HONORS FACULTY

The following faculty members have taught or are scheduled to teach Honors Sections for JEHP and Undergraduate Honors students.  Note:  Not all honors faculty will teach an Honors Section every semester.  Check current course offerings.  

ENGLISH HONORS FACULTY:

Dr. Martha F. Bowden, Associate Professor of English.  Dr. Bowden received her B.A. (1975), M.A. (1976) and Ph.D. (1981) from the University of Toronto.  She began teaching at KSU in 1992, and has served as an Honors Faculty member, teaching and advising honors students and JEHP honors students, since the Honors program’s inception.  She teaches a variety of courses from freshman to master’s levels, but takes particular pleasure in teaching freshman composition, including the JEHP honors sections.  Dr. Bowden’s area of specialty is eighteenth-century studies.  Her recently completed book, Yorick’s Congregation: The Church of England in the Time of Laurence Sterne, integrates literary studies and church history.  Dr. Bowden has taught in the JEHP program for many years; her son is a JEHP alum.    

Ms. Fiona Brantley, Assistant Professor of English. 
Fiona Brantley earned a B.A. from the University of the West Indies (Mona) and an M.A. from Rutgers University. She joined the faculty of Kennesaw State University in 2006 as the Coordinator of the Supplemental Instruction program and Assistant Professor of English. She teaches ENGL 1101 in learning communities and also ENGL 1102. She brings with her over twenty years of experience in the field of higher education both as an administrator and an instructor.

Ms. Laura Davis, Instructor of English. Laura Davis earned a B.A. from Wake Forest University and an M.A. from Middle Tennessee State. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Literary Studies at Georgia State University, where she is also completing a graduate certificate in Women’s Studies. Most recently, she has been published in the Tennessee English Journal and in Pedagogue. Her research interests include student motivation, online learning, teaching appreciation of diversity, working with adult learners, and Southern Literature. Ms. Davis has been at Kennesaw State since 2002; in addition to teaching composition and World Literature, she also teaches in KSU’s Gender and Women’s Studies program. In 2005, she was selected as the Faculty Honoree by the Joint Enrollment Honors Student of the Year.

Dr. Liza Davis, Professor of English, Director of the Honors Program.  Dr. Davis earned her Ph.D. in British Romantic Literature from Emory University in 1979.  After teaching at Emory University and the University of Alabama, she joined the faculty at KSU in 1988.  Dr. Davis was tapped to create the honors program at KSU in 1995, and has served as its director since then.  In 1999, under Dr. Davis’ direction, the Honors Program received the Regents’ Award for Teaching Excellence from the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.  Dr. Davis regularly teaches honors English courses and special topics seminars in the honors program.   

Dr. Khalil Elayan, Lecturer of English.  Dr. Elayan earned his Ph.D. in English from Georgia State University and his M.A. and B.A. from the University of Tennessee.   

Ms. Letizia Guglielmo, Assistant Professor, Department of English.  Ms. Guglielmo specializes in Rhetoric and Composition, specifically computers and writing.  She earned a BA in English from Auburn University, MA in English from Middle Tennessee State, and is currently a doctoral candidate at Georgia State University.  She has taught writing and literature at Kennesaw State since 2001, both in the classroom and online. Ms. Guglielmo’s research focuses on new media and writing, multiliteracies in the first-year writing curriculum, writing program administration, feminism, and community and collaboration in online learning. Her work has appeared in The Journal of Technology, Knowledge, and Society, Peitho, Rhetoric Review, Composition Studies, as well as two forthcoming collections on writing program administration and technology in English studies.

Mr. Mike Keleher, Instructor of English.  The recipient of the Department of University Studies 2006 Distinguished Teaching Award, Mr. Keleher teaches freshman composition in KSU’s nationally recognized first year learning community program, as well as developmental writing and reading. His research interests are classical and modern rhetorical theory and instructional technology, particularly the use of weblogs. He is currently Project Director for Blog2Learn, a Title II/No Child Left Behind funded initiative to bring blogs, wikis and podcasts into language arts classes in area schools.  He is completing a Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric at Georgia State University.

Ms. Jenny Sadre-Orafai, Instructor of English.  Ms. Sadre-Orafai earned her B.A. (2000) and M.A. (2002)  in from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is currently an M.F.A. Creative Writing candidate at Georgia State University. She has taught at both the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Kennesaw State University. She has taught Composition I and II at KSU since Fall 2002. In addition to her dedication to composition studies, she is also an accomplished poet and writer. Finishing Line Press has recently published her first poetry chapbook, Weed Over Flower. In addition, her non-fiction essay, “The Art of Making Hot Tea,” has been published in Seal Press’ anthology, Waking Up American. Sadre-Orafai currently serves as Senior Poetry Editor for the online literary journal, JMWW and editorial assistant for the online literary journal Lily.

Ellen Taber, Instructor of English.  Ms. Taber joined the faculty of the English Department since 2001.  Professor Taber’s bachelor degree is in nursing, so you may wonder how a nurse came to be teaching English Gen Ed courses.  Professor Taber has been writing and speaking competitively since high school but gravitated toward nursing as a daughter of a nurse.  While nursing in a trauma unit in Southern California, Professor Taber began reading a new genre of novels she had not previously realized existed: romance.  At the time, because of the expectation of a happy ending, each novel she read proved therapeutic for the nurse in her who didn't always see happy endings in the ER or the ICU. Within three years she became published in historical romance, and the rest, as they say, is history.  

Dr. Mary Zoghby, Professor of English (Emerita).  Dr. Zoghby joined the faculty of KSU in 1977.  She holds a Ph.D. from Georgia State University, an M.A. from The Catholic University of America, and a B.A. from Mt. St. Agnes-Loyola.

