Expert guide

The following faculty and staff are available to talk with reporters who may be working on stories related to their area of expertise. Feel free to contact them directly using the details provided. If you do not see a resource here to fit your need, please contact the University Relations Office at 706.864.1950 or via e-mail at universityrelations@northgeorgia.edu for further assistance.

Keith Antonia

Expertise: cadet admissions, National Leadership Challenge Weekend
Position: Director of cadet admissions
Department: Office of Cadet Admissions
Phone: 706.867.2918
E-mail: kantonia@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Bachelor's degree in business administration, master's degree in national security and strategic studies
Notes: Antonia, a retired Army officer, leads the university's cadet admissions office and coordinates the National Leadership Challenge Weekend program.

Dlynn Armstrong-Williams

Expertise: East Asian politics, international security, terrorism, international education (study abroad programs).
Position: Director of the Center for Global Engagement at North Georgia College & State University
Department: Department of Political Science & Criminal Justice (School of Arts & Letters)
Phone: 706.864.1869
E-mail: dfarmstrong@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D. in political science from Miami University
Notes: As director of the university's Center for Global Engagement, Armstrong-Williams facilitates study abroad programs, international students services and efforts to internationalize the curriculum. She is chair of the University System of Georgia Study Abroad Committee and vice chair of the University System of Georgia European Council.

Toni O. Barnett

Expertise: healthcare, nursing education
Position: Department head and professor
Department: Department of Nursing (School of Science & Health Professions)
Phone: 706.864.1934
E-mail: tbarnett@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: PhD in nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), board certified, Certified Nurse Educator (CNE)
Notes: Barnett has been a nurse since 1980 and an Advanced Practice RN since 1987. As a nurse educator she has worked to educate Family Nurse Practitioners to increase the number of primary care providers in rural areas. As department head, strives to increase the number of students in the undergraduate programs to, in turn, increase the number of new RNs in Georgia. With a priority on improving healthcare in rural areas, particularly in the mountainous towns and communities of northern Georgia, Barnett also works as a Family Nurse Practitioner in the Appalachian Nurse Practitioner Clinic at North Georgia. The clinic is operated by the nursing faculty to provide care for uninsured individuals and families in seven rural counties. Barnett has served on the Georgia Board of Nursing Member and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) as an evaluation review panel member and accreditation visitor. She has been honored as Outstanding Nurse Educator (2006) and Georgia Outstanding Nurse Practitioner (2005).

Tanya Bennett

Expertise: American Literature, 20th century
Position: Associate professor and department head
Department: Department of English (School of Arts & Letters)
Phone: 706.864.1775
E-mail: tbennett@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Master's degree in English, Ph.D. in English
Notes: Bennett teaches and conducts scholarship in the area of 20th century American literature with areas of focus on Southern literature, gender studies and multicultural literature. She has published scholarly articles on Lee Smith, Ana Castillo, Lorraine Lopez, and Nella Larsen and currently has a book in progress on the fiction of Lee Smith.

Franziska Bieri

Expertise: globalization, international nongovernmental organizations, corporate social responsibility
Position: Assistant professor
Department: Department of Psychology & Sociology (School of Arts & Letters)
Phone: 706.864.1444
E-mail: fbieri@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D. in sociology, Emory University (2008)
Notes: In addition to teaching, Bieri is currently working on a book ("From Blood Diamonds to the Kimberley Process") based on her dissertation research on the campaign against conflict diamonds and the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, a multilateral agreement that regulates the global diamond trade. Her findings show how collaborations between governments, nongovernmental organizations, and industry can lead to innovative solutions to major international social problems. In addition to the book manuscript, she is conducting two research projects to build on this case study - "Trading Diamonds Responsibly: Institutional Explanations for Corporate Social Responsibility" (with John Boli) and "Campaigning Against Conflict Diamonds - Negotiating in the Kimberley Process: A Life-Course Approach to International Movements." Bieri co-authored "Globalization" in Handbook of Social Problems (2003), George Ritzer, ed., and "International Nongovernmental Organizations' Strategies and Frames in the Campaign against Conflict Diamonds", Journal of Ethics in Leadership (2006)

