Faculty and Staff

JSU Emergency Management Educators are Leaders in the Field

Students in Emergency Management programs benefit from the dedication and expertise of a faculty and staff who have more than 200 years of combined experience.  All professors and instructors hold doctorate and/or master degrees and many have hands-on experience in their field outside of academia, uniquely qualifying them to teach Emergency Management courses.

Administration

Tanveer Islam
Tanveer Islam, PhD, CFM
Department Head

tislam@jsu.edu

Belinda Chitwood
Ms. Belinda Chitwood
Administrative Assistant

256-782-5925  bchitwood@jsu.edu 

Jerolleman
Alessandra Jerolleman, PhD
Doctoral Program Co-Director

ajerolleman@jsu.edu

Sky
  Shih-Kai (Sky) Huang, PhD
Doctoral Program Co-Director

shuang@jsu.edu

Denise DaSilva
Denise DaSilva, MPA
   MSEM Program Advisor

ddasilva@jsu.edu

Haas
 Rachel Haas, MBA
Undergraduate Program Advisor

rhass@jsu.edu

Hughes
  Kirsten Hughes, MSW
Career Advisor

khughes6@jsu.edu



Faculty

Professors
Education Specialization/Research Interests

Bill3Bill Lowe
CV

D.B.A. 2000 - Nova Southeastern University
  • Homeland Security
  • Terrorism
  • Response 
  • Mitigating, Preventing, Responding, and Recovering from Active Shooters Incidents

Tanveer Islam
Tanveer Islam
CV

Ph.D. 2006 - Texas Tech University
  • Hazard Mitigation
  • Vulnerability Assessment
  • Community Resilience
  • Social Media
  • GIS applications
Associate Professors

SkyShih-Kai Huang
CV

Ph.D. 2014 - Texas A & M University
  • Risk Perception
  • Risk Communication
  • Warning Response
  • Cross-national Comparisons in Disaster Research
  • Quantitative Research Method

jerollemanAlessandra Jerolleman
CV

Ph.D. 2013 - University of New Orleans
  • Privatization of Emergency Management
  • Disaster Resilience
  • Hazard Mitigation

Van SlykeJeff Van Slyke
CV

ED.D 2007 - University of Texas
  • Response
  • Terrorism
  • Campus Safety
  • Homeland Security
  • Threat Assessment
Assistant Professors

newtonAllison Newton
 
CV

Ed.D. 2017 - University of Alabama
  • Student Veteran issues e.g. transitioning to civilian life, etc.
  • Hazard Mitigation and Recovery Issues to include Federal/State Mitigation Programs and Emergency Relief
  • The Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project

WangChongming Wang
CV

Ph.D 2016 - Pennsylvania State University
  • Evacuation Behaviors & Preparedness
  • Vulnerability of Elderly Populations
  • GIS Applications in Social Science

OlsonLaura Olson
 
CV

Ph.D 2012 - George Washington University
  • Disaster Risk Reduction
  • Climate Change Adaptation
  • Disaster Recovery
Instructor

DaSilvaDenise DaSilva
CV

MPA/EM 2002 - Jacksonville State University
  • Social dimensions of disaster
  • Preparedness and planning

Emeritus Faculty

coxA. Barry Cox
IEP Director Emeritus

Ph.D 1968 - University of South Carolina
  • Safety and Environmental Health Issues
  • Hazardous Materials Management

kushma2Jane Kushma
 Professor Emerita & CDCR Director

CV

Ph.D. 2001 - University of Texas at Arlington

  • Emergency Management Policy
  • Disaster Management
  • Nonprofit organizations and volunteer management
  • Service learning

RyanJeff Ryan
Professor Emeritus

Ph.D 1996 - North Carolina State University
  • Public Health Preparedness
  • Biosecurity
  • Military Role in Disaster Response


Distinguished Affiliate Professor/Affiliate Faculty

David McEntireDavid McEntire
Distinguished Affiliated Professor

CV

Ph.D 2000 - University of Denver
  • Emergency Management Theory
  • Vulnerability Reduction
  • Community Preparedness
  • Response Coordination
  • International Disasters
  • Terrorism and Homeland Security

BalilajArjola Balilaj
CV

Ph.D 2020 - Florida Atlantic University
  • Diversity
  • Mediation & Conflict Resolution
  • Program Evaluation
  • Public Budgeting and Management

David ThorntonDavid Thornton
CV

Ph.D 2008 - Auburn University
  • Serious Games
  • Gamification
  • Multimodal and Speech-enabled Interfaces
  • Human-Computer Interaction


Adjunct Faculty

harperRhonda Braudis
CV

MA/EM 2012 - American Public University
  • Public Safety Telecommunications
  • Disaster Operations
  • Clinical Incident Stress Management -Crisis Negotiations

JonesAndre Jones
CV

Ph.D 2021 - Walden University
  • Management Systems in Disaster
  • Major Incident Response
  • Emergency Operations Center Management 

McFallMatthew McFall
CV

MS 2014 - Jacksonville State University
  • Business and Academic Continuity
  • Cyber Security
  • Risk Perceptions 

McGriffBrad McGriff
CV

MS 2007 - Jacksonville State University
  • Cyber Security
  • Computer Systems & Software Design 

ManningScott Manning
CV

D.Sc. 2017 - Jacksonville State University
  • Strategic Planning
  • Leadership Theory and Organizational Behavior
  • Homeland Security Planning and Preparedness

rothmanEugene Rothman
CV

MS/EM 2013 - Jacksonville State University
  • Public Safety
  • Response

LAMSLaura Ann Martin Sullins
CV

MA in Communication Management 2014 - University of Alabama at Birmingham

MA in English 2006 - Jacksonville State University

  • Technical Writing
  • Interpersonal Communications

ManningMary "Kay" Vonderschmidt
CV

D.Sc. 2017 - Jacksonville State University
  • Healthcare Emergency Management
  • Medical Surge
  • Social Vulnerability
  • Disaster Modeling