Friday, October 9, 2020
The College of Education has 13 new members joining the faculty for the fall 2020 semester.
“The College of Education is excited to welcome an outstanding cadre of new faculty to our ranks. They come to us with solid credentials and outstanding attitudes. Attracting such a group is a testament to the exciting things that are occurring in the COE,” said Richard Blackbourn, dean of the college.
These new faculty, hired in the departments of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Foundations; Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education; Educational Leadership; and Kinesiology started their careers at MSU during the 2020-2021 academic year.
The new faculty includes (in alphabetical order by department; then last names):
The new faculty in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Foundations are:
Zaccheus J. Ahonle, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Rehabilitation Counseling. His research interests include community integration and disparities in outcomes among vulnerable populations; psychosocial rehabilitation of adults with disabilities and substance use disorder; traumatic brain injury and other neurological disorders; big data – secondary data analysis; and telerehabilitation – improving access to vocational services via tele-mediated technologies.
Kayla Bates-Brantley, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in School Psychology. Her research interests include improving access to rural behavioral health services for children and adolescents; integrating pediatric behavioral health into primary care and school settings; behavioral consultation in the school setting; early intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders and other Developmental Disabilities; and parent training utilizing principles of Applied Behavior Analysis.
John Borgen, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Applied Behavior Analysis. His research interests include pediatric feeding disorders; severe behavior disorders; acceptance and commitment therapy with military and veterans; mindfulness in education; behavioral economics; organizational behavior management and dog training.
Sareh Karami, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Educational Psychology. Her research interests include wisdom and wise reasoning; creative thinking; critical thinking; adaptive intelligence; and underachievement.
Hailey Ripple, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in School Psychology. Her research interests include effectiveness of behavioral interventions; functional analyses; CHARGE Syndrome; and pediatric feeding disorders.
Hallie Smith, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor and the new Program Coordinator of Applied Behavior Analysis. Her research interests include the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders; autism spectrum disorder and developmental/intellectual disabilities; development of pre-treatment assessments to increase efficiency of treatment process; and exploring the relationship between caregiver acceptability and maintenance of treatment integrity.
Mark Wildmon, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in School Psychology. His research interests include functional communication training; high intensity behavior; academic and behavioral interventions and self-injurious behavior.
Jianling Xie, Ph.D., is an Instructor in Educational Psychology. Her research interests include motivation at school; academic emotion; and second language acquisition.
The new faculty member in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Special Education is:
Breana Jamison, M.Ed. is an Instructor in Special Education. Her research interests include developmental disabilities; behavior interventions; autism spectrum disorders; and the academic success of students with significant cognitive disabilities.
The new faculty in the Department of Educational Leadership are:
Kaleb L. Briscoe, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Educational Leadership – Student Affairs and Higher Education. Her research agenda focuses on problematizes oppressed and marginalized populations within higher education through critical theoretical frameworks and qualitative methodological approaches. Through her scholarship on campus racial climate, she seeks to disrupt whiteness and white supremacy on predominantly white campuses. Her research shapes administrators, specifically university presidents' responses to race and racism, by challenging their use of anti-Blackness and non-performative rhetoric.
Christa Winkler, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in Higher Education. Her research interests include the advancement of quantitative methodologies, in scale development and latent variable modeling; evaluating and promoting college student success; and examining the ways higher education administrators utilize institutional assessment to inform their decision making.
The new faculty in the Department of Kinesiology are:
Zachary Gillen, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in Exercise Physiology. His research interests include pediatric exercise science; muscle strength and power; neuromuscular function; muscle size; and exercise metabolism.
Dae Eun Kim, Ph. D. candidate, is an Instructor of Sport Studies and Coordinator of the Research Institute for Sport Convergence. His research interests include sport marketing; service quality; venue quality; and consumer behavior.
Established in 1903, MSU's College of Education is now home to six academic departments, one research unit and numerous service units. For more about the college, visit //www.educ.msstate.edu/.
MSU is Mississippi's leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.
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