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Faculty/Staff

Katie Strickland

Records Management Specialist

Gary Strysick

Strysick, Gary

Academic Services Specialist

Brieanna Summerall

Student Accounts Coordinator

Dr. Kimberly Takagi

Kimberly Takagi

Assistant Professor of Environmental Science

Education
Ph.D. Marine and Environmental Science, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
M.Sc. Chemistry, Biology, and Marine Science, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
M.A. Teaching, University of Piedmont, Demorest, GA
B.Sc. Integrative Biology, Chapman University, Orange, CA

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
My teaching is focused on High Impact Practices that allow students to become the drivers of their own learning. I use experiential learning, service-learning, and writing intensive approaches to allow my students to not just learn, but “do” science and think scientifically. My research interests are centered around marine ecology, marine coastal biogeochemistry, and aquatic ecology. I have recently presented work on the use of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) in the instruction and training of Scientific Divers.

Dr. Dantera Tangpisuthipongsa

Dantera Tangpisuthipongsa

Associate Professor of Biology

Education
M.D. in Medicine, Augusta University-Medical College of Georgia
B.S. in Neuroscience, Emory University

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Teaching Interests: Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II, Pathophysiology, and Immunology; mentoring students pursuing careers in healthcare: medicine, veterinary, pharmacy, dental, PA, optometry, etc.

Research Interests: Developing and evaluating innovative instructional approaches to improve student success in A&P courses.

Brian Tankersley

Event & Materials Assistant

Latoya Tate

Latoya Tate
Custodian

Gregory Taylor

Associate Professor of History

Education
Ph.D. in Modern American History, University of Mississippi
M.A. in Modern European History, University of Alabama
B.A. in History, Clemson University

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Teaching Interests: American History, World History

Publications:

Central Prison: North Carolina’s State Penitentiary. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 2021. (Winner of the 2021 Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction, awarded by the North Carolina Literary and Historical Society.)

The North Carolina State Prison (with William G. Hinkle). Columbia, South Carolina: Arcadia Books, 2016.
James Larkin Pearson: A Biography of North Carolina’s Longest-Serving Poet Laureate. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books, 2015.

The Life and Lies of Paul Crouch: Communist, Opportunist, Cold War Snitch. Gainesville: The University Press of Florida, 2014. (Finalist for the 2014 Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction.)
The History of the North Carolina Communist Party. Columbia: The University of South Carolina Press, 2009.

Shamara Thomas

Shamara Thomas
Career and Academic Advisor

Hunter Thompson

Thompson, Hunter

Applications Integration Specialist

John Thompson

John Thompson, College of Coastal Georgia

Police Lieutenant

Larry D. Thompson

Executive in-Residence
School of Business and Public Management

Larry D. Thompson serves as Counsel to the Atlanta law firm of Finch McCranie, LLP. Mr. Thompson retired in December 2014 as Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for PepsiCo, Inc. Mr. Thompson assumed this position with PepsiCo in July 2012, with responsibility for the company’s worldwide legal function, as well as its government affairs and public policy organizations. He also oversaw the company’s global compliance function and served as President of the PepsiCo Foundation.

Mr. Thompson previously served as PepsiCo’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, General Counsel and Secretary from 2004 to 2011. He served as a Senior Fellow with The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., and his government career includes serving in the U.S. Department of Justice as the former U.S. Deputy Attorney General under George W. Bush (2001-2003). In 2002, Attorney General John Ashcroft named Mr. Thompson to lead the National Security Coordination Council. Also, in 2002, President Bush named Mr. Thompson to head the Corporate Fraud Task Force. Mr. Thompson led the establishment of the Department of Justice’s Attorney Outreach Program which resulted in the recruitment of attorneys from a wide range of ethnic, economic, geographic, and racial backgrounds.

