School of Continuing & Professional Studies Strategic Initiatives

Dr. Ward Risvold is an Assistant Professor of Business Communications and Co-Director of Center of Technology and Empowerment. His research interests includes Trust in Business Communication, Artificial Intelligence in Business, Semiotics of Large Language Models. He holds a Ph.D. from University of Georgia.

Russell Library provides free access to academic journals, books, dissertations, theses, newspapers, primary sources, digital collections, and video/sound recordings through our library catalog, GALILEO, and our institutional repository, the Knowledge Box.  Russell Library also offers a variety of services such as research consultations, library instruction, interlibrary loan, technology checkout, study room reservations, and a host of other services to assist you in your research and instruction needs.

Matt Forrest is Chair and Professor of Art, Printmaking. He engages students in printmaking, foundations, community-based art, and senior capstone projects. Matt earned a graduate certificate in Nonprofit Management & Leadership frin the University of Georgia and holds an MFA from West Virginia University.

 Georgia College Honors College students seek out intellectually rigorous and transformative experiences both in the classroom and beyond: experiences which will allow them to stretch their minds, craft unique records of accomplishment and achieve their longer term academic and professional goals. 

C. Edward Watson, Ph.D., is the Vice President for Digital Innovation at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). He is also the founding director of AAC&U’s Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. Prior to joining AAC&U, Dr. Watson was the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of Georgia (UGA). He continues to serve as a Fellow in the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education at UGA and recently stepped down after more than a decade as the Executive Editor of the International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.  His most recent publications are the second edition of Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2025), Leading Through Disruption: Higher Education Executives Assess AI’s Impacts on Teaching and Learning (AAC&U, 2025), and the Student Guide to AI (Elon University & AAC&U, 2025). Dr. Watson been quoted in the New York Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Campus Technology, EdSurge, Newsweek, U.S. News, EdTech, Consumer Reports, UK Financial Times, and University Business Magazine and by the AP, CNN and NPR regarding current teaching and learning issues and trends in higher education.  Described as a digital learning pioneer, Dr. Watson was recognized by EdTech Magazine as one of the top 25 higher education influencers to follow in 2026. 

Dr. Bekir Mugayitoglu is a scholar of instructional technology whose research spans computer science education, computational thinking, micro-credential professional development, artificial intelligence pedagogy, and cybersecurity education. His work explores how emerging technologies can be taught effectively and how educators can build the skills they need to use them well.

In addition to his research, Dr. Mugayitoglu contributes to institutional governance through service on the College of Education Curriculum Committee, the Student Technology Fee Advisory Committee, the Artificial Intelligence Policy Review Committee, the Academic Policy Committee, and the DEAL Center Mini-Grant Committee.

He holds an EdD from Duquesne University, an MBA from California University of Pennsylvania, and a BS from Cumhuriyet University.