Michelle Byrne

Expertise: nursing education, perioperative nursing, qualitative research, patient safety, continuing competence in nursing, feminist pedagogy
Position: Professor, program coordinator for MS in Nursing Education
Department: Nursing department (School of Science and Health Professions)
Phone: 404.281.6449
E-mail: mmbyrne@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: PhD, Certified Nurse Operating Room (CNOR)
Notes: A long time nursing educator, Byrnes enacts innovative teaching in classroom and clinical settings for optimal student engagement. Her clinical background includes board certification in perioperative (pre-intra-post op surgical) nursing, and her research skills include experience in survey and qualitative research. She was the national president of the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI) (2009-2010) and has authored numerous articles regarding healthcarecontinueing competency, portfolios, and nursing education for professional journals and textbooks. Byrne has received numerous professional awards, including the Academic Teaching Award (2006) from the Georgia Association for Nursing Education and the National Academic Perioperative Educator Award (2003) from the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses.

Carl D. Cavalli

Expertise: American government, elections
Position: Associate professor of political science
Department: Department of Political Science & Criminal Justice (School of Arts & Letters)
Phone: 706.864.1872
E-mail: ccavalli@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Bachelor's degree in political science and psychology, SUNY Oneonta (1981); master's degree in political science, UNC-Chapel Hill (1986); PhD in political science, UNC-Chapel Hill (1999)
Notes: Cavalli worked on the 1986 campaign for Rep. David Price (D-NC), has worked with Lumpkin County Elections Registrar to register students on campus, and has worked with Lumpkin County Democratic Party to promote activity on campus. His academic work focuses on the presidency, Congress, presidential and congressional relations and elections, and political parties.

Cavalli is a member of the American Political Science Association, American Academy of Political Science, Southern Political Science Association, Georgia Political Science Association, as well as the Pi Gamma Mu and Pi Sigma Alpha social science and political science honor societies. He is the faculty advisor for the university's Political Science Student Association and the College Democrats.

Cavalli's publications include, Presidential Legislative Activity: Using Quantifiable Measures to Explore Leadership in the American System, a book he published in 2006, and Quantitative Biography: A "Cliometric" Approach to Presidential Studies, an article that appeared in the June 2000 edition of Southeastern Political Review. A copy of the article is in the library of the Executive Office of the President of the United States in fulfillment of a specific request for information regarding Cavalli's work on presidential behavior. He helped create the Georgia eCore American Government (POLS 1101) online course and the Georgia G.L.O.B.E. American Government (POLS 1101) video course.

Jennifer Chadwick

Expertise: undergraduate admissions, new student enrollment, student recruitment
Position: Director of undergraduate admissions
Department: Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Phone: 706.867.2886
E-mail: jchadwick@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Bachelor's degree in education (1996); master's degree in public administration (2001)
Notes: Chadwick has worked in the admissions field for eight years. She is a member of many admissions-related associations, including NACAC, GACRAO, SACRAO and AACRAO.

Donna Gessell

Expertise: regional engagement, service learning, external programs, 18th century British literature
Position: Executive director; English professor
Department: Office for Regional Engagement
Phone: 706.864.1528
E-mail: dgessell@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: PhD, 18th century British literature - Case Western Reserve University; master's degree with concentrations in composition studies and linguistics - Case Western Reserve University; bachelor's degrees in secondary English education and comparative literature - The Ohio State University.
Notes: A North Georgia faculty member since 1995, Gessell is involved in extending academic outreach into the region through directing off-campus programs and service-learning. Additionally, she served as director of graduate studies and external programs for five years and as CEO of the Faculty Senate from 1998 to 2000. She is chair of the University System of Georgia's Administrative Committee on Graduate Studies and has authored and co-authored numerous scholarly articles about experiential learning, writing, the value of a liberal arts education, and college student success strategies. Additionally, Gessell's essay, "Living by the Book," Peace Corps: The Great Adventure, Washington: Peace Corps, was first published in 1997 and reprinted in 1999. She has been honored as the northgeorgia Distinguished Professor of Teaching and Learning (January 2001-May 2002) and with the northgeorgia Alumni Distinguished Professor Award (2004).

