how the artist and viewer view the work.
Exhibitions/Presentations (last five years)
Solo Exhibitions:
2017 "One Hundred", Channel to Channel Gallery, Nashville, TN.
2016 "Solitude/Paper", The Central Collective, Knoxville, TN.
"Solitude", O'Brien Art Gallery, Roane State Community College, Harriman, TN.
2015 "Past/Figurative", Paul V. Hamilton Center for the Arts, Cumberland Gap, TN.
2014 "New Work", The Woodruff Space, Knoxville, TN.
Group Exhibitions
2018 "Arts and Culture Alliance National Juried Exhibition 2018", Juror: Jeffrey Morton, The Emporium Center, Knoxville TN.
2017 "6x6 Exhibition", A1 Labarts, Knoxville, TN.
"Arts and Culture Alliance Member's Show", The Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN.
"The Museum of Civilization", The Central Collective, Knoxville, TN.
"From these Hills: Contemporary Art in the Southern Appalachian Highlands", William King Museum of Art, Abingdon VA
"Contemporary Abstraction", Core New Art Space, Denver CO.
"Dogwood Regional Fine Arts Exhibition", Dogwood Arts, Knoxville, TN.
2016 "Cherry Bounce: Appalachian Artists, American Elections" (curator Eric Drummond Smith), William King Museum of Art, Abingdon, VA.
"Frutos Latinos", Casa HoLa/The Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN.
"Abstract National Exhibition 2016" (juror Sandra Duran Wilson), MarkArts, Wichita, KS.
"Collective Corpse", The Central Collective, Knoxville, TN.
"Viewpoints 2016" (juror Mary Birmingham), Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art, Studio Montclair, Newark, NJ.
"A1LabArts Members Show", The Center for Creative Minds, Knoxville, TN.
"12 x 12 A National Exhibition of Small-Scale Works of Art", TODD Art Gallery,Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN.
2015 "Arts and Culture Alliance Member's Show", The Emporium, Knoxville, TN.
"LMU Faculty Show", Paul V. Hamilton Center for the Arts, Cumberland Gap, TN.
"Frutos Latinos", Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN.
"Frutos Latinos", Frieson Black Cultural Center, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
"Latin/Abstract: Michael Giles & Rosalina Tipton", Casa Hola, Knoxville, TN.
"Amalgam 3", The Emporium, Knoxville, TN.
"Dogwood Regional Fine Art Exhibition", (Juror, Mark Scala) The Emporium, Knoxville, TN.
2014 "Open Studio Night", 17th Street Studios, Knoxville, TN.
"January First Friday", Emporium Center, Knoxville, TN.
2013 "Amalgam 2", Birdhouse Gallery, Knoxville, TN.
Publications/Lectures/Panels
Honors Program Lecture Series, Artist's Talk, October 2017, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN.
Nashville Scene, Featured Review, Vol.36, No. 17, June 1-7, 2017
"Cherry Bounce Artists Panel", William King Museum of Art, Abingdon, VA. January 13, 2017.
"Arts in the Back", Cityview Magazine, Knoxville, TN, Nov/Dec 2016
"Artist Spotlight July", Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville, TN, 17 July, 2016.
Marisa Hricovsky, MFA
Biography
Ms. Hricovskey has been an Assistant Professor of Art at LMU since 2019. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Three-Dimensional Studies from Bowling Green State University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Solo Exhibitions
2019 Parlor, Central Collective, Knoxville, TN (forthcoming)
2018 Deconstructing Sameness, Woodland Gallery, Chatham University, Pittsburgh, PA
2015 Visual Translations 192;2 Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2015 Rise, St. Clair Smith Gallery, Barrington, IL
2014 Material Moments, Gallerie M, Milwaukee, WI (with Thomas Schmidt) 2013 New Sculptures in Clay, Midwest Clay Project, Madison, WI
2013 Disrupted Patterns, Common Wealth Gallery, Madison, WI
2013 Wilting, Gelsy Verna Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Group Exhibitions
2018 Threefold, Tipton Gallery, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
2018 Sarah Nearer Fuller Flower, C for Courtside, Knoxville, TN
2018 Porcelain Symposium, Apple House Gallery, Guldagergaard, Skaelsk0r, Denmark
2018 Shoe Box, Apple House Gallery, Guldagergaard, Skaelsk0r, Denmark
2018 Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics Award Winners, Zanesville Museum of Art, Zanesville, OH
2018 HREldUR, SIM Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland 2018 Converge(nce), NCECA, Pittsburgh, PA
2017 Third International Zanesville Prize for Contemporary Ceramics, Seilers' Studio &
Joe Gill, M.F.A.
