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Dr. Tyra Warner

Tyra Warner

Chair, Department of Hospitality, Tourism, and Culinary Arts
Interim Chair of Criminal Justice
Associate Professor of Hospitality and Tourism


Education
Ph.D. in Hospitality Administration, Oklahoma State University
J.D. in Law, Georgia State University
M.A. in Tourism Administration, The George Washington University
B.S. in Business Administration, Georgetown University

Teaching and Research Interests/Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
My research interests are in the areas of legal issues and safety and security as they relate to the hospitality and tourism industries, and in particular as they relate to conventions, meetings, and events.

Recent publications:

Book chapters:

Warner, T. (2024). Legal issues in meetings and events, In Fenich, G. & Malek, K. (Eds.) Meetings, expositions, events, and conventions: An introduction to the industry (6th ed.). [Revision] Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Hilliard, T.W. (2019). Contracts and risk management. In National Association of Catering Executives Certified Professional Catering Executive (CPCE) reference guide, version 2. [Revision] Columbia, MD: National Association of Catering Executives.

Hilliard, T.W. (2019). Legal issues in meetings and events. In Fenich, G. (Ed.) Meetings, expositions, events, and conventions: An introduction to the industry (5th ed.). [Revision] Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Articles:

Hilliard, T. (2019, February 3). An essential contract checklist for meeting planners. MeetingsToday. bit.ly/3MoX1lx

Podcasts:

Warner, T. (2020, July 7). The pandemic legal environment for the events industry. The Business of Meetings.

Rozenberg, E., Walling, S., & Warner, T. (2020, April 7). Independent business owners: You are not alone. Event Business Formula.

Recent Invited Presentations:

Blood, J. & Warner, T. (2025, October). Did you see that coming? Legal issues for meetings. Presented at IMEX America, Las Vegas, NV.

Warner, T. (2025, July). Ask the association attorney: Everything you want to know about event contracts and more. Presented at Florida Society of Association Executives, West Palm Beach, FL.

Warner, T. (2025, June). The law, liability, and current issues. Presented at Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress, St. Louis, MO.

Warner, T. (2025, June). RFPs and contracts in the meetings industry. [Moderator]. Presented at Meeting Professionals International North Florida Chapter, Jacksonville, FL.

Warner, T. (2025, May). Addressing those uh-oh situations in your contracts. Presented at Society of Government Meeting Professionals National Education Conference, St. Louis, MO.

Warner, T. (2025, March). Contract negotiation strategies for 2025. Presented at SmartMeetings magazine Knowledge Exchange, webinar [online].

Blood, J. & Warner, T. (2024, October). Contracts: Seeing through the crystal ball. Presented at IMEX America, Las Vegas, NV.

Warner, T. (2024, June). All things force majeure—What you need to know. Presented at Society of Government Meeting Professionals, webinar [online].

Warner, T. (2024, March). Uh-oh scenarios. Presented at Meeting Professionals International Wisconsin Chapter, Madison, WI.

Warner, T. (2024, January). What goes up—Inflation, meetings, and contracts. Presented at Southwest Showcase, Austin, TX.

Warner, T. (2023, December). All things force majeure—What you need to know. Presented at International Association of Exhibitions and Events Expo! Expo! Dallas, TX.

Blood, J. & Warner, T. (2023, October). Contracts: Designing for shared success. Presented at IMEX America, Las Vegas, NV.

Warner, T. (2023, July). Contracts: New, novel, and nagging issues. Presented at Professional Convention Management Association Southeast Chapter, Orlando, FL.

Warner, T. (2023, June). What goes up—Contracts and inflation. Presented at Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress, Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Warner, T. (2023, May). Contracts: Retooling for today’s market. Presented at Meeting Professionals International Georgia Chapter, Atlanta, GA.

Warner, T. (2023, January). Understanding difficult contracts—Parts I & II. Presented at Religious Conference Managers Association Annual Conference, Chattanooga, TN.

Warner, T. (2022, October). Contract negotiations for these unruly times. Presented at IMEX America, Las Vegas, NV.

Bettlach, J., Johnson, A., Rowbotham, B., Warner, T. (2022, October). Contract experiences that make you go…hmmmm?! Presented at IMEX America, Las Vegas, NV.

Warner, T. (2022, June). What’s law got to do with it? Presented at Georgia Society of Association Executives, Jekyll Island, GA.

