JMU Faculty Experts
James Madison University has the honor of employing some of the world’s foremost experts on a wide variety of topics.
Members of the Media: We hope you use this resource in your research on trending topics. Experts listed below have extensive media experience and each brings a unique perspective and expertise to their fields. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, let us know and we’ll work to help you find a source. To get in touch with an expert, contact Mary-Hope Vass at vassmg@jmu.edu.
COVID-19 expertise: We have created an additional list of faculty who can address COVID-19 from various disciplines and perspectives.
Faculty and staff: This is an evolving, living list. If you would like to nominate yourself or a colleague for inclusion, please contact Ginny Cramer at cramervm@jmu.edu.
| Last Name | First Name | Department | Expertise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akers | Jeremy | Health Professions | Nutrition and Metabolism, Nutrition and Exercise in Chronic Disease, Weight Management |
| Aleman | Melissa | Communication Studies | Campus Cultures and Learning, Communication in Agining Families, Communication in Multicultural Families |
| Alexander | Rob | Political Science | Environmental and climate change policy, Local government management, Public-private partnerships, Sustainable communities |
| Almarode | John | Education | Science of Learning |
| Almjeld | Jen | Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication | Girlhood Studies, Feminist Methodologies, Identity Performances, Digital Rhetorics |
| Barnett | Brad | Financial Aid and Scholarships | Financial Aid in College |
| Bentley | Mace | School of Integrated Sciences | Climate Change, Geography, Weather |
| Benzing | Tom | School of Integrated Sciences | Water Resources Management, Science Education |
| Bergmeister | Suzanne | Gilliam Center for Entrepreneurship | Startups, venture capital/angel investing, social entrepreneurship, venture funding |
| Beverly | Cheri | Education | Access and Equity in Education, Cultural Competency, Educating Educators |
| Blake | Charles | Political Science | Latin America, Dynamics of Corruption |
| Blankenship | Ben | Psychology | Social Identity; Political Psychology; Stigma, Prejudice and Stereotypes; LGBTQ Psychology |
| Bortolot | Zack | School of Integrated Sciences | Satellite and aerial imagery, Image processing |
| Brannon | Rebecca | History | American Revolution, America's Founding, American Loyalists |
| Britt | Lori | Communication Studies | Facilitative Leadership, Dialogue and Deliberation, Helping communities and organizations deal with challenging issues productively |
| Burnett | Audrey | Health Sciences | Infectious diseases, community health, health care ethics |
| Chen | Jie | Political Science | Chinese politics, Chinese society, higher education in the U.S. |
| Coates | Tabitha | Education | Meaning of Work, Generation Y, Phenomenology, Organization Development |
| Cohen | Marty | Political Science | Political Parties, Moral Issues in Politics |
| Coleman | Santo | Health Sciences | Men’s health, Masculinity/toxic masculinity, Fatherhood relationships, Adolescent health, Obesity, Bioethics, Diversity in education |
| Danzell | Orlandrew | School of Integrated Sciences | International/domestic terrorism, Military interventions, conflict in Africa, Intelligence Theory/ Anti-Money Laundering |
| De Hertogh | Lori-Beth | Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication | Rhetorics of Health and Medicine, Feminist Rhetorics |
| Dean | Art | Diversity | Diversity, Access and Inclusion in Higher Education |
| Depaolis | Rory | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Infant Language Development, Speech and Hearing Science |
| Drake | Pam | Business | Financial Analysis, Valuation of Companies |
| Enke | Ray | Biology | Genomics, Molecular Biology, Vision Research, Epigenetics, Undergraduate Research |
| Fagan | Allison | English | Literature of the U.S.-Mexico Border, Chicanx and Latinx Literature, Immigrant Literature, Race and Ethnicity |
| Featherstone | Jared | Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication | Mindfulness, Writing and Learning |
| Feitosa | Klebert | Physics & Astronomy | Soft materials, complex fluids, glassy dynamics, amorphous systems; crumpling, buckling and bending of slender bodies |
| Fink | Jason | Business | Risk Management, Portfolio Management, Market Dynamics, Personal Finance |
| Frysinger | Steven | School of Integrated Sciences | Environmental Information and Decision Support Systems, Interaction Design, Human Computer Interfaces, and Human Factors Engineering, Auditory Data Representation (Sonification), Environmental Systems Engineering, K-12 Outreach Exploring the Role of Science in 18th and 19th Century Life |
| Gabbin | Joanne | English | African American Literature, The Black Arts Movement, Poetic response to tragedy |
| Gano-Overway | Lori | Kinesiology | Sport & Exercise Psychology, Coaching Education |
| Garcia | Angel | Geology and Environmental Science | Caves, Ethnogeology, Community-based research |