Technical Director/Designer of Lincoln Memorial University Theatre
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Faculty Athletic Representative
Biography
Joe Gill holds an MFA in Contemporary Performance from Naropa University and a Master Degree in Theatre (emphasis in Directing) from California State University Los Angeles. Over the last 25 years he has directed, performed and produced in many Los Angeles, New York and Colorado venues. In Los Angeles, Joe co-founded Mijo Productions and is also a member of Moving Arts, Shumka Dance/Theatre Company and worked with Denver's Curious Theatre. Joe has studied Viewpoints with Mary Overlie, Theatre of the Oppressed with Augosto Boal and has directed shows such as TWELVE ANGRY JURORS, THE CRUCIBLE, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, EURYDICE and GLIMPSES…THE RISING DAWN (devised work created in response to the Aurora Theatre incident). Joe facilitated many theatre workshops focused on self-scripted performances: working with urban children in Los Angeles, Homeless women in downtown Los Angeles, and young men dealing with substance abuse in Boulder, CO. Currently, Gill Is the Director of the Arts in the Gap, a board member of Middlesboro Little Theatre as well as assistant professor of Theatre at Lincoln Memorial University.
Research Interests
Joe Gill's research interests surround theatre's importance in community and self-expression. He explores how the theatre and performance influence community, establish self-esteem, and positively affect society as a whole. He is also intrigued with how ecology and landscapes influence practitioner's art and performances as well as the working with the philosophy of Dharma in art.
Publications and Presentations
2018 YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR written by J. Surber Joe Gill (Performer -Det. Benson) Director by Amy Simpson, Middlesboro Little Theatre
2018 TWELFTH NIGHT, OR WHAT YOU WILL by W. Shakespeare Director. Joe Gill
2017 TWELVE ANGRY JURORS by Reginald Rose Director. Joe Gill
2017 MOONSHINE MACBETH Adaptation of Shakespeare Director. Joe Gill / Co -Writer
2017 FIDDLER ON THE ROOF by Arthur Miller Director. Joe Gill
Department of Humanities Faculty
Steven B. Cowan, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Humanities
Professor of Philosophy
Biography
Dr. Cowan received his M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Arkansas. He also earned an M.Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to earning his academic degrees, Dr. Cowan served for six years in the U.S. Army, both as an artillery fire direction specialist and a unit clerk. While in graduate school, he was the bi-vocational pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. After graduate school, he served one year as a Visiting Professor at the University of Arkansas and then as an adjunct instructor at several institutions including Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Birmingham Theological Seminary, and Ouachita Baptist University. In 2006, he was appointed to the faculty of Southeastern Bible College in Birmingham as Associate Professor of Philosophy and Apologetics. He was appointed Associate Professor of Christian Philosophy at Louisiana College in 2011. Dr. Cowan came to LMU in 2014 to serve as Assistant (now Associate) Professor of Philosophy and Religion. From 2015 - 2018, he served as Interim Director of LMU's Honors Scholars Program. Dr. Cowan is married to Ronda Cowan, and they have one child, Oliver. His hobbies are reading science fiction and military history.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Cowan's academic and research interests are in the areas philosophy of religion and metaphysics (especially the metaphysics of free will). He is currently working on two book projects: one on the philosophy of science that deals with the limits of scientific knowledge in relation to religious and moral knowledge; and the other a collection of essays on the nature and extent of divine love.
Publications (last five years)
Books
Editor, Introduction to Philosophical Problems: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Debates (Bloomsbury, forthcoming).
Editor (with James S. Spiegel), Christianity and Idealism, Volume 2: Idealism and Christian Philosophy (Bloomsbury, 2016).
Articles/Book Chapters
"Let's Play GOLF, or The Free Will Defense Is Dead" (under editorial consideration).
"Freedom Is Compatible with Determinism" in Introduction to Philosophical Problems: Historical Perspectives and Contemporary Debates, ed. Steven B. Cowan (Bloomsbury, forthcoming).
"Why Scully Is Usually Wrong" in The X-Files and Philosophy, ed. Robert Arp (Open Court, 2017).
"What Is that Stone? Idealism and Particulars," Christianity and Idealism, Volume 2: Idealism
and Christian Philosophy, ed. James S. Spiegel and Steven B. Cowan (Bloomsbury, 2016).
"Maybe Jenner Was Right," in The Ultimate Walking Dead and Philosophy, ed. Wayne Yuen (Open Court, 2016).
"God, Heavenly Freedom, and Evil: A Further Response to Pawl and Timpe," Evangelical Philosophical Society website (September 2016).
"Won't Get Foiled Again: A Rejoinder to Jerry Walls," (with Greg Welty) Philosophia Christi 17:2 (2015).
"Pharaoh's Magicians Redivivus: A Response to Jerry Walls on Christian Compatibilism," (with Greg Welty) Philosophia Christi 17:1 (2015).
Jessey Gilley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Geography
Biography
Dr. Gilley earned his BA in Geography and Political Science at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia. While serving in the US Army, he was often amazed at the myriad ways folks from around the world viewed life and place. These experiences led him back to academia and Geography. He earned his MA in Geography from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio and completed his doctoral studies in Geography at the University of Kansas.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Gilley's academic and research interests are in cultural geography with a strong intersection between geographical imagination, place, and mobility. More specifically, his research looks at the ways our perceptions of places influence and challenge our views of modernity. His hobbies include cheering for his beloved Kansas Jayhawks (Rock Chalk Jayhawk) and anything related to Doctor Who.
