Athens State University is pleased to welcome the following new faculty members to campus this fall.
Dagan Bond-Turner – Assistant Librarian
Dagan Bond was born in Dothan, Alabama, the peanut capital of the world. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English at Auburn University and her Masters in library and Information Sciences from the University of Alabama. She has spent seven years in the library system, with four of those years being a professional librarian. She became Associate Director of the Libraries in 2021 at Richmont Graduate University. This position allowed her to learn almost everything about libraries: cataloging, acquisitions, technical services, and research. She was able to develop her skills in research and apply instructional techniques within the classroom, as she taught the graduate writing class since 2019. However, her favorite aspect of this particular position was to work with the collection. Wanting to narrow down to one discipline in librarianship and focus on her favorite part of librarianship, she accepted the position as the Acquisitions and Collection Development librarian and a liaison to the College of Business. During her free time she likes to travel to small towns and her goal in life is to play as many mini golf courses as possible.
Tina Camba – Assistant Professor of Management/HR Management
Professor Tina Camba has twenty years of collective experience in building and leading teams as an Executive Human Resource leader in both private and public sectors, being a labor and employment attorney, and teaching Human Resources, Ethics, Business Law, and Diversity and Inclusion courses for three different universities. Professor Camba teaches the preparatory course for the Society for Human Resource Management certifies-professional (SHRM-CP) to Human Resource leaders and practitioners. She received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley, MPP from Vanderbilt University, JD from USF School of Law, and MBA from Southern Adventist University. She holds certificates in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace, USF Corporate Training and Professional Education Employee Benefits, and from the Institute for Applied Management and Law. Professor Camba is a Rule 31 Trained Mediator, a certified Society for Human Resource Management Professional (SHRM-LP), and certified Professional in Human Resource Management (PHR). Professor Camba serves as an East Tennessee SHRM Board Member, SHRM Student Chapter Advisor, and Tennessee Bar Association Member. She enjoys volunteering at the Collegedale Seventh-Day Adventist Church and is a Pathfinders counselor.
Alana Daniel – Assistant Professor of Business Analytics and Strategic Management
Alana M. Daniel, Ph.D. has 13 years of experience in higher education where she has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in General Business, Management, Business and related courses in face-to-face, online, hybrid formats. She has a Ph.D. in Management from University of South Alabama, a M.B.A in Business Administration from Troy University, and a B.S. in Marketing from University of Alabama Birmingham. Alana is also a Management Program Coordinator and online course developer and has conducted research leading to scholarly publication and provided service to the College, profession, and the community.
Patricia Elmore – Assistant Professor of English Education
Dr. Patricia G. Elmore is a native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she earned her BS in Secondary Education and BA in English from The University of Alabama in 2008. Patricia has a total of six years teaching experience in secondary schools. While working as a middle school teacher at Aliceville Middle School in Pickens County, Patricia completed her MA in Curriculum & Instruction from UA in 2011. She later left secondary education in 2013 to pursue her PhD in Secondary Education while working as a graduate teaching and research assistant at The University of Alabama. While at UA, she taught classes in the College of Education and immensely enjoyed working with teacher interns and cooperating teachers as part of the Clinical Master Teacher program. Her current research interests include critical media literacy education, classroom design, and qualitative research.
Yahia Fadlalla – Associate Professor of Computer Science
Dr. Fadlalla obtained B.Sc. in Computer Science from the State University of New York, Utica, New York and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick.
In the past, Dr. Fadlalla taught at the University of New Brunswick and at the State University of New York. He also worked as an Information Security consultant for a number of governments and private companies, nationally and internationally.
His research expertise is in the areas of Computer and Information Security, Security of Multilevel Secure Systems (Military and National Defense), Information Warfare (intentional attacks), Cryptography (Theoretical and Applied), and Cybersecurity (Internet of Things and Cybercities).
He has an extended list of research publications in refereed national and international journals and conferences. Dr. Fadlalla acted as a reviewer, program committee member, and an advisor for many national and international journals and conferences. Currently, he is a reviewer for the coming 2023 ACM SIG-CSE Conference (Special Interest Group on Computer Science Education) and the International Journal of Public Law and Policy (IJPLAP), a journal that is based in Switzerland and covers topics on, but not limited to, Terrorism, Digitalization and Data Protection, and Energy and Food Security.
Since 2015, Dr. Fadlalla is an Adjunct Professor at SUSTS (Sudan University for Science and Technology) where he supervises four Ph.D. students (two females and two males) who are in the final stage to successfully complete their program, a fifth Ph.D. student graduated in 2018 and now an Assistant Prof.
Dr. Fadlalla is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – IEEE Computer Society SIG-SP (Special Interest Group on Security and Privacy), IEEE Computer Society Technical Activities (Security and Privacy, Information Assurance, and Electronic Commerce), Association for Computing Machinery – ACM SIG-SAC (Special Interest Group on Security, Audit, and Control), among others.
He actively participates in national and international scientific communities as program committee member, advisor, and reviewer.
