Archives: Staff Members

Bluhm, Carla

Dr. Carla Bluhm

Professor of Psychology

Carla Bluhm received her undergraduate degree in Psychology and minor in History at University of Massachusetts Amherst. She then went on to earn a Masters degree at Teachers College Columbia University and was then encouraged to stay for her Masters of Education, and Masters of Philosophy in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University. After taking a year off to teach at the University of Rhode Island, she returned to NYC to work with her mentor, Professor John Broughton, on theoretical, cultural, and historical psychology and completed her Ph.D. from Columbia University. While working on her Ph.D., she served as a teaching assistant at Columbia for Dr. Herb Terrace of the famed Nim Chimpsky study. She also worked for New Hope Guild, based in Brooklyn, as a psychotherapist for over two years with a geriatric population in a skilled nursing facility.

Currently, she is known for her work on the psychology of face transplantation having written the first book on the topic Someone Else’s Face in the Mirror Praeger Press. This book she co-wrote with outstanding Allegheny College student, Nathan Clendenin. She has been featured numerous times on live television with the BBC and Skynews London. Her work has been featured at numerous conferences both internationally and nationally as well as in the highly regarded American Psychological Association Monitor.

Dr. Bluhm was awarded Professor of the Year from the College of Coastal Georgia, and thrives in a teaching environment both online and face to face. She has taught for USG eCore for numerous years and values high level and committed teaching in an environment that supports critical and divergent thinking skill development. She teaches classes across the lifespan as well as clinical classes and a course she is developing related to psychology and the natural world. During the Spring semester of 2019, she walked over a 250-mile Camino across Portugal into Santiago, Spain to increase her knowledge and thoughts about the psychology of long walks and the natural world. You can check out her adventure here.

More recently, Dr. Bluhm has been working on her interests in International Education and has taught with the University System of Georgia European Council in Paris, France. She was recently appointed site director of that program and will work with the program directors to support students and faculty with their onsite Paris course work, such as field trips and other student experiences related to their studies abroad.

Dr. Bluhm is married and has one daughter who shines bright at Oberlin College.

Benton, James

Dr. James Benton

James Benton, College of Coastal Georgia

Professor of Accounting

Dr. James “Jim” E. Benton is currently an Associate Professor of Accounting at the College of Coastal Georgia. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Finance and Masters of Art in Economics from Old Dominion University, a Juris Doctor, Masters of Taxation and Masters of Science in Personal Financial Planning from Georgia State University, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Northern Illinois University. His professional credentials include active Bar member in the state of Georgia, CPA/PFS, and CFP. Jim has worked in various law and accounting practices as well as operating his own financial planning/tax planning practices. He has taught various personal financial planning courses at a number of certified financial planning programs including Georgia State University, Western Carolina University, Duke University, Old Dominion University, and Shippensburg University. He is also the founder of The Financial Literacy Academy, LLC, a corporate training company specializing in financial literacy training and is a 28-year US Army combat veteran who retired from the US Army/Army Reserves as a LTC in the Judge Advocate General Corp.