Publications/Presentations (last five years)
Articles
"The Great Lakes-to-Florida Highway: A Politics of Road Space in 1920s West Virginia and Virginia" in Southeastern Geographer, Spring 2014.
Presentations
"G.K. Chesterton Celebrating the Route Interrupted" Popular Culture Association/American Cultural Association National Conference: Indianapolis, Indiana. March, 2018
"G.K. Chesterton: Reflections On Misunderstanding Foreign Places" Southeastern Division of the American Association of Geographers Annual Conference: Starkville, Mississippi. November, 2017
"Enlivening the Past by Exploring Struggles for Road Development" Annual Meeting of the Tennessee Council for the Social Studies, Franklin, Tennessee. March, 2016.
"A Bumpy Road to the Billion Dollar Coalfield: Mobile Senses of Place in West Virginia's Pocahontas Coalfield, 1920s to 1930s" Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers: Chicago, Illinois. April, 2015.
"The Great Lakes-to-Florida Highway: Imagining and Contesting Road Space in 1920s West Virginia and Virginia" Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers: Tampa, Florida. April, 2014.
Joanna Neilson, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean, School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Associate Professor of History
Biography
Dr. Neilson earned BA degrees in History and Dramatic Arts from Centre College, Danville, Kentucky. She earned an MA in History with a major field in Britain and a minor field in India from Florida State University. She completed a PhD in British History with minors in the Middle Ages, the Middle East, and India. She joined the faculty of LMU in 2005 and served as chair of the Department of Humanities and Fine Arts from 2009 to 2012 and History program director from 2013 to 2016. In 2016 she became chair of the newly created Department of Humanities in 2016.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Neilson's teaching interests include the world history survey, the two-course British History sequence, Modern Middle East and North Africa, Modern South Asia, and modern imperialism. She also teaches the History Program's HIST 300 Introduction to Historical Studies course that serves as an introduction to the discipline and the major at LMU.
Dr. Neilson's research interests include comparative world history, early modern joint-stock companies and British foreign policy, and secondary education preparation and methods.
In Fall 2017, Dr. Neilson headed a team from the School of Arts, Humanities, and Socials Sciences and the School of Education that won a Tennessee Higher Education Commission Improving Teacher Quality Grant for 2018. Their project, Investigating the World One Source at a Time, aims to help Tennessee high school social studies teachers prepare for the approaching new Tennessee state social studies standards.
Recent Publications / Work
Director. "Investigating the World One Source at a Time." THEC ITQ 2018 Grant.
Presenter. "A Comparative Constitutions Project." Southeast World History Association. October 2017.
Presenter / Facilitator. LMU Faculty / Staff Conference. August 2016 and 2017.
Reader. World History Advanced Placement Exam. 2016 - 2021.
Debra A. Salata, Ph.D.
History Program Director
Associate Professor of History
Biography
Dr. Debra A. Salata is an Associate Professor of History and History Program Director at Lincoln Memorial University. She received her M.A. degree from Northern Illinois University in Ancient and Medieval History and her Ph.D. in Medieval History with comparative areas in Ancient and Early Modern History from the University of Minnesota. Her area of specialization is late-medieval economic, legal, and social history of southern France and the Mediterranean area. She is serving as the President of the Fourteenth-Century Society from May 2016 to May 2018, having served as the Vice-President of that society from 2014 to 2016. She has also served as a member of an international coalition of consultants on a project entitled Monastic Mapping for the Rare Book and Special Collection Department, Western Michigan University from 2013 to 2015, and as a member of the Advisory Board of Medieval Manuscripts, for the Rare Book and Special Collection Department, Western Michigan University from 2009 to 2018. In addition to having presented more than a dozen conference papers, she co-authored a book with Dr. Kathryn L. Reyerson, entitled Medieval Notaries and Their Acts: The 1327-1328 Register of Jean Holanie, published by TEAMS, Documents of Practice Series, Medieval Institute Publications in 2004. Dr. Salata teaches the world history surveys, various upper-level courses in ancient and medieval history, and directed-study courses in Latin at Lincoln Memorial University.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Salata's research interests include late-medieval economic, legal, and social history of southern France and the Mediterranean area. She is also interested in Latin Paleography.
Publications/Presentations (last five years)
"Montpellier: A Mercantile Center in the Fourteenth Century." Presented at the 52nd International Congress on Medieval Studies. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 22-14, 2017.
"A Merchant's Experience in the Hundred Years' War: Economic Boom, Business as Usual, or Collateral Economic Casualty?" Presented at the 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 8-11, 2014.
"In Search of Guillelmus Basquese: the Evolution of a Medieval Historian" Presented to the Honors Program. Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, TN, November 5, 2013.