Warner, T. (2022, June). The care and feeding of introverts at your meeting. Presented at Georgia Society of Association Executives, Jekyll Island, GA.

Hardigree, C. & Warner, T. (2022, March). Contracts post-pandemic: Lessons learned. Presented at Meetings Industry Council of Colorado, Denver, CO.

Hardigree, C. & Warner, T. (2021, September). Something old, something new, something legal. Presented at Rocky Mountain Chapter Meeting Professionals International, Denver, CO.

Bagnall, K. & Warner, T. (2021, June). The future of meetings contracts & liability…and the future is now. Presented at Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress, Las Vegas, NV.

Pelletier, S. and Warner, T. (2021, June). Your inner phoenix: Reinventing yourself through adversity, acceptance, & adventure. Presented at Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress, Las Vegas, NV.

Allgauer, M., Murakami, G., & Warner, T. (2021, June). Contracts & negotiations in the new normal—a discussion from all perspectives. Presented at Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress, Las Vegas, NV.

Jamelle Washington

Part-time Faculty

John Waters

Part-time Faculty

Education
B.S. Business Administration, Fordham University
M.B.A. Business Administration, New York University

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
I’m a marketing content writer who is also a strategist. I teach my students how to deliver polished, professional writing that adds strength to their marketing efforts and sets them apart. As a lifelong marketer, I utilize my understanding of strategy to teach students how to engage an audience and build trust in order to create customer loyalty.

Dr. Lydia Watkins

Lydia Watkins

Southeast Georgia Health System Distinguished Chair
Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences
Associate Professor

Education
D.N.P. in Nursing, University of Alabama, Birmingham
M.S.N. in Nursing, University of Alabama, Birmingham
B.S.N. in Nursing, Samford University
A.S.N. in Nursing, Samford University

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Nursing clinical practice, teaching and research areas of focus include pediatrics, pediatric hematology/oncology, pediatric hospice/palliative care. Academic focus areas of research center around service-learning’s benefits in the education and professional development of future nurses, as well as leadership development and methods to increase student success throughout academic programs.

Hannah Watson

Hannah Watson

Bursar/Director of Student Accounts

C. Anthony Wege

Part-time Instructor

Education
Doctoral Program: Political Science, University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, A.B.D. (1987)
Master of Science in Political Science, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming (1984)
Bachelor of Science in History, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon (1982)

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Publications:

Assad’s Legions: The Syrian Intelligence Services International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Vol. 4, Number 1, 1990.

The Abu Nidal Organization Terrorism: An International Journal Vol. 13, Number 6 (also Included in Bell and Howell’s UMI University Microfilm Series and Annual Editions: Violence and Terrorism, Dushkin Publishing Group, 1992)

The Hizballah Organization Studies in Conflict and Terrorism Vol.17, Number 2, 1994.

The Syrian Socialist Party: An Intelligence Asset? International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. 7 (November 1994): 339 – 351.

Arab Intelligence Services Electronic Format, Intelligence Watch Quarterly, a subsidiary of Jane’s Information Group, Fall 1996.

Abu Nidal Revisited: Black June Besieged Electronic Format, Terrorism Watch Quarterly, a subsidiary of Jane’s Information Group, Winter 1997.

Iranian Intelligence Organizations International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. 10 (Winter 1997 – 1998): 287 – 298.

Iran’s Terrorist Asset: A History of Imad Mugniyah Terrorism Monitor Volume 4, issue 17 (September 8, 2006) Jamestown Foundation

The Hizballah Security Apparatus Perspectives on Terrorism Volume 2, Issue 7 (Spring 2008)

Hizballah’s Bekka Organization Perspectives on Terrorism Volume 4, Issue 3 (July 2010)

Hizballah North Korean Nexus Small Wars Journal January 2011

Hizballah Syrian Intelligence Affairs: A Marriage of Convenience Journal of Strategic Security, Fall 2011, v. 4, no. 3

Hizballah and Hamas TRAC Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium Summer 2012

Hizballah in Africa Perspectives on Terrorism Volume 6, Issue 3 (August 2012) Re-published at Institute for Strategic, Political, Security and Economic Consultancy (ISPSW), Berlin

Hizballah’s Counterintelligence Apparatus International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 25: 771 – 785, 2012

Syria After Assad TRAC Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium February 2013

Iranian Intelligence Organizations in Intelligence Elsewhere, Philip H. Davies and Kristian C. Gustafson eds., Georgetown University Press 2013, ISBN: 9781589019560