| Gerken | Tobias | School of Integrated Sciences | Climate Change, Weather, Air Pollution |
| Goodall | Amy | School of Integrated Sciences | Conservation Biogeography, Environmental Education, Gardens and Meadows for Education and Community Engagement |
| Goetschius | John | Health Professions | Sports Medicine & Rehabilitation, Knee & Ankle Joint Injuries, Blood Flow Restriction (BFR), Youth Sport Specialization |
| Henry | Dayna | Health Sciences | Sexual Health, Relationship Health, Preventing Sexual Assault |
| Herrick | James | Biology | Environmental microbiology, Microbial genomics |
| Hilliard | Rich | Art | Illustration, Animation, Pop Culture |
| Isom | Shanza | Social Work | Mindfulness, Mindful living and life balance, Holistic well-being, Radical self-care |
| Jones | David | Political Science | Media and Politics |
| Kaussler | Bernd | Political Science | Iran, Iran Nuclear Deal, Middle Eastern Policy, International Security, Terrorism |
| Kilby | Christina | Religious Studies | Religion and the Refugee Crisis, Buddhism, Tibet and the Dalai Lama |
| Kirkpatrick | David | Religious Studies | Religion and Politics, Global Violence in the History of American Christianity |
| Kirkpatrick | Michael S. | Computer Science | Computer Security, Computing Ethics, Information Security & Privacy, Women in Computing |
| Klein | Michael | Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication | Medical Humanities, Technology in Popular Culture, Technical Communication, Scientific Rhetoric |
| Kondrad | Robyn | Psychology | Young children’s social information processing, Preschoolers’ development of moral and critical thinking, Preschoolers’ learning from digital media, Scholarship of teaching and learning |
| Kurtz | Jaime | Psychology | Happiness, Savoring, Travel |
| LaPira | Tim | Political Science | American Politics, Specifically on Congress Interest Groups and Lobbying |
| Leduc | Laura | Business | Human Resources, Employment Law, Effect of Personal Traits on the Workplace |
| Levinovitz | Alan | Religious Studies | Religion and Medicine, Religion and Science, Classical Chinese Thought, Persuasion |
| Lubin | Melissa | Professional and Continuing Education | Executive, management and leadership coaching, Adult learning and education, Non-credit professional development programming, including credentials, certificates and certifications in multiple modalities, Public private partnerships between business, government and education |
| Lukens | Bill | Geology and Environmental Science | Earth systems and climate change |
| Lupo | Sarah | Early, Elementary and Reading Education | Supporting literacy for all learners K-12, content area literacy- incorporating literacy across the disciplines K-12, science of reading |
| Mason | Marianne | Foreign Language, Literatures and Cultures | Language and the Law/Forensic Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, Game Theoretic Pragmatics |
| Mathur | Smita | Education | Play, Play Diplomacy, School Readiness for Young Migrant Students |
| May | Christine | Biology | Freshwater ecology, Conservation biology |
| McCarthy | Sean | Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication | Digital Media, Humanities, English, Community Engagement |
| McKay | Cathy | Kinesiology | Parasport education and awareness, Health and Physical Education Teacher Education, Contact theory and social inclusion, Changing attitudes and perceptions toward disability |
| McMullen | Conley | Biology | Pollination biolgy, Plant systematics |
| McNaught | John | Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) | Self-Determination, Special Education Program Improvement, Postsecondary transitions for students with disabilities, Classroom/Behavior Management, Inclusive Practices |
| Merkel | Julia | JMU Libraries | Preservation of Library & Museum Collections; Storage, handling, and exhibition of Library & Museum Collections; Disaster response and salvage of Library & Museum Collections; Book Arts |
| Miles | Jonathan | School of Integrated Sciences | Wind and Solar Energy |
| Molloy | Cathryn | Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication | Mental Health Rhetorics, Feminist Rhetorics, Writing as Healing |
| Nagel | Jacquelyn | Engineering | Biomimicry, Engineering Design Methods, Engineering Education, Manufacturing Automation, Sensors and Instrumentation, Mechatronics |
| Nash | Carole | School of Integrated Sciences | Middle Atlantic Archaeology, Human Ecology, Citizen Science |
| Neveu | Andre | Business | Monetary Policy, Wage Gap, Minimum Wage, Debt and GDP, Exchange Rate Forecasts, The Federal Reserve |
| Parker | Janna | Business | Retailing, Digital Marketing, Advertising, Nonprofit Marketing |
| Parker | Rocky | Biology | Pheromones, Chemical Ecology, Sexual Signals, Animal Behavior, Invasive Species, Endocrinology, Chemical Senses, Reptiles |
| Parrish | Alex | Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication | Classical Rhetoric, Animal Studies, Rhetoric of Science |