MATH HONORS FACULTY:

Dr. Barbara Ferguson, Associate Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education.  Dr. Ferguson earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education from Georgia State University in 1997.  She is interested in teaching with technology and developed MATH 7719, Technology and Mathematics.  This course was accepted by the Professional Standards Commission for awarding Technology Endorsement for teachers. She has presented at state, regional and national conferences and is heavily involved in grant-writing activities that provide much-needed support to in-service K-12 mathematics teachers. She has received funding for the North Metro Mathematics Collaborative since 1993. She was a principal investigator for two NSF grants that led to the development of modules that are used in KSU mathematics courses for pre-service K-12 teachers. She also worked on the mathematics education component of three NSF Math Studies grants.  Dr. Ferguson is president-elect of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

 Mr. Ron Hoover, Instructor of Mathematics.  Mr. Hoover received his B.S. from Wichita State University.  While working as an Air Force Test Pilot and commander of a major developmental testing organization, he attended the University of Illinois to complete his M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.  Following his retirement from the Air Force, Mr. Hoover concentrated on completion of his graduate studies in mathematics in preparation for his career as a college mathematics instructor.  He joined KSU in 2000 and has been a favorite of Joint Enrollment students and nominee for KSU’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Dr. John F. Malluck, Assistant Professor of Mathematics.  Dr. Malluck received his doctorate in Engineering Mechanics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Georgia and has twenty-two years of practical engineering experience through employment at the Lockheed-Georgia Company and Lucent Technologies. He has authored or co-authored nineteen technical publications, and has been awarded six United States patents for innovative design applications.  He began teaching mathematics at Kennesaw State University following his retirement from Lucent Technologies in 2001.

 POLITICAL SCIENCE HONORS FACULTY

Dr. Jeff DeWitt, Assistant Professor of Political Science.  Dr. DeWitt earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Georgia State University in 2005.  His primary field of study is American political behavior with research interests in electoral politics, political communication, and public opinion.  Dr. DeWitt’s dissertation, titled “Considering the Candidates: Political Sophistication in Presidential Elections, 1984 –2000,” examined the interrelationship between political information and presidential candidate evaluations.   He has presented papers at regional and national conferences and published articles in Journal of Official Statistics and Journal of Public Administration Research & Theory.  Dr. DeWitt has been a member of the Kennesaw State faculty since 2000, instructing courses on American Government, Research Methods, and Media and Politics.    

Dr. Kerwin Swint, Associate Professor of Political Science.  (1992)  Ph.D. Georgia State University, 1995.  M.Ed. University of Georgia, 1990.  B.A. University of Georgia, 1984. Dr. Swint is a specialist in Campaigns and Elections and Mass Media. He has a new book coming out in 2006 called Mudslingers: The Top 25 Negative Political Campaigns of All Time.  His first book, Political Consultants and Negative Campaigning: The Secrets of the Pros, (University Press of America), is widely in use today. Dr. Swint is also the President of Southeast Political Group, Inc., a political consulting and research firm. He is also a frequent political analyst for TV news programs, including CNN.  He has been quoted in newspapers and magazines across the country, including The Los Angeles Times, National Journal, Roll Call, George magazine, The Hotline, The Atlanta Journal/Constitution, and other regional publications in the Southeast.  He is a former recipient of Georgia Trend magazine's "40 Under 40" award -  the 40 most influential people in business and politics under the age of 40.

Judge Philip Taylor, J.D., Instructor of Political Science.  Judge Philip P. Taylor received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Political Science from LeMoyne College in 1986 and earned his Juris Doctor Degree from Emory Law School in 1989.  In 1996 Taylor was appointed to the Cobb County Magistrate Court as Judge and continues to serve on that court today.  In addition to his judicial duties, Judge Taylor maintains a private practice.  The firm is a general trial practice that provides representation for individuals and businesses in many civil, criminal and administrative cases.  Judge Taylor has served as a faculty member for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) and was recently appointed as a National Judicial College faculty member.  His teaching topics at this national forum will include judicial ethics, right of privacy, constitutional law and civil rights.

PHILOSOPHY HONORS FACULTY

Tom Pynn, Instructor in Philosophy.  He holds an M.A. in Literature and an M.A. in Philosophy both granted by the University of Mississippi in 1992.  His thesis in Literature is about the themes of Love, Marriage and Place in the poetry and non-fiction essays of Wendell Berry.  His thesis in Philosophy is entitled, “Merleau-Ponty’s Theory of Perception.”  His interests in Literature include post WWII American poetry, especially the writings of the Beats; the novels of Henry Miller; and ancient Chinese and Japanese poetry.  In philosophy his interests include phenomenology and existentialism, aesthetics, Classical Indian philosophy, Daoism, Buddhism, cross-cultural philosophy, and indigenous philosophy (especially North America).  Recent publications include both essays and book review essays on such topics as Jack Kerouac’s Buddhism, yoga philosophy, Zen ethics in leadership, and W.S. Merwin’s latest volume of poems. He is currently co-editor of the Journal of Ethics in Leadership, assistant editor of the Southeastern Review of Asian Studies, and staff reviewer for VOX Journal.Tom’s creative interests include composing poetry, playing music, hiking, and gardening. 

PSYCHOLOGY HONORS FACULTY

For more information:
Dr. Katherine Kinnick, Director of Pre-College Program
Kennesaw State University
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Kennesaw, GA 30144-5591
Office: LB 419
Phone: 770-423-6116
Fax: 770-423-6748
E-mail: kkinnick@kennesaw.edu

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This page last modified September 23, 2008
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