Faculty & Staff

Terrell Hall

Department of Communication

Administrative Faculty and Staff

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Kerry Neville

Kerry Neville, Ph.D.

Interim Chair, Associate Professor
202 Terrell Hall
478-445-8261
Education

Ph.D, Creative Writing, University of Houston

Biography

Dr. Kerry B. Neville is Associate Professor of Fiction and Nonfiction Writing. She is the author of two collections of stories, Necessary Lies, which received the G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize in Fiction and was named a ForeWord Magazine Short Story Book of the Year, and Remember to Forget Me. Her memoir, Momma May Be Mad, is forthcoming in 2025. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Gettysburg Review, Epoch, Triquarterly, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, and elsewhere. Her fiction and nonfiction have been named Notables in Best American Short Stories and Best American Essays. She is a nonfiction editor for Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature. In 2018, she was a Fulbright Fellow at University of Limerick in Ireland, where she was Visiting Faculty in the MA in Creative Writing Program.

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Shordae Carswell

Shordae Carswell

Administrative Assistant
201 Terrell Hall
478-445-8717
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Evelina Galova-Iossifov

Evelina Galova-Iossifov

Media Lab Coordinator, Advisor to WGUR 95.3 FM, The Colonnade, GC360, and Bobcat MultiMedia (BMM)
409 Terrell Hall
478-445-8684
Education

Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication, Georgia College & State University

Bachelor of Sciences, Physical Education, NSA (University), Sofia, Bulgaria

Mass Communication Faculty

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Christina Smith

Christina Smith, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, MSCM Coordinator, Internship Coordinator
207 Terrell Hall
478-445-8267
Education

Ph.D., Mass Communication, The University of Iowa

Research

Community Journalism, Sociology of News, Identity and Qualitative Research Methods

Teaching

Race, Class, Gender in Media, Investigative Journalism, Community Journalism, Advocacy Journalism, Feature Writing, Sports Reporting, Professional Media Writing, Media Literacy, Enterprise Journalism, Media Management, GC1Y Critical Thinking: We the People, Interviewing & Listening

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Mikkel Christensen

Mikkel Christensen, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Advisor to PRSSA
216 Terrell Hall
478-445-8259
Education

Ph.D., University of Missouri

Research

Crisis communication, news consumption and political knowledge, political communication.

Teaching

Mass Communication Theory and Research, Advanced Strategic Writing.

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Michael Crews, MFA

Michael Crews, M.F.A.

Assistant Professor, Advisor to Bobcat Media Productions
315 Terrell Hall
478-445-8256
Education

 University of Georgia, Narrative Media Writing, M.F.A.

Teaching

Film & TV Production, Media Literacy, Film Feature Writing

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Austin Koch, Dept. of Communication

Austin Koch, M.F.A.

Lecturer
312 Terrell Hall
478-445-8255
Education

University of Georgia, M.F.A. Narrative Media Writing


 

Teaching

Media Literacy, Film & TV Production, and Multi-Camera Production. 

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Benjamin "Chad" Whittle

Chad Whittle, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Advisor to GCSU Podcast Club
316 Terrell Hall
478-445-8265
Education

Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi

Biography

Chad Whittle, Ph.D., earned his Doctorate in Philosophy in Mass Communication from the University of Southern Mississippi (2018). He holds a Master of Arts in Communication and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Mass Media, with an emphasis in Broadcast/Journalism, from Valdosta State University, and graduated Cum Laude with Honors. 

Dr. Whittle's research has been published in the Journal of Radio & Audio Media, Electronic News, the Journal of Media Education, Carolinas Communication Annual, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, American Communication Journal, Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, and the Journal of Social Sciences Research. He was invited to write the foreward for the book, "Radio in the Movies: A History and Filmography," 2nd edition, and contributed to the textbook, Scripting Media, first edition.

He has presented at numerous regional and national conferences, including the Broadcast Educators Association (BEA), Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Southeast Colloquium, Southern States Communication Association (SSCA), Popular Culture Association (PCA), the Georgia Communication Association (GCA), and the Mississippi Communication Association (MCA).

Dr. Whittle's research, "Why America is Downloading the News: A Study on Daily News Podcasts and Why U.S. Audiences Listen," was the most downloaded article in Electronic News for 2024.

He won the first-place prize for the debut paper category in the Curriculum, Assessment & Administration division at the 2023 BEA Convention for his paper "From Professor to Podcaster: A Step-By-Step Guide to Producing Podcasts to Help Expand Student Learning." 

At the 2023 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, his GIFTS (Great Ideas for Teaching) presentation, "Around the World in One Semester: Assignments for Use in an International Media Course," was a competition winner for the 2023 AEJMC GIFTS competition.

At BEA 2024, he won second place in the Open Paper category in the Curriculum, Assessment & Administration division at the BEA 2024 Convention for his research "Exploratory Study on Using Podcast Lectures for an Online Course to Increase Student Engagement and Learning."

Dr. Whittle is the faculty advisor for the Georgia College Podcasting Club. 

Teaching

Media Literacy, Professional Media Writing, Radio Operations, Media Management

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Mengyao Xu

Mengyao Xu, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
204 Terrell Hall
Education

Ph.D., Missouri School of Journalism

Teaching

Principles of PR & Advertising, Public Relations Planning, Campaign Principles

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Christopher Jackson

Christopher Jackson, M.A.

