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 

Olson
Laura Olson, PhD
Doctoral Program Co-Director

lolson@jsu.edu

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

shuang@jsu.edu

Denise DaSilva
Denise DaSilva, MPA
   Undergraduate & MSEM Program Director

ddasilva@jsu.edu

Rachel Haas
 Rachel Haas , MBA
Undergraduate Program Advisor (New Students)

rhaas@jsu.edu

Hughes
  Kirsten Hughes , MSW
Career Advisor

khughes6@jsu.edu



Faculty

Professors
Education Specialization/Research Interests

Bill Lowe Bill 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

Sky Huang Shih-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

Chongming Wang Chongming Wang
CV

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

newton Allison 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

Chan Wang 
Chan Wang
CV

Ph.D 2023 - Arizona State University
  • Crisis Policy Making
  • Emergency Preparedness and Response
  • Risk Communication
  • Qualitative Comparative Analysis
  • Social Network Analysis

Olson Laura Olson
 
CV

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

Scott Manning Scott Manning
Visiting Assistant Professor

CV

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

Arjola Balilaj Arjola Balilaj
CV

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

Denise DaSilva Denise DaSilva
CV

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

Emeritus Faculty

Barry Cox A. Barry Cox
IEP Director Emeritus

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

Jane Kushma Jane 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

Jeff Ryan Jeff 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 McEntire David McEntire
Distinguished Affiliated P rofessor

CV

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

Alessandra Jerolleman Alessandra Jerolleman
CV

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

David Thornton David Thornton
CV

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


Adjunct Faculty

harper Rhonda Braudis
CV

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

Jones Andre Jones
CV

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

McFall Matthew McFall
CV

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

McGriff Brad McGriff
CV

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

rothman Eugene 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

photo coming soon Mary "Kay" Vonderschmidt
CV

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