Expert List

Melissa Abner
Fashion and Apparel Merchandising Program Coordinator
Associate Professor of Fashion and Apparel Merchandising
School of Industrial Sciences and Technology

660-543-8725   
mabner@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Ethical Fashion, Fashion History, Visual Merchandising and Store Design, Fashion Marketing and Promotion, Fashion Trends, Retail Strategies and Retail Models, Fashion Shows: production, evaluation, etc.

Other Areas: Wholesale Markets for Fashion Products, Small Businesses, Buying

Ahmet Aksoy
Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Cybersecurity
Director of NetML Lab
Department of Computer Science and Cybersecurity

660-543-4386‬
aksoy@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) for Threat Detection and Analysis, Automated Classification and Machine Learning in Cybersecurity, IoT and Operating Systems fingerprinting

Media Links: “Cybersecurity Guide” podcast episode
Chameleon blog post, “Automated Fast-flux Detection using Machine Learning and Genetic Algorithms”
CAE in Cybersecurity Community YouTube channel video, “Automated Fast-flux Detection using Machine Learning and Genetic Algorithms”

Peculiar Awa, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

660-543-8859
awa@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Women and Gender Issues, Victimology, Human Rights, International Crime (West Africa)

Chris Azevedo
Professor of Economics
Department of Economics and Finance

660-543-4219
cazevedo@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Sports Economics, the Economics of Grit and Personal Perseverance

Kristy Boney, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Modern Languages and Interdisciplinary Studies
Professor of German
Department of Modern Languages and Interdisciplinary Studies

660-543-8386
kboney@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: German Studies (Holocaust, East/West Germany, Anti-Fascist Germany)

Karen A. Bradley
Professor of Sociology
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Studies

660-543-8195
kbradley@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: American Religion, Spiritual Care; Rural Sociology/Natural Resources and Sustainability; Social Deviance, Public Responses

Jackie Brandhorst, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Management
Department of Management

417-838-3662
brandhorst@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Resilience, Crisis Communication, Employee Health and Well-Being

Media Links: "BizLibrary" podcast episode “How to Communicate During Crisis Management”
"The Prison Officer" podcast episode “Growing up with a Correctional Officer”

René Burress, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Educational Technology and Library Science
Associate Professor of Library Science and Information Services
Department of Educational Technology and Library Science

660-543-4910
burress@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Libraries, K-12 Education, Educational Technology

Jennifer Varriale Carson
Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

301-273-5176
jcarson@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Terrorism, Ideologically-Driven Movements in the U.S., Criminal Justice Policy

James Cicon, Ph.D., JD, ECE
Associate Professor and Program Coordinator of Finance
Department of Economics and Finance

660-543-4165
cicon@ucmo.edu

Main Area: Capital Markets (Stocks and Equity, Bonds, Financial Derivatives), Cryptocurrency (Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum), Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning (AI Architecture and Design, Training Neural Networks, Feature Extraction from Financial Datasets)

Media Links: Wall Street Journal, “Upbeat CEOs Often Turn Around and Sell, Study Finds”
Wall Street Journal, “Software Detects CEO Emotions, Predicts Financial Performance”
Wall Street Journal, “How Startups Hide Investor-Unfriendly Practices”

Angela Collins, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Director of the Criminal Justice Institute
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

660-543-4348
acollins@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Juvenile Justice and Juvenile Delinquency, Mental Health, Criminological Theory

Media Links: KSHB 41 Kansas City, “Experts weigh in on school shooting in Nashville”

Derek Crawford
Associate Professor of Exercise Science
Department of Nutrition, Kinesiology, and Health

660-543-4148
dcrawford@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Sports, Exercise Science 

Sandy Cruz
Director of Early College Programs
Office of Online and Learning Engagement

660-543-8718
scruz@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Early College Opportunities, Dual Credit, Dual Enrollment

Karen Doyle
Health Studies Program Coordinator
Associate Professor of Health Studies
Department of Nutrition, Kinesiology and Health