Lecturer
308 Terrell Hall
478-445-2801
Education

M.A., Mass Communication (Global Strategic Communication), University of Florida 

B.A., Liberal Studies (Global Studies); Mass Communication (Film, Television, Audio Production); World Languages and Cultures (Spanish), Georgia College & State University 

Research

Intercultural and Cross-cultural Communication, Social Problems in Mass Media, Modern Entertainment, Film Studies, and Creative Writing

Teaching

Professional Media Writing, Branding in Digital Media, Multimedia Broadcast Journalism, Media Design, Advanced Writing and Reporting. 

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Chris Wood, Ph.D.

Limited-Term Lecturer
212 Terrell Hall
478-445-3182
Education

Ph.D., University of Georgia
 

Teaching

Writing for Advertising & PR, Current Issues in Advertising

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Angela Criscoe - dept. of communication

Angela Criscoe, M.F.A.

Executive Director, School of Continuing and Professional Studies; Associate Professor
CBX 40
478-445-2759
Education

MFA, Film & Television, Savannah College of Art & Design
M.Ed Instructional Technology, Georgia College '06

Research

New technologies and innovative film and television production processes in storytelling for the purposes of informing, persuading, and entertaining audiences across multiple platforms. Specific work includes aesthetic approach of color theory in films; development and training of episodic programming for local chambers of commerce (Chamber TV); and healthcare communication.

Rhetoric Faculty

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Jamie Downing

Jamie Downing, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Rhetoric Coordinator
218 Terrell Hall
478-445-5561
Education

Ph.D., Communication Studies, University of Nebraska

Biography

Dr. Jamie Downing teaches the fundamentals of public speaking and small group communication.

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Jan Hoffmann

Jan Hoffmann, Ph.D.

Professor
205 Terrell Hall
478-445-5556
Education

Ph.D., Speech Communication, University of Washington

Biography

Janet Hoffmann, (B.A. Florida State University, M.A. San Jose State University, Ph.D University of Washington) teaches Public Deliberation, Public Speaking, Public Achievement, Persuasion, Parliamentary Debate, Classical Communication Theory, Small Group Communication, Interpersonal Communication, and Instructional Communication. Selected as a Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow, serves as Coordinator of Georgia College’s American Democracy Project, hosts the campus Times Talk weekly current events discussion series, and is a National Issues Forum Institute Network Partner. Awards include the 2014 Georgia College Irene Rose Community Service Award, inaugural Georgia College ENGAGE Fellow, and the 2018 University Distinguished Service Award.

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Michael Dreher, Ph.D.

Michael Dreher, Ph.D.

Professor
307 Terrell Hall
478-445-8258
Education

Ph.D., Speech Communication, Louisiana State University

Teaching

Teaching Rhetoric and Mass Communication courses - Theory and Research, Comm Theory, Small Group, Media Literacy, Critical Analysis of the Mass Media. In previous semesters, he had also taught Fundamentals of Public Speaking, Disaster Rhetoric, Interpersonal Communication, and the Rhetoric Capstone.

Biography

Dr. Michael Dreher (B.A., North Central College; M.A., University of Iowa; Ph.D., Louisiana State University) has taught courses in media, rhetoric, research methods, and public speaking. His research interests center on the role rhetoric plays in a variety of disciplines such as mathematics, religious and political discourse, and in disaster communication. He is also interested in the practical and rhetorical aspects of web accessibility. His most recent publication was a chapter in the book Arguing with Numbers: Intersections of Rhetoric and Mathematics, published by Penn State University Press. 

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Nathan Bedsole

Nathan Bedsole, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Advisor to Lambda Pi Eta, Director of Forensics
209 Terrell Hall
478-445-8510
Education

Ph.D., Communication, University of Colorado Boulder

Biography

Dr. Nathan Bedsole (B.A., M.A. Wake Forest University; Ph.D. University of Colorado Boulder) is an Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Director of Forensics at Georgia College. Find his work published in Argumentation & Advocacy, Intermezzo & Parlor Press, Journal of Communication, and in the Quarterly Journal of Speech. He specializes in rhetoric, studying the art's intersections with cultural studies and psychoanalysis.

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Colin Whitworth

Colin Whitworth, Ph.D.

Lecturer (Pronouns They/Them or He/Him)
210 Terrell Hall
478-445-5991
Education

PhD, Communication Studies, Southern Illinois University

Biography

Dr. Colin Whitworth (they/them) received their Ph.D. in Communication Studies from Southern Illinois University—Carbondale, an M.A. in Communication Studies, and a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from The University of Alabama. Dr. Whitworth’s work uses performance to investigate diverse LGBTQIA+ experiences in the U.S. South through performative, relational, and critical cultural lenses. Their written work can be seen in Text & Performance QuarterlyThe Journal of AutoethnographyArt/Research International, and more. They frequently represent their research through performances in various venues across the nation and have taught a wide range of classes including performance, tourism, and horror film. 

Emeritus Faculty

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MJ Land, PhD

Mary Jean Land, PhD

Emeritus Faculty
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Ginger Carter-Miller, Ph.D.

Ginger Carter-Miller, PhD

Emeritus Faculty

Advisors

Amanda Williams

Academic Advisor
2nd Floor Lanier Hall
478-445-8254

Makhalath Fahiym

Academic Advisor
2nd Floor Lanier Hall
478-445-2309

Janice Pillay

Academic Advisor
2nd Floor Lanier Hall
478-445-2767

Courtney McMurray

Academic Advisor
2nd Floor Lanier Hall
478-4456-8658