"Please, Sir, Can You Spare Some Francs? Merchant Credit and Social Relationships in Late Fourteenth-Century Montpellier." Presented at the 48th International Congress on Medieval Studies. Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 9-12, 2013.
Department of Social Sciences Faculty
Stephen M. Adkins, PhD, MPA, JD
Biography
Dr. Adkins is formally educated with a JD from Samford University's Cumberland School of Law, a Master of Public Administration from the University of Tennessee, and a PhD in Political Science from the University of Tennessee. He began teaching career at Lincoln Memorial University in 2016, serving as an Assistant Professor and Program Director for the LMU Master of Public Administration program. In 2017, he began serving as the Graduate Program Coordinator for the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. His hobbies include hosting an indie music radio show on WLMU 91.3 FM, attending concerts, and travel.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Adkins' academic and research interests are in the areas of state and local government, nonprofit organizations, and intergovernmental/cross-sector collaboration. He is currently working on projects regarding the use of social media by law enforcement agencies as a means of building trust with underserved and adverse communities.
Publications/Presentations (last five years)
Adkins, Stephen M. and Jessica L. Whitmill. 2017. "Nonprofit Collective Impact Initiatives: A Case Study of the Alliance for Better Nonprofits in East Tennessee." Presented at the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) 2018 Annual Conference. Denver, March 10, 2018.
Adkins, Stephen M. The Tasks of Elected Officials within the Policy Process of Interlocal Cooperation (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Trace: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange (2016-08-01T07:00:00Z)
E. Trey Asbury, PhD
Peer Reviewed Publications
Fullwood, C., Wesson, C., Chen-Wilson, J., Keep, M., Asbury, E.T., Wilsdon, L. (2020). If the Mask fits: Psychological Correlates with Online self-presentation Experimentation in adults. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 23 (11), 737-742.
Brauneisen, F., Asbury, E.T., Kelly, D., & Wolfe, J. (2019). Online boundary management: Preliminary Validation & Prediction of Cyberbullying. The Journal of Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences, 27, 27-32.
Fullwood, C., Chadwick, D., Keep, M., Attrill-Smith, A., Asbury, E.T., Kirwan, G (2019). Lurking towards empowerment: Explaining propensity to engage with online health support groups and its association with positive outcomes. Computers in Human Behavior, 90, 131-44.
Presentations
Asbury, E.T. (2022). GRE Crashcourse. Virtual symposium, Lincoln Memorial University.
Asbury, E.T. (2022). Social media platforms as a mechanisms of social support. Zoom-A-Palooza, Lincoln Memorial University.
Asbury, E.T., Bones, P., Fogg, N. (2020). Learning about learning preferences. Virtual presentation presented at Texas Woman’s University’s Teaching and Learning Symposium.
Asbury, E. T. & Elrod, D. (2020). Revisiting the barriers of the traditional indergraduate research experience: Engaging & sustaining historically underrepresented minority students. Talk presented at faculty-administrator network (FAN) session, National Conference for Undergraduate Research, Bozeman, Montana.
Weaver, K. & Asbury, E.T. (2020). Social media engagement: Perceptions of online and offline self. Poster presentation at National Conference for Undergraduate Research, Bozeman, Montana.
Asbury, E.T. (2020). Come on up for the rising: How tragedy spawns creativity. Talk presented at 1st Annual Southwest Society of Mind, Fort Davis, TX.
Macias, J., Perez, E., Sourial, M., Hart, C., Asbury, T. (April, 2019). Perception of self in online social networks. Poster presented at Annual Meeting of Southwestern Psychological Association, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Jacqueline Black, PhD 2018
Biography
Dr. Black has been an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at LMU since 2018. Dr. Black holds a PhD in Criminal Justice/Juvenile Justice from Nova Southeastern University, a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology from East Tennessee State University, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alabama.
Peer-reviewed publications
Black, J. A. (2018). A Meta-analysis and Systematic review comparing the effectiveness of incarceration with other sentencing outcomes on juvenile recidivism. Working on edits.
Under Editorial Review
Black, J. A. (2018). How to design a systematic review and meta-analysis in criminal justice and criminology: A methodologically sound solution to the International Journal of Social Research and Methodology.
Black, J. A. (2017). The Impact of Waivers on Juvenile Recidivism to the Justice Policy Journal
Exhibitions/Creative Works/Performances: Mental illness in juvenile justice, (2018). Poster presentation, Knoxville, TN Juvenile Court Conference,
Professional Presentations
Mental illness in juvenile justice, (2018). Poster presentation, Knoxville, TN Juvenile Court Conference.
Black, J. A. (Spring, 2018). Restorative Justice in the Community, Presented at Northeast State University.
Simon, L., & Black, J. A. (2004). Assessment of sex offender policies using police data: A therapeutic jurisprudence analysis. Presented at the Western Society of Criminology.