Christopher Jespersen

Expertise: U.S. foreign policy, diplomacy, international affairs
Position: Dean of School of Arts & Letters; history professor
Department: School of Arts & Letters
Phone: 706.864.1771
E-mail: tcjespersen@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D. - Rutgers University
Notes: Jespersen has logged more than 20 years in academia as a researcher, author and teacher. He has served on various editorial boards of internationally recognized journals in the field of U.S. diplomacy and is currently a member of the editorial board for Diplomatic History. He authored American Images of China, 1931-1949. Jespersen also received a Meritorious Service award from the United Negro College Fund.

Rosann Kent

Expertise: storytelling, Appalachia, veteran's stories, microlending and entrepreneurship
Position: Assistant director
Department: Appalachian Studies Center
Phone: 706.864.1540
E-mail: rkent@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: M.A., reading with an emphasis in storytelling, East Tennessee State University (2006)
Notes: As assistant director of Appalachian Studies Center, Kent manages the center's projects and daily operations of the Vickery House, where the ASC is located. She is a founding member of the center's advisory board. Currently, she is writing and producing several vignettes based on growing up in the South. In 2005, Kent co-designed and taught the first university-level class in business for storytellers, "From Storytelling to Story-selling," at East Tennessee State University.

Ron Martz

Expertise: Media, journalism, military-media relations, military affairs
Position: Journalism instructor
Department: Department of English (School of Arts & Letters)
Phone: 706.864.1468 (ofc) or 770.315.5156 (cell)
E-mail: rlmartz@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Bachelor's degree in mass communications from University of South Florida (1979); master's degree candidate in military history, Austin Peay State University
Notes: Martz spent 39 years in the newspaper business as a reporter and an editor, much of it covering military affairs, including seven wars or regional conflicts. He is currently teaching writing for the media and assisting students in publishing the first on-line newspaper in school history, The Saint (www.northgeorgiathesaint.com). He is serving his second term as president of Military Reporters & Editors. Martz has co-authored three books on military history and two on current affairs, the latest, "Survival" written with retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore (the Hurricane Katrina general), is to be published in June by Atria Books. He has also written occasionally for Atlanta magazine on military issues and Editor & Publisher on media issues. Martz's newspaper stories on the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003 were nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in two categories.

Timothy May

Expertise: history - Middle East, Central Eurasia, Afghanistan
Position: Associate professor of Middle Eastern and Central Eurasian history
Department: Department of History & Philosophy (School of Arts & Letters)
Phone: 706.864.1913
E-mail: tmmay@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D., history - Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison; M.A., central Eurasian studies - Indiana University; B.A., history and anthropology - The College of William and Mary
Notes: May teaches and researches history of the Middle East and Central Asia. His focus is on the Mongol Empire and its influence in world history. He has authored The Customs and Culture of Mongolia, The Mongol Art of War, "The Relationship between Sufis and Inner Asian Ruling Elites," and "The Mongol Empire in World History." He has been honored with The Honoured Medal for the 800th Anniversary of the Great Mongolian State, presented by the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (2006) and the Department of Athletics Outstanding Professor Award (2007-2008).

Richard Neikirk

Expertise: cadet life, leadership training
Position: Assistant commandant of cadets
Department: Office of the Commandant (Student Affairs/Corps of Cadets)
Phone: 706.864.1792
E-mail: raneikirk@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Neikirk retired from the U.S. Army
Notes: Maj. Richard Neikirk, as assistant commandant of cadets, oversees cadet life, activities and training outside of academic classes.

Bob Orwig

Expertise: economy, military, manufacturing
Position: Associate professor of management
Department: Mike Cottrell School of Business
Phone: 706.867.4869
E-mail: raorwig@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D in operations management; MBA - Mississippi State University; certified fellow in production and inventory management (CFPIM)
Notes: Orwig teaches and researches in the area of operations management. He has authored more than 20 journal articles about various aspects of management, and his work has been published in Services Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research, Journal of Internet Commerce, Marketing Management Journal, NONPROFIT World, and Journal of Computer Information Systems, among others.