Previously, Mr. Thompson was a partner in the Atlanta, Georgia law firm of King & Spalding. From 1982-1986, Mr. Thompson served as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia. In that role, he directed the Southern Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force and served on the Attorney General’s Economic Crime Council. In July 1995, Mr. Thompson was appointed Independent Counsel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development Investigation by the Special Panel of U.S. Circuit Court Judges appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court. In April 2000, Mr. Thompson was selected by Congress to chair the Judicial Review Commission on Foreign Asset Control. Mr. Thompson joined the Atlanta, Georgia law firm of Finch McCranie, LLP as Counsel in July 2015.

Committee of the Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company), and currently serves on the Board of Franklin Templeton Mutual Series Funds and the George W. Bush Foundation Board. He is an elected Fellow of the American Board of Governance Counsel, and the American Board of Criminal Lawyers and has served as a Trustee on the Chautauqua Institute Board since 2014. Mr. Thompson was elected to the Council of the American Law Institute and serves on the Georgia Historical Society Board of Curators. Mr. Thompson is an elected member of the American College of Governance Counsel. He is the recipient of the Edmund Jennings Randolph Award for outstanding contributions to the accomplishment of the Department of Justice’s mission, Outstanding Litigator Award by the Federal Bar Association, and the A.T. Walden Award for outstanding accomplishments to the legal profession by the Gate City Bar Association, Atlanta, Georgia. In 2017, Mr. Thompson was honored with the first-ever William T. Coleman, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award by the African-American Managing Partners Network. Mr. Thompson was elected as a Trustee to the University of Georgia Foundation in June 2016. Mr. Thompson has served on the University of Georgia School of Law’s faculty as the holder of the John A. Sibley Chair of Corporate and Business Law. In 2016, Mr. Thompson was named Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ethics Research Center (ERC), the research arm of the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI). In 2014, Ethisphere magazine recognized Mr. Thompson by noting that as “the outgoing General Counsel of one of the world’s most well-recognized corporations [Thompson] has set the bar high for GC’s everywhere. [His] background in both public and private sectors earned him the trust and respect of his peers worldwide as he demonstrated how ethics and integrity are essential components of business success.”

In 2017, Mr. Thompson was appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice as the Independent Corporate Compliance Monitor and Auditor for Volkswagen AG.

Larry holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Culver-Stockton College, a Master’s degree from Michigan State University and a Law degree from the University of Michigan, an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Pace University in New York, and an Honorary Doctorate from St. Louis University. Larry’s first book, Quiet Counsel, was released in November 2024.

Ray Thornton

Radiologic Science Clinical Instructional Asst.

Education
B.A. in General Studies, Auburn University at Montgomery
M.H.S. in Health Sciences/Education, Armstrong Atlantic State University

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
In the Radiologic Sciences discipline, my teaching preference concerns the sciences, e.g., rad physics, rad bio, rad safety. My experience includes rad procedures, intro to radiography, A&P, patient care, medical terminology. I followed the thesis tract, working towards my MHS degree. My thesis hypothesis: There is a significant difference in the level of health for retirees who choose to retire vs. retirees who do not choose to retire. I employed the Tennessee Self Concept Scale instrument, given to the retirees of the city of Montgomery, Alabama, to include: law enforcement, fire department, sanitation, and maintenance. (1989)

Michael Thrower

Michael Thrower
Skilled Trades Worker

Lori Tigani

Tigani, Lori

Lecturer of Chemistry

Education
Master of Arts in Teaching, Salisbury University, Salisbury, MD
Master of Science in Chemistry, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Committed to fostering scientific literacy and critical thinking through structured, engaging, and inquiry-based instruction. Skilled in curriculum development, laboratory management, and student-centered learning.

Dr. Melissa Trussell

Melissa Trussell

Associate Professor of Economics

Education
Ph.D. in Economics, Georgia State University
Master of Public Administration, Georgia State University
B.S. in Discrete Mathematics, Georgia Institute of Technology
Master’s Certificate in Data Analytics, Georgia College and State University

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Dr. Trussell studies the economic impacts of childhood trauma and ways to mitigate those impacts. As an associate of the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies, she produces scholarly op-eds for The Brunswick News on an assortment of topics of interest to readers.