Lee Gilroy, Ph.D.
Psychology Program Director
Associate Professor of Psychology
Biography
Dr. Gilroy graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor's degree in psychology from Florida Atlantic University in Davie, Florida. During this time he also collaborated with faculty at the University of Miami, conducting research into mechanisms of visual perception. He then completed his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in psychology at the Boca Raton campus of Florida Atlantic University, concentrating on experimental, cognitive, and perceptual psychology, neuroscience, and computational neuroscience. Subsequently, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Here he completed additional research and training, working at the Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Following this, his career path led him into teaching, where he has held various appointments before settling at Lincoln Memorial University.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Gilroy's research interests concern human visual perception, with emphasis on motion perception. The human visual system is able to transform changes in patterns of light stimulating the retina into coherent perceptions of objects moving within our environment. Understanding this seemingly effortless process, which is critical for performing even the most basic of everyday tasks, provides important insights into the functioning of the visual system, and the brain in general. Hisprogram of research explores the principles under which the visual system operates to perceive motion and utilizes motion paradigms to investigate dynamical pattern formation, perception of 3D shape, cue combination, perceptual bistability, and conscious awareness. His main approach involves performing psychophysical experiments in concert with computational modeling to develop theoretical accounts of visual perception grounded in known neurophysiological mechanisms. Selected Representative
Publications
Gilroy, L. A., & Hock, H.S. (2009). Simultaneity and sequence in the perception of apparent motion. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 68, 505-514.
Hock, H.S., Schöner, G., & Gilroy, L. A. (2009). A counterchange mechanism for the perception of motion. Acta Psychologica, 132, 1-21.
MaryAnn Thrush, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of Social Sciences
Associate Professor, Criminal Justice
Biography
Dr. Thrush received her BA in Foreign Languages at Purdue University while working fulltime as a research associate for the Biology Department. She received her MSW in Clinical Social Work from the University of Oklahoma and PhD in Criminal Justice and Criminology from the University of Florida. While these are diverse fields of study, they have all been useful in her criminal justice/criminology interests. The research at Purdue provided a foundation for BioSocial Criminology studies, (a current advancement in theoretical research into the reasons people commit crime). Scholars are finding that there are genes that code for behavior shaped by different types of environment. Dr. Thrush's second interest while studying for her PhD was BioSocial Criminology. As a clinical social worker in private practice, she was well prepared to work in the California prison system. She supervised social workers who went into the state prisons in order to interview mentally ill inmates. This very successful program served as a bridge between prison and parole. Dr. Thrush has two sons, one who lives on a boat near Key West Florida and the other lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with his wife and two daughters. Currently, Dr. Thrush lives with her two dogs, Max (a hairless Chinese Crested) and Sam, (a multicolor poodle).
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Thrush's research interests include policing and social media, Restorative Justice, and the role of emotions in Criminal Justice and Criminology.
Publications/Presentations (last 5 years)
Presentations:
Understanding anger's relationship to deviance: Three Perspectives. American Society of Criminology, Chicago, Illinois.
Neighborhoods, genes, and antisocial behavior: Exploring three models. American Society of Criminology, Washington D.C.
Teaching Provocative Topics in Criminal Justice and Criminology, American Society of Criminology, New Orleans, Louisiana
The Role of Social Workers within the Criminal Justice System, American Society of Criminology, New Orleans, Louisiana
Interrogations and Confessions. American Society of Criminology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dept. of Literature and Language Faculty
Mahdia Ben-Salem, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Foreign Language
Biography
Dr. Ben-Salem received her Bachelor, and Master's degree in Modern Foreign Languages and Translations in French, English, Italian and Spanish from the University of Nice, France. She taught foreign languages in Europe and was invited as a visiting professor at the now King University in TN. She then, earned her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. After teaching in Europe again, South Carolina, Texas and Knoxville, Dr. Ben-Salem-Churchwell made her permanent home at Lincoln Memorial University.
Research Interests
Dr. Ben-Salem various research interests include: poetry and prose in 16 Century France, and Spain focusing on Identity Crisis and Women's Studies and Student Retention. She delves into the issues of love, rape, feminine voices and spaces and the cultural identity of Spain after the reign of Isabella 1 of Castile. Dr. Ben-Salem-Churchwell has 2 human children and 3 furry ones. Her passion are teaching and helping out Hispanics and international people. Her hobbies include gardening, cooking, antiquing and reading when not dancing on Latino beats.
Presentations (last five years)
Workshops and Presentations on: Spanish for healthcare professionals, Spanish for Business, Cultural Competencies, Multiculturalism and Mentoring her students or international students.
Rebecca Brackmann, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Biography
Rebecca Brackmann received her B.A. in English from Illinois Wesleyan University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; she has been teaching English at LMU since 2006. She is the author of The Elizabethan Invention of Anglo-Saxon England as well as numerous articles on topics ranging from Old English poetry to the works of J.R.R Tolkien to the use of Twitter in the Chaucer classroom. Her current book project examines the cultural work done by studies of early medieval England in the English Civil Wars and Interregnum (1640-1660).