660-543-4662
kmdoyle@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Health Professions, Health Education/Promotion, Disease Prevention

Media Links: UCM Faculty Focus

Nabat Erdogan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Program Coordinator for MSE in ELL and MSE in Literacy
Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy

660-543-4230 
erdogan@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Linguistics, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Language Teaching and Learning

Media Links: Co-Author of “Applied Linguistics for Teachers of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners”

Gregg Etter
Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

660-543-8902
etter@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Gangs, Organized Crime, Policing, Extremist Group

Nancy Forth, Ph.D., NCC, LPC
Chair of the Department of Counseling and Educational Leadership
Professor of Counseling
Department of Counseling and Educational Leadership

660-543-8093
nforth@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Counseling, Mental Health, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, School Counseling

Other Areas: Stress Management, Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault Recovery

Kamel Ghozzi
Professor of Sociology
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Studies

660-543-8686
ghozzi@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Middle Eastern Issues, Islam, the Arab World, Comparative Study of Societies

J. Alex Greenwood
Director of University Communications and Media Relations
Office of Integrated Marketing and Communications

660-543-4889
jgreenwood@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Crisis Communications, Podcasting, Public Relations

Tyler Habiger
Director of Annual Giving
UCM Alumni Foundation

660-543-7700
habiger@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Fundraising and Giving, Higher Education Giving, Community Engagement

Jaimee Hartenstein, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science
Department of Human Services

660-543-8358
hartenstein@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Divorce, Child Custody, Co-Parenting

Media Links: Editor of “Marriage and Divorce in America”

Lauren Hays, Ph.D.
Educational Technology Program Coordinator
Associate Professor of Educational Technology
Department of Educational Technology and Library Science

660-543-8615
lauhays@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Educational Technology, Online Learning, Digital Literacy

Other Areas: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education, Media Literacy, Information Literacy

Blaise Heider
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics, Actuarial Science, and Statistics

660-543-4730  
heider@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Content and Applications in Most Undergraduate Mathematics Courses (including college algebra, trigonometry, precalculus, calculus, differential equations, linear algebra), Abstract Algebra (the theory of groups, rings, fields, and modules), Writing and Formatting Documents Using LaTeX

David Johnson
Associate Professor of Economics
Department of Economics and Finance

660-543-8580
djohnson@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Gun Markets, Gun Violence

Media Links: Los Angeles Times, “Arming America: How we did the analysis”
Los Angeles Times, “After mass shooting, Monterey Park limited gun sales. But local laws alone won’t stop violence”
NPR Illinois, “Gun laws in America and how the ATF was set up to fail”
Scientific American, “Where Gun Stores Open Gun Homicides Increase”

Odin Jurkowski, Ph.D.
Professor of Instructional Technology
Department of Educational Technology and Library Science

660-543-8678
jurkowski@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Educational Technology, Libraries, Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Media Links: KCUR, "Teachers and a Legislator 'Chat' About Missouri Facebook Law"

Jean Kaeberle, Ph.D., DNP, APRN, FNP-C 
Nursing Graduate Program Coordinator
FNP Director
Assistant Professor of Nursing
School of Nursing

660-543-6152
kaeberle@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Nursing, Critical Care, Neurology, Advanced Nursing Practice 

Mary E. Kelly, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology 
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Studies

660-543-8509
kelly@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Lithuanian Events, Lithuanian American Ethnic Identity, Impact of At-Home DNA Testing on Ethnic Identity

Robynn Kuhlmann, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science 
Government Internship Coordinator
Department of Government, Law, and International Affairs

660-543-8307
kuhlmann@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: State Politics, Voting, Elections

Other Areas: Term Limits, State Legislatures, Voting Behavior, Election Administration

Media Links: KCUR, “Missouri voters will decide whether to hold a convention to overhaul the state constitution”
KCUR, “The Amendment Issues Missouri Voters Face in November” 
U.S. News & World Report, “Open US House Seats Draw Large Fields of Missouri Republicans”
Kansas City Star, “Schmitt leads in Senate race despite Missourians’ support of abortion rights, new poll shows”