Syria’s Loyalist Archipelago in Fair Observer May 2013

The End of a Unified Syria in Fair Observer September 2013

Hezbollah After Syria in Fair Observer July 2013

Hizballah’s Communications System: A Most Important Weapon International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 27: 240-252, 2014

Creating An Islamic State In Iraq And Syria in Fair Observer July 2014

Iran’s Intelligence Establishment Association of Former Intelligence Officers Guide to the
Study of Intelligence A project of AFIO’s Academic Exchange Program (AEP) October 2014

Iran And Assad Are Not Winning Fair Observer April 2015

Urban and Rural Militia Organizations in Syria’s Less Governed Spaces Journal of Terrorism Research Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St. Andrews, Volume 6 Issue 3 – September 2015.

Anticipatory Intelligence and the Post-Syrian War Hezbollah Intelligence Apparatus International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Vol. 29, Number 2, January 2016.

Hizballah North Korean Nexus re-published in Iranian and Hezbollah Hybrid Warfare Activities: A Small Wars Journal Anthology, D Dilegge A Keshavarz and R Bunker Eds., IUniverse, 2016, ISBN: 978-1532008665

Iran’s Intelligence Establishment re-published in Association of Former Intelligence Officers Guide to the Study of Intelligence Peter C. Oleson Ed. Foreword by Dr. Robert M. Gates, Association of Former Intelligence Officers, 2016 ISBN: 978-0997527308

Syrian Statelets and Intelligence Games: Al-Sham’s New Mukhabarat Modern Diplomacy 3 October 2017

The Changing Islamic State Intelligence Apparatus International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Vol. 31, Number 2, April 2018.

Iranian Counterintelligence International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Vol. 32, Number 2, April 2019.

Iran, in: Intelligence Communities and Cultures in Asia and the Middle East: A Comprehensive Reference, Bob de Graaff (ed.):Lynne Rienner Publishers, May 2020, ISBN
9781626378896

Counterintelligence Vetting Techniques Compared across Multiple Domains (with Blake W. Mobley) International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Vol. 34, Number 1, February 2021.

Evading Secret Police: Counterintelligence Vulnerabilities in Authoritarian States (with Blake W. Mobley) International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence. Full article: Evading Secret Police: Counterintelligence Vulnerabilities in Authoritarian States (tandfonline.com)

Defeating Hezbollah: Surface Area Vulnerabilities of Hard Targets (with Blake W. Mobley) International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence published 22 August 2025 Defeating Hezbollah: Surface Area Vulnerabilities of Hard Targets: International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence: Vol 0, No 0 – Get Access

Books:

The Fragile Dictator: Counterintelligence Pathologies in Authoritarian States Carl A. Wege and Blake W. Mobley, Lexington Books 2023.

Numerous published book reviews

Irene Welch-Mooney

Part-time Instructor

Anna White

Anna White

Career and Academic Advisor

Rachel White

Rachel White

Admissions Counselor/Recruiter – Transfer & International Students

Jay Wiggins

Part-time Instructor

Molly Wiggins

Lecturer of Health Sciences

Kayla Wilcox

Wilcox, Kayla

Career & Academic Advisor

Melissa Williams

Part-time Instructor

Scott Williamson

Scott Williamson

Professor of Practice, Marketing and Communications

Education
BA in Political Studies, Gordon College, Wenham, MA
MMC in Mass Communications/Public Relations, University of Georgia

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
As a Professor of Practice in Marketing and Communications, I enjoy applying “real world” experience from my 25 years in the private sector to my classes. My interests include consumer product marketing, sports marketing, and popular culture.

Matthew Wojcik

Part-time Faculty

Alexis Woods

Student Solution Center Specialist

Lauren Woods

Part-time Instructor of History

Education
Ph.D. in History (in progress), Liberty University
M.A. in History, Liberty University
B.A. in History, East Carolina University

Teaching and Research Interests / Recent Publications or Scholarly Output
Lauren’s interests include United States History from the Gilded Age and post-Reconstruction South through the Progressive Era, World War I, the interwar period, World War II, and the political, economic, and social development of modern America, with emphasis on Henry M. Flagler.

Charles Workman

Landscape Technician

Bridgette Worst

Records Management Specialist

Deborah Wynn

Deborah Wynn, College of Coastal Georgia

Accounts Payable Coordinator

Departments/Offices