Research Interests
Her field of study is medieval and early modern English literature; her research focuses on the post-medieval conception of the early Middle Ages. When she is not reading early British texts, Dr. Brackmann spends her time binge-reading mystery novels, watching Dr. Who while exercising, engaging in geeky cross-stitch projects (her current work-in-progress will show all the monarchs of England since 1066), and most of all spending time with her family and pets.
Presentations and Publications (last five years)
Articles and Essays:
"The Love-Sick Lawgiver: Depictions of King Cnut in Early Modern England" in Languages of the Law in Early Medieval England: Essays in Honor of Lisi Oliver. Ed. Andrew Rabin and Stefan Jurasinski. Forthcoming, Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies.
"And sits Arch-bishop still": St. Anselm in Henry Vaughan's Mount of Olives." Kentucky Philological Association. Kentucky Philological Review 30 (2016).
Conference Papers:
"Sir Roger Twysden's Editio Princeps of the Leges Henrici Primi." International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, MI, 2017.
"The Saxons live againe": Royalism and William Somner's Old English Dictionarium." International Congress on Medieval Studies. Kalamazoo, MI, 2018.
Grant Review Panels:
Tennessee Arts Commission Literary Arts Grants Review Board, 2017-2018
Professional Organizational Leadership:
Kentucky Philological Association, Executive Director 2014-2018
Editorial Board for Kentucky Philological Review 2010-2011; 2014-2018
Thomas Bragg, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Biography
Dr. Thomas Bragg has been an Assitant Professor of English at LMU since 2018. Dr. Bragg holds a PhD in English from the University of Florida, a Master of Arts in English from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of North Florida.
Presentations and Publications (last five years)
Books
Space and Narrative in the Nineteenth-century British Historical Novel. Book published by Routledge, 2016
Book Chapters
"History's Drama: Narrative Space in 'Golden Age' British Television Drama," Peer-reviewed book chapter, in Upstairs and Downstairs. Eds. Julie Taddeo and James Leggott. Scarecrow, 2014
Peer-reviewed publications
"The Great War Poets and the Campaign for Empathy." Peer-reviewed article, co-written with Sandra Weems. Emotions: History, Culture, Society, January 2019
"G. P. R. James." Peer-reviewed article, in The Encyclopedia of Victorian Literature. Eds. Felluga, Gilbert, and Hughes. Blackwell, 2015
"Frederick Marryat." Peer-reviewed article, in The Encyclopedia of Victorian Literature. Eds. Felluga, Gilbert, and Hughes. Blackwell, 2015
"Simms on the Syllabus." Peer-reviewed forum article, Simms Review Fall/Winter 2015
Professional Presentations
"'What's For Dinner?" A Multidisciplinary, Transnational Survey of Food and Culture." Presented at Humanities Education and Research Association conference, Chicago, IL, March 2018
"Opera and the Historical." Presented at Modern Language Association conference, Philadelphia, PA, 2017
"The Lasting Influence of Walter Scott on the South." Presented for Low Country Humanities
Symposium, Walterboro/Allendale, SC, November 2016
"Those Naturally Ordained: Space and Patrician Interests in the Novels of W. G. Simms." Presented at
South Carolina Historical Association conference, Walterboro, SC, March 21, 2015
"Fetishes." Performance and public discussion for Medical Readers' Theater, MUSC Event, Charleston, SC, November 5, 2014
"The Victorians: Who They Were." Presented for the Colleton County Historical and Preservation Society, Walterboro, SC, October 2014
"Duel of the Heart: The Historical Novel in Context." Presented for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Hampton, SC, November 20, 2013
"Hep Cats: Swing Music and Business Metaphor." Presented at the Association for Business
Communication conference, New Orleans, LA, October 2013
Other publications
"The Butchering Art." Book review, at Dosis, October 2017
"When Breath Becomes Air." Book review, at Medhumdailydose.com, March 2017
"One Experience." Non-refereed article, Faculty Forum (USC Salkehatchie Newsletter), Fall 2015.
Jacques Debrot, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of English
Biography
Dr. Debrot graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in English from the City College of the City University of New York. He received an AM and a PhD in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard University where he was a Harvard Prize fellow. Before arriving at LMU, he taught literature classes at Harvard University and the Rhode Island School of Design. He has been nominated twice for a Pushcart Prize, was a finalist for the Queen's Ferry Press' The Best Small Fictions selection, and included on the Wigleaf Top 50 Short Fictions Longlist in 2016. Among other prizes, he has won the Tusculum Review Short Story Competition and the Thorn Prize for Short Fiction. In 2015, he was a recipient of the Lincoln Award for Outstanding Scholarship and Professional Achievement and in 2016 was selected to give the Commencement Address at the Lincoln Memorial University Fall Commencement Ceremony. Dr. Debrot enjoys the outdoors; he is an avid trail runner, backpacker and kayaker.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Debrot has taught classes in modern and contemporary American and English fiction and poetry, the graphic novel, Shakespeare, critical theory, and creative writing. He is a widely published poet and fiction writer.