Joanne Kurt-Hilditch
Senior Director of Missouri Safety Center
Missouri Safety Center

660-543-4213 
kurt-hilditch@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Corrections, Law Enforcement, Grants, Impaired Driving, Highway and Traffic Safety, Training, Ethics, Leadership

Other Areas: Substance Abuse Counseling, Criminal Justice Research, Association and Board Membership

Media Links: Missourinet, "Law Enforcement learning to draw blood in effort to keep Missouri roads safer"

Scott Lankford, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences
Professor of Biology
Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences

660-543-8827
lankford@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Aquaculture, Fish Biology, Endocrinology (reproduction and stress), Impacts of Global Warming on Aquatic Resources

Kathleen Leicht, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Professor of English
Department of English

660-543-8209
leicht@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: 17th- and 18th-Century British Literature, Humanities Education

Julie Lewis, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Career and Technical Education
Adviser for The Muleskinner (student newspaper)
Department of Career and Technical Education

660-543-4050  
jlewis@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Journalism, Mass Communication, Strategic Communication, Media, Multimedia, Study Abroad, Journalism Education, Backpack Journalism, Career and Technical Education

Kyle Lovercamp, Ph.D.
Professor of Animal Science 
Department of Agriculture

660-543-8094
klovercamp@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Swine Production, Beef Cattle Production, Swine Reproductive Physiology

Tony Lubbers
Director of Student Financial Assistance
Office of Student Financial Services

660-543-4033
lubbers@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: College Financial Aid, FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), Federal Student Loans

Daniel Marschalek, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology - Entomology
Biology Graduate Program Coordinator
Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences

(660) 543-8880
marschalek@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Entomology, Butterfly Conservation, Pollination

Media Links: Flatland, “Butterfly Effect: Dan Marschalek is More Than a Collector”
Los Angeles Times, “The San Diego Zoo is racing to save these rare butterflies before they vanish”
Sedalia Democrat, “UCM professor studies butterflies near Sedalia”
Wired, “Absurd Creature of the Week: The Spanish Fly Is Real, and It's Ridiculously Dangerous”

Shannon McCarthy, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Marketing, Public Relations, and Sport Management 
Associate Professor of Marketing
Department of Marketing, Public Relations, and Sport Management 

660-543-8192
smccarthy@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Marketing, Marketing Research, Sports Marketing

Other Areas: Social Media and Brand Use, the Olympic Movement and Collegiate Sports, Political Marketing and Branding, Accreditation in Higher Education

Media Links: "Outdrive" podcast episode, "Winning Strategies for Authentic Connections"

Phoebe McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Math, Actuarial Science, and Statistics
Professor of Statistics and Mathematics
Department of Math, Actuarial Science, and Statistics

660-543-4790
pmclaughlin@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Financial Mathematics, Probability, Statistics, Semigroups

Other Areas: Actuarial Exams Preparation, Actuarial Career Advising and Planning, Math Pathways and Corequisites Developments

Nick Meyer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics, Actuarial Sciences, and Statistics.

660-543-4743
nmeyer@ucmo.edu 

Main Areas: Geometry, Topology, Knot Theory

Other Areas: Computer Vision, Computational Mathematics, Typesetting for Scientific Documents

Ashley Miller-Scully
Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance
Professor of Dance
School of Visual and Performing Arts, Division of Theatre and Dance

660-543-8798 
almiller@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Dance and Musical Theatre

Other Areas: Choreography, Professional Auditions, Professional Theatre & Dance Affiliations, Summer Stock Work

Joe Moore, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Communication and Digital Media Production
Professor of Digital Media Production
Department of Communication and Digital Media Production

660-543-4923
jhmoore@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Podcasting, Sportscasting, Radio

Joshua Nygren, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of History
Associate Professor of History
Department of History