Bryson R. Payne

Expertise: IT, computers, networks
Position: Chief information officer
Department: Information & Instructional Technology
Phone: 706.864.1915
E-mail: bpayne@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D. in computer science - Georgia State University; master's degree in education and bachelor's in mathematics - North Georgia College & State University
Notes: Payne has 10 years of experience teaching computer science at the university level, 20 years of experience in computer programming, and five years as a university administrator. Payne serves on the University System of Georgia Board of Regents' Administrative Committee on Information Technology and has authored and contributed to publications on digital image and video processing.

Michael Pyott

Expertise: military matters, U.S. Army
Position: Professor of military science
Department: ROTC (School of Arts & Letters)
Phone: 706.864.1781
E-mail: mpyott@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Bachelor's degree - North Georgia College & State University; master's in military arts - Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS
Notes: Col. Pyott has served in US Army for 20 years and is currently the Professor of Military Science (PMS) at North Georgia. This is an active-duty assignment. He has served in positions from platoon leader to squadron commander within aviation units and has had three combat deployments - Operation Desert Shield/Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has also served in the Pentagon on the Joint Staff working with the White House and Congress.

Pyott's military awards include the Bronze Star with two Oak Leaf clusters, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with "V" Device, Air Medal with Numeral Five, Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award and Meritorious Unit Citation. He is a Master Army Aviator, a Senior Parachutist, and has been awarded the Air Assault and the Combat Action Badges.

Pamela Sachant

Expertise: art history, visual arts
Position: Coordinator of the visual arts department; assistant professor of art history; director of the Bob Owens Art Gallery
Department: Department of Visual Arts (School of Arts & Letters)
Phone: 706.864.1512
E-mail: psachant@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D., art history - University of Delaware
Notes: Sachant's areas of research include American art, contemporary self-taught and folk art, Appalachian art, and photography. She is also the director and curator of the Bob Owens Art Gallery at North Georgia.

Alice Sampson

Expertise: Appalachian Georgia, middle grades education, service learning
Position: Director of the Appalachian Studies Center and associate professor of middle grades education
Department: Appalachian Studies Center, School of Education
Phone: 706.864.1540
E-mail: avsampson@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: BSEd., MEd. and Ph.D. in middle grades - University of Georgia
Notes: Sampson is the founding director of the state's Appalachian Studies Center at North Georgia College & State University, which provides leadership and resources to Georgia's Appalachian community through service, preservation, education, and awareness programs. She is 2008-2009 Vice President/President-elect of the Appalachian Studies Association and is the public relations officer for the North Georgia chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. Sampson's work includes several publications focused on community research and service learning. She has been honored with northgeorgia Campus Leadership Development Excellence in Teaching Award (2005), Dissertation of the Year, American Education Research Association, Rural Education (2001); D. Keith Osborne Outstanding Graduate Student Award (1999); finalist for Georgia Teacher of the Year (1996).

John Yeoman

Expertise: Finance, investments
Position: Associate professor of finance
Department: Mike Cottrell School of Business
Phone: 706.864.1680
E-mail: jyeoman@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D. in finance - University of Georgia; MBA in finance - Harvard Business School; Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA); Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
Notes: Yeoman, an investment banker and investment manager, has taught finance at North Georgia for 15 years.

Denise Young

Expertise: higher education accreditation, trends and issues, planning, research methodology
Position: Executive director of institutional effectiveness
Department: Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Phone: 706.867.3281
E-mail: dyoung@northgeorgia.eduCredentials: Ph.D., higher education/educational research - University of North Texas (2003); M.S., animal science/applied statistics - North Carolina State University (1984); B.S., animal science - University of Nevada (1982); B.S., mathematics - University of Nevada (1981)
Notes: Young is responsible for university-wide accreditation, assessment, institutional research, and strategic planning. Much of her work relates to accountability and awareness of trends and issues in higher education. Young is a member of the Association for Institutional Research, the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the Society for College and University Planning, and the Georgia Association for Institutional Research, Planning, Assessment, and Quality, among others. She has authored several articles and presented at numerous professional conferences about the integration of learning outcomes throughout the curriculum and measuring institutional effectiveness.