Publications/Presentations (last five years)
Books:
Pulp Fiction: Selected Stories. Deadly Press, New York (2012).
Anthologized in Book
Nothing Short of: Selected Tales from 100 Word Stories. San Francisco, CA: Outpost 19
Books (April, 2018).
Fiction in Magazines:
"Nirvana," RipRap Literary Journal (forthcoming 2018).
"Hell," Makeout Creek (forthcoming 2018).
"William Burroughs: Unabomber," The Knicknackery (2016).
"A Brief History of the Minor Modernists" decomP magazinE (2015).
"The Missionary," CHEAP POP (2015).
"Me," The Newer York Press (2014).
"Burning Torch," Gone Lawn (2014).
"The Aquarist," Hobart (2014).
"I Am Jerzy Kosinski," The Collagist (2014).
"Kyoto," 100 Word Fiction (2013).
"Pig," 101 Fiction (2013).
Sandra G. Weems, Ph.D.
Director, Honors Program
Associate Professor of English
Biography
Sandra Weems holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Florida, with an interdisciplinary concentration in medical humanities. Working with both the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Medicine at UF, her doctoral project, The Poetics of Healing, examined representations of illness in British literature and the therapeutic uses of poetry and narrative in clinical settings today. Dr. Weems also earned her M.A. and B.A. degrees in English from UF, where she taught writing and literature classes as a graduate assistant and adjunct lecturer. Before moving to Gainesville, she had a long corporate career in sales and marketing and pharmaceutical research. During those years she was a first-generation college student working her way towards an Associate's degree, part-time, in night classes at St. Petersburg College. She had the privilege of studying British literature at Cambridge University on scholarship and completed a few freshman classes at the University of New Orleans in her beloved hometown. Today, she is an Assistant Professor of English in the Department of Literature and Language at Lincoln Memorial University. Her teaching expertise is in British Literature, medical humanities, expository/argumentative writing, writing across the disciplines, and business writing.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Weems's current research interests include interdisciplinary pursuits such as traumatology and literature, biomedical ethics, poetry therapy, and the clinical uses of reflective writing. She has several projects underway in the broader field of medical humanities, including a monograph about the humanities in inter-professional education that she is coauthoring with Paulette Hahn, M.D.
Publications/Presentations (last five years)
Peer Reviewed Articles and Book Reviews:
"Great War Poets and the Campaign for Empathy." Emotions: History, Culture, Society. Australian Research Council Centre for Excellence. Coauthored with Dr. Tom Bragg. Forthcoming article.
Cruising the Library by Melissa Adler. Book review forthcoming for Dósis: medical humanities + social justice.
Re-membering: Putting Mind and Body Back Together Following Traumatic Brain Injury by Ann Millet-Gallant. Book review published by Med-Hum|Daily, July 2017. https://medhumdosis.com/2017/07/12/book-review-re-membering/
Narrative Medicine: Bridging the Gap between Evidence-Based Care and Medical Humanities by Maria Giulia Marini. (Book review, May 2016) Coauthored with Paulette C. Hahn, MD. Centre for Medical Humanities, Durham University. http://centreformedicalhumanities.org/narrative-medicine-bridging-gap-evidence-based-care-medical-humanities-reviewed/
The Germ of an Idea: Contagionism, Religion, and Society in Britain, 1660-1730. (Book review, June 2016) MedHum | Daily Dose.
"'A Question of Trust': Medical Humanities Can Help Ease the Pain." (Special series blog contribution, March 2015) Centre for Medical Humanities, Durham University. http://centreformedicalhumanities.org/a-question-of-trust-medical-humanities-can-help-ease-the-pain-by-sandra-g-weems/
Professional Presentations
"Caregiver Narratives: Negotiating Boundaries, Public and Private." Session Organizer and Presider. 2017 MLA Annual Convention, Philadelphia, PA.
"Voicing Trauma: Time and Memory in John Bunyan's Grace Abounding." Paper to be presented July 2016 at Voicing Dissent in the Long Reformation Conference, International John Bunyan Society, Aix-en-Provence, France.
"Somatic and Psychological Narratives of Rheumatoid Arthritis." 14 December 2015 presentation for 2nd-year musculoskeletal module. UF College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL.
"'Relieve the Press of Ideas and Rest Me': Reflective Writing and The Yellow Wallpaper." 6 July 2015 presentation for the National Library of Medicine's "Literature of Prescription." Gainesville, FL. http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/literature_of_prescription
"Reflective Writing for PTSD: Coping and Community." February 2014 presentation for Narrative Bridge Conference, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
"Prison Time: John Bunyan and the Temporal Limits of Grace." February 2014 paper presented for the Institute for the Psychological Study of the Arts (IPSA) Symposium, Gainesville, FL.