660-543-8738
nygren@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Agriculture and Sustainability, especially as it relates to soil and water conservation; Environmental History (environmental policy, activism, land use, etc.); 20th Century U.S. Political, Social and Economic History

Media Links: Author, "The State of Conservation"

Dawn Pauling, Ph.D.
Associate Instructor of Biology
Department of Biological and Clinical Sciences

660-543-8027
pauling@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Wildlife Disease, Vector-Borne Pathogens, Plague Sylvatic Cycle, Microbial Genetics, Microbial Ecology

Media Links: Nature Communications, "Transovarial transmission of Yersinia pestis in its flea vector Xenopsylla cheopis"

David Pearce
Executive Director for Governmental Relations

660-543-4365 
dpearce@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Missouri Legislative Session, Employment Opportunities in Politics and Government for College Students, Current Events and Their Political Implications

Media Links: “Outdrive” podcast episode, “It’s All About Connections”

Garrett Pratt
Assistant Professor of Business Law
Department of Management

660-543-4534
gpratt@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Tax Law, Nonprofit Law, Bankruptcy Law

Stephen (Steve) Price Jr., Ph.D.
Professor of Digital Media Production
Department of Communication and Digital Media Production

660-543-4922
price@ucmo.edu 

Main Areas: Media Literacy, Media Production (TV, Radio, Film), Media and Society/Politics

Melissa Pritchett
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

660-543-4270
pritchett@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Eyewitness Identification, Biology and Crime, Serious and Violent Antisocial Behavior

Georgi Popov, Ph.D., QEP, CSP, ARM, SMS, CMC, FASSP, FAIHA
Professor of Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences
Department of Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences

660-543-4208
gpopov@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Risk Assessment and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

Other Areas: Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Management, Air Quality

Media Links: "AIHA Healthier Workplaces Show" podcast episode, “Enterprise Risk Management”

Allison Robbins
Associate Professor of Music
School of Visual and Performing Arts, Division of Music

660-543-8348
asrobbins@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Music History, Tap Dance

Jeff Robertson, Ph.D.
Dean of the College of Health, Science, and Technology
Professor of Astrophysics
Department of Physical Sciences

660-543-4031
jrobertson@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Astronomy, Meteorology, Space Sciences

Media Links: NPR Little Rock, “Science Cafe Little Rock: Amateur Astronomy”
Science Cafe Little Rock, “Inter-species and Interplanetary Communication”

Daniel Runnels, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Spanish
Department of Modern Languages and Interdisciplinary Studies

660-543-4747
runnels@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Latin American Culture, Latin American Politics, Literature and Philosophy

Adam Runyan, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Director of Neurophysiology of Cognition, Attention, and Learning Lab (NeuroCALL)
Department of Psychological Science

660-543-4716
arunyan@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Behavioral Neuroscience, Physiological Psychology

Other Areas: Cognitive Psychology, Electroencephalography (EEG), Electrodermal Activity (EDA)

Mohammad Sadi
Associate Professor of Engineering Technology
School of Industrial Sciences and Technology

660-543-4032
sadi@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Power System, Renewable Energy, Alternating Energy Sources

Michael Sawyer
Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

660-543-4750
msawyer@ucmo.edu

Main Area: Liberal Arts, Visual and Performing Arts

Charlie Schwepker, Ph.D.
Randall and Kelly Harbert Marketing Professor
Department of Marketing, PR, and Sport Management

660-543-8554
schwepker@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Professional Selling, Sales Management, Sales Ethics, Marketing

Karrie Snider, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education 
Department of Early, Elementary, Middle, and Physical Education

816-305-0781
snider@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Early Childhood and Elementary Education, Teacher Education, Emergent Curriculum, Teacher-Child Interactions

Other Areas: Program Evaluation and Assessment, Research Project Management 

Erica Spurgeon, Ph.D.
Chair of the School of Industrial Sciences and Technology
Associate Professor of Fashion and Apparel Merchandising
School of Industrial Sciences and Technology