| Pate | Josh | Hart School of Hospitality, Sport, and Recreation Management | Disability sport, Experiences of individuals in sport settings, Sport communication and media, Sport sociology, Sport communication, Event management |
| Pippert | Tassie | Business | Wines and Cultures, Culinary Arts and Food, Team Dynamics, Leadership |
| Pyle | Eric | Geology and Environmental Science | Geology, Science Education, Earth Phenomena |
| Riden | Benjamin | Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities | Special Education (General Curriculum), Behavior Analysis, Classroom Management, Teacher Preperation |
| Roberts | Robert | Political Science | State and Local Government, Legal Environment of Public Administration, Criminal Procedures |
| Rosier | Jennie | Communication Studies | Communication in Interpersonal Relationships, Parent-Child, Attachment, Romance and Love, Marriage |
| Rout | Ayasakanta | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Benefit from amplification, Signal processing in hearing aids, Speech perception in individuals with hearing loss |
| Rutherford | Ken | Political Science | International Peacekeeping, International Security, African Politics, Conventional Weapons |
| Salman | Ahmad | School of Integrated Sciences | Computer and Network Security, Cyber Physical Systems, Internet of Things, Post-Quantum Cryptography, Efficient Cryptographic Algorithms, Hardware Design of Cryptographic Functions, Energy and Power Analysis |
| Saunders | Mike | Kinesiology | Exercise Science |
| Scherpereel | John | Political Science | European Union, Eastern Europe, Women in Politics |
| Schill | Dan | Communication Studies | Media/Social Media and Politics, Campaigns, Political Stagecraft |
| Seth | Michael | History | Korea, North Korea, East Asia, Comparative Education, Economic Development, World History |
| Sharifian | Maryam | Education | War Zone Education, Teacher Training in Conflict Areas, Teacher Resilience and Burnout, Refugee Children Education & Wellbeing |
| Shanahan | Maureen | School of Art, Design and Art History | Twentieth century art history; Trauma studies (especially the legacy of World War I); Gender, sexuality, race and anti-colonial analyses; Fernand Léger, French artist; Simón Bolívar, Latin American liberator, Venezuelan general; Gaëtan Gatian de Clérambault, French photographer and police psychiatrist |
| Smalls | Morgan | School of Media Arts and Design | Communication and culture, media (digital media) studies, African American representation in popular culture, Black female stereotypes in traditional and social media, Insecure, Being Mary Jane and other contemporary television show |
| Snyder | Sara | Education | Classroom Management, Individualized behavior interventions for children, Academic instruction |
| Soenksen | Ginny | School of Art, Design and Art History | Museums, Japanese art, Japanese culture |
| Sturm | Debbie | Graduate Psychology | Climate Change and mental health, Climate anxiety, eco-anxiety and other climate distress issues, Nature connection and mental health, Trauma |
| Teel | Wayne | School of Integrated Sciences | Soil protection and management, Biochar production, Agroforestry and ecological agriculture, Climate change and its implications, Environmental science and ecology |
| Temple | April | Health Services Administration | Gerontology, Long-term care, U.S. health care system, Health care leadership |
| Timler | Geralyn | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Social communication development and disorders in children and adolescents, Social communication assessment and intervention, Language and social communication profiles of children with Autism, ADHD, and Language Disorder |
| Trinka | Eric | Religious Studies | Religion & Migration, Internal Pluralism, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Critical Spatial Theory |
| Trocchia | Michael | Philosophy | Philosophy of Literature and Poetry |
| Vidal | George | Biology | Developmental neurobiology, Cerebral cortex, Synaptic plasticity, Neurodevelopmental disorders, Undergraduate research and mentorship |
| Wei | Xuebin | School of Integrated Sciences | Machine learning, cloud computing, GIS, social media, data mining and modeling, transportation |
| Weniger | Jerry | Health Professions | Orthopedics & sports medicine, Musculoskeletal imaging, Physician assistant (PA) education and admissions, Medical malpractice |
| Williams | Mira | Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities | Inclusive Early Childhood Education, Disability Rights, Family-Centered Anti-Racist practices |
| Wrenn | Greg | English | Environmental Literature, Coral Reefs and Climate Change, Nature and Healing from Trauma, LGBT Literature |
| Yanacek | Holly | Foreign Language, Literatures and Cultures | German Literature and Culture, History of Emotions, Human/Animal Studies, Robots and AI in Fiction, Historical Semantics |
| Zeman | Catherine | Health Sciences | Environmental epidemiology and toxicology, Environment and health relationship, Complementary Alternative and Integrative Health |
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