Campus Presentations
Guest lecturer. "'Healthcaring': Story Matters." Gold Humanism Honor Society Luncheon.
(DCOM). February 15, 2018.
Symposium. "Publishing the Peer-Reviewed Article." Research and Scholarship Committee
(AHSS). October 31, 2017.
Guest lecturer. "Dine with a Mind," Dean of Students. Topic of medical humanities. April 3,
Guest talk. "Narrative Medicine: The Relationship between Story and Healing." Honors
Students' Association. February 14, 2017.
Department of Social Work Faculty
Ann-Marie C. Buchanan, Ph.D.
Chair and Program Director, Department of Social Work
Associate Professor of Social Work
Biography
Ann-Marie C. Buchanan is an assistant professor of Social Work at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, TN, teaching undergraduate students. She has been the Faculty Senate President at LMU since Fall 2016. This position affords her the opportunity to work closely with faculty representatives throughout the University, as well as being the voice of the faculty while serving on the President's Cabinet. She has a BSW (Oakwood College, now University, Huntsville, AL), MSW (University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL) & Ph.D. in Human Services, with an emphasis on Management of Non-Profit Agencies (Capella University). Dr. Buchanan has taught social work in a full time capacity at Andrews University (Berrien Springs, MI), Mississippi Valley State University (Itta Bena, MS), and now LMU. She has taught undergraduate and graduate classes. She also volunteers for a hospice organization, facilitating their Grief Share support group. She holds a Licensed Graduate Social Work (LGSW) license in AL, where she was a member of the Board of Social Work Examiners (2002-2004). She is also a member of the TN Social Work Board of Licensure. Dr. Buchanan has been privileged to attend several Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) meetings since 2015; she has learned so much about regulations, mobility and licensure. This knowledge allows her to help other faculty, Board members and practitioners with information to assist students, clients and the community. Dr. Buchanan has been blessed with opportunities in her social work career and wants to help those in need.
Research Interests
Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Social Welfare History, Human Diversity and Social Justice and Introduction to Social Work. Dr. Buchanan enjoys teaching because she learns a great deal from her students.
Kristy Lee, MSW
Biography
Ms. Lee has been an Assistant Professor of Social Work and Field Coordinator at LMU since 2018. She holds a Master of Social Work from East Tennessee State University and a Bachelor of Science in Social Work from Lincoln Memorial University. She currently a Doctoral Student at Walden University
Professional Presentations
March 21, 2018 - Presented at Mountain Empire Older Citizens, Inc. Annual Staff Training: Topic- Agitation & Dementia- using Seclusion and Restraints
March 24, 2018 - Presented at Mountain Empire Community College- Topic- Depression, Anxiety and Suicide
Kay C. Paris, Ph.D.
Professor of Social Work
Biography
Dr. Paris earned the PhD and MSSW from the University of Tennessee. She is a member of the national Academy of Certified Social Workers and is a Tennessee Licensed Advance Practice Social Worker. She also earned master's degrees in library science and adult education from the University of Tennessee and the baccalaureate degree in anthropology from the University of Georgia. Dr. Paris has worked as a librarian, a records manager, a quality assurance auditor, and an outpatient mental health therapist. She joined the faculty of Lincoln Memorial University in 1987 and focused on the development of the Social Work Program and its initial Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accreditation and two reaffirmation cycles. She serves as the Chair of the Department of Social Work and Chair of the LMU Institutional Review Board. She serves as a CSWE site visitor for small social work programs.
Academic and Research Interests
Dr. Paris' academic and research interests include domestic violence, child and elder abuse, social work pedagogy, rural social work practice issues, interprofessional collaboration, research mentoring, quality assurance, and accreditation. A current research project involves the role of mentor for student researchers.
Publications/Presentations (last five years)
36th Annual Meeting of the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, March 1-5, 2017, New Orleans, LA-presentation on "Team Teaching, Millennial Students, and Small Programs: A Natural Fit?"
35th Annual Meeting of the Association for Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, March 30 - April 3, 2016, Dallas, TX,-presentation on "Mentoring Student Researchers Through the IRB Process"
39th Annual National Institute for Social Work and Human Services in Rural Areas, July 16-18, 2014, Silver City, NM-presentation on "Experiencing Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Protecting Vulnerable People Through Institutional Review Board (IRB) Membership."
39th Annual National Institute for Social Work and Human Services in Rural Areas, July 16-18, 2014, Silver City, NM-presentation on "What You See Is What You Have: Windshield Surveys and Community Assessment" with Ms. Rebecca Patterson (with the collaboration of Ms. Jennifer Smith, KCEOC, Barbourville, KY.
30th Annual Meeting of the Association for Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors, March 6-10, 2013, Myrtle Beach, SC,--presentation on "Learning Styles and Integrating Technology Tools in Undergraduate Field Education" with Ms. Rebecca Patterson.