660-543-8955
spurgeon@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Extended Reality (XR) Implementation in the Classroom (3D models, 360-degree tour space, using Virtual Reality (VR) for design), Real-World Experiences for Students (UCM Fashion Shop, supervising a trip to Fashion Markets)

James (Jim) Staab, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science
Department of Government, Law, and International Affairs 

660-543-8825
staab@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Supreme Court Politics, Theories of Interpreting the Constitution (including originalism versus a living Constitution), Civil Rights and Liberties (church-state issues, freedom of speech, right of privacy, abortion, LGBTQ+ rights), Presidential Politics

Media Links: "Pause" episode, “U.S. Supreme Court”
Meet the Author discussion for “The Limits of Constraint”
Constitution Week Conference on Justice Scalia, “The Political Thought of Antonin Scalia”

Jay Steinkruger, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Physical Sciences
John Hess Endowed Chair in Chemistry for Student Mentorship
Professor of Chemistry
Department of Physical Sciences

660-543-4432
steinkruger@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Protein Folding Thermodynamics, Organic Synthesis, Materials Chemistry, Chemistry Education

Elizabeth Summers, MSN, Ed.S., RN, CNE
BSN Prelicensure Nursing Program Coordinator
School of Nursing

esummers@ucmo.edu
660-543-6154

Main Areas: Test Item Development/Assessment Construction and Blueprinting, Program Evaluation, Nursing Education, Nursing Scope of Practice, Nursing Regulation (education)

Other Areas: Civility, Remediation, Accreditation

Sanghak (Joel) Sung, Ph.D.
Assistant Instructor
Department of Computer Science and Cybersecurity

660-543-6616
sung@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Cybersecurity, Hacking, Humanoid Robot

Courtney Swoboda
Director of Military and Veteran Services
Military and Veterans Success Center
Office of Student Experience and Engagement

660-543-8848
cswoboda@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Military-Affiliated Students in Higher Education, Processing VA Educational Benefits, Military Tuition Assistance

Media Links: “Higher Ed Jobs” podcast episode, “Bold MOVES from HigherEdMilitary Spotlight Award Winner Boost Veteran Education”
Missourinet, “University of Central Missouri strives to reach military community”

Jon Taylor, Ph.D.
Professor of History 
Department of History

660-543-4582
jtaylor01@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Harry Truman, Missouri History

Media Links: Project Director for Historic Missouri
Lead Co-PI on Veteran Voices from the Heartland
KMOS, “Missouri! A Bicentennial Celebration”
Author of four books on the life, political career and legacy of Harry Truman

Matt Thomas, Ph.D.
Interim Dean of the College of Education
Chair of the Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy
Professor of Reading
Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy

660-543-4272
mthomas@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Reading Maturity, Critical Thinking, Higher Education Leadership

Media Links: “Pause” episode, “Keen Reading Program”
KMOS, “KMOS Interviews Keen Reading”

Greg Turner, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Professor and Program Coordinator of Communication Disorders
Department of Human Services

660-543-8799   
turner@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Therapy and Support for Individuals Who Stutter and Their Families; Tips to Maintain Voice Health; Society Inclusion of Individuals with Communication Disorders

Jeff Ulmer, Ph.D.
Professor of Engineering Technology
School of Industrial Sciences and Technology

julmer@ucmo.edu
660-543-8337

Main Areas: Engineering Technology, Industrial Management, Technology Management

Lynn Urban
Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology
Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

660-543-4188
urban@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Juvenile Justice, Parenting from Prison, Academic and Program Evaluation

Media Links: Denver Post, "2 juveniles charged in mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade"

Tim Welch, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science
Program Director for Marriage and Family Therapy
Department of Human Services

twelch@ucmo.edu
660-543-4783

Main Areas: Couple and Family Therapy, Mental Health, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Parenting and Parent-Child Relationships

Jeff Yelton, Ph.D.
Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Studies
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Studies

660-543-4427
yelton@ucmo.edu

Main Areas: Archaeology, Federal Laws Dealing with Archaeology and Historic Building Preservation