Most recent peer-reviewed publication:

Trussell, M.R. & Farley, H. (2003). Economic impact of CarePortal donations in Glynn County, Georgia. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 18(5), 1074-1083. https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2023.2299490

Dr. Min-Cheng Tu

Dr. Tu, Min-cheng

Assistant Professor of Environmental Science

Education
Ph.D. in Water Management and Hydrological Science, Texas A&M University
M.S.L. in Studies Law, University of Pittsburgh
M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Purdue University

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Dr. Tu’s early research focused on stormwater management and computer simulations of surface water processes on the landscape. In recent years, his research and teaching interests switched to spatial science, including GIS (Geographic Information System), satellite remote sensing, and drone remote sensing. He loves science education and is a big fan of Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Publications between 2021-2026:

Ssewanyana, A.*, Tu, M.-c. (2026). Performance of Spectral Indices and Machine Learning Algorithms in Seasonal Classification of Urban Impervious Surfaces from Sentinel-2 Imagery: A Case Study of Taipei. Remote Sensing in Earth Systems Sciences. 9(1): 16. doi: 10.1007/s41976-025-00266-9

Chen, W.-j.*, Tu, M.-c. (2025). Automated Process for Analyzing 2D CAD Floor Plan Drawings and Generating FloorspaceJS-Compatible Space Objects for Building Energy Simulations. Building and Environment. 26: 105575. doi: 10.1016/j.rineng.2025.105575

He, L., Geng, X.-w., Huo, H.-y.*, Lian, Y., Xi, Q., Feng, W., Tu, M.-c., Leng, P. (2025). Simulation of Urban Thermal Environment Based on Urban Weather Generator: Narrative Review. Urban Science. 9: 275. doi: doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9070275

Liu, C.-c., Tu, M.-c.*, Lin, J.-y., Huo, H., Chen, W.-j. (2025). Environmental Influence on NbS (Nature-Based Solution) Mitigation of Diurnal Surface Urban Heat Islands (SUHI). Remote Sensing. 17: 1802. doi: 10.3390/rs17101802

Huo, H.*, Wang, Z., Zhou, L., Liu, Z., Tu, M.-c. (2025). Wind Field Simulation and Its Impacts on Athletes’ Performance, Based on the Computational Fluid Dynamics Method: A Case Study of the National Sliding Centre of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Applied Sciences. 15: 3685. doi: 10.3390/app15073685

Tu, M.-c.*, Chen, W.-j. (2023). “Field Measurement of Dynamic Interaction Between Urban Surface and Microclimate in Humid Subtropical Climate with Multiple Sensors.” Sensors. 23(24): 9835. doi: 10.3390/s23249835

Tu, M.-c.*, Huang, Y.-c. (2023). “Impacts of Land Reclamation on Coastal Water in a Semi-Enclosed Bay.” Remote Sensing. 15(2): 510. doi: 10.3390/rs15020510

Wang, C.-p.*, Shih, B.-j., Tu, M.-c. (2021). Study on the improvement of disaster resistance against tsunamis at Taiwan’s Keelung Port. Natural Hazards. 110: 1507-1526. doi: 10.1007/s11069-021-05000-4

Nichols, W.*, Welker, A., Traver, R., Tu, M.-c. (2021). Modeling seasonal performance of operational urban rain garden using HYDRUS-1D. J. Sustainable Water Built Environ. 7(3): 04021005. doi: 10.1061/JSWBAY.0000941

LaTonia Turner

Custodian

Dr. Jason Umfress

Jason Umfress

Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management

Dr. German Vargas

German Vargas

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs


Education
Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics, Wichita State University
M.S. in Mathematics, Wichita State University
B.S. in Physics, Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Computational fluid dynamics, mathematical modeling, partial differential equations, numerical analysis, and scientific computing. Notable project: Neural Bypass through a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) that integrated an Electroencephalograph (EEG) with a Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) unit. In this project the user was able to move their arms without engaging the motor cortex and bypassing brain-spine communications.

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