Travis Morgan-Chavers – Instructor of Early Childhood Education
Travis Morgan-Chavers holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education, a Master’s of Education in Early Childhood and Elementary Education, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education at Auburn University. Mr. Morgan-Chavers has served as a prekindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade classroom teacher, an administrator of a prekindergarten to grade 12 school, a proposal peer reviewer for early childhood organizations, a liaison and consultant to child development centers, and has led program improvement initiatives to include the inclusion and advocacy for unrepresented and marginalized groups. He is currently an instructor at Athens State University, and his expertise includes Piagetian studies, mathematics and science in early childhood education, early childhood assessment, and the psycho-social and moral development of young children.
Ronald Muhammad – Distinguished Assistant Professor of Professional Practice
Mr. Ronald Muhammad has a Master’s in Computer Information Systems and a Master’s in Education, pending the Master’s Thesis. He has completed all requirement for secondary teacher certification in the state of Michigan. He has worked for Drake State Community and Technical College for the past 11 years as an instructor for many of the courses in the Computer Science Department Associate Degree program, including classes in cyber security, operating systems, computer networks, and computer programming. In addition, Mr. Muhammad is a CISCO Certificated CCNA Academy Instructor, CISCO Certificated ITE Academy Instructor, Certified as Information Auditor by National Security Administration. (NSA), CompTIA Administrator and Instructor, and CISCO Academy Administrator. Mr. Muhammad is a retired certified Police Officer from the state of Michigan, City of Detroit. In addition to his many years of teaching experience, Mr. Muhammad has studied at Nova Southeastern for a Ph.D. in Computer Science.
Mr. Muhammad is the recipient of the 2020 Dale P. Parnell National Faculty Distinction Recognition award and was awarded the 2019 Chancellor’s Award from the Alabama Community College Association.
Lawrence Reeves – Assistant Professor of Logistics/Supply Chain Management
Lawrence A. Reeves, III (Tre’) is from College Park, GA. He attended North Carolina A&T State University from 1991-1996, obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management. For the next couple of years, he worked in procurement and sales before he started his journey in the logistics industry. In March of 2000, Tre’ went to work for CH Robison, one of the top third-party logistic companies in the world. In his 22 years of experience within the industry, he has worked at several companies as a leader in sales and operations. He is a coach, a mentor, and a teacher, and he trained others to be successful within the industry.
In 2008, Tre’ decided that he wanted to further his education, and enrolled at the University of Phoenix to earn his MBA in Global Management. He graduated with honors in 2011 and earned his Doctor of Business Administration – Global Supply Chain at Walden University in 2019. During his matriculation as an undergraduate and graduate, he tutored and held study sessions with peers to help in their learning process. Math, business management, and logistics courses were his areas of focus.
In 2012 Tre’ began his career as a professor in logistics, where he created content and taught subjects from Introduction to Logistics to International business at various schools. In 2019, he joined his longtime friend and brother, Demond Kennedy, who started Champion Logistics and Services. In the community, Tre’ has coached and mentored young men in basketball and served the last 20 years in youth ministry at various churches. He currently serves as the local outreach director at Crossroads Church and Douglasville.
William Richardson – Assistant Professor of Drama & Theatre Arts: Lighting and Scenic Design
William Richardson is a professor of Scenic and Lighting Design at Athens State University in Athens, AL. He is originally from Chicago, IL, attended the University of the South in Sewanee, TN for undergrad and received his MFA in lighting design at Northern Illinois University. He has worked as a Master Electrician and Lighting Designer for Charlottesville Opera as well as a Lighting Designer for the Dounda Fine Arts Center in Charleston, IL. Last Summer, he designed the lights for Murder on the Orient Express for WeatherVane Playhouse in Ackron, OH, and will be designing lights for Silent Sky for Elgin Community College in Elgin, IL.
Christopher Roberts – Instructor of Logistics/Supply Chain Management
Dr. Christopher Roberts is the Instructor of Logistics/Supply Chain Management in Athens State’s College of Business. He has a BA in Business Management, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Healthcare Management, and a Doctorate in Global Supply Chain Management. Dr. Roberts has 26 years of experience including maintaining a network of resources and contacts at DoD, Army, Directorate of Logistics (DOL), Directorate of Contracting (DOC), Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO), vendors, and manufacturers to coordinate and resolve problems, to keep abreast of new developments, assign programs, and to exchange information and develop programmatic improvements. He also is a member of the NAPSR Pharmacology/Pharmaceutical Sales Training Program, a Certified National Pharmaceutical Representative (CPNR), and member of the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE).
Kem Roper – Writing Center Director and Assistant Professor of English
Kem Roper has twenty years of experience in academia working as a Lecturer and Assistant Professor of English which also includes work as a Writing Center Director, Writing Center consultant, and graduate teaching assistant in a university writing center. Dr. Roper has a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition, an MA in English, and a BA in Communications. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Roper is also a blogger and podcaster. She has published one book, Trust the Process: How Writing Can Help You Get Unstuck, and is a contributing writer in 52 Weeks of Sun, an anthology of WLRH Sundial Writers.
This Fall, Dr. Roper plans to make the Writing Center a hub for creative and academic work. Whether online or in-person, students, faculty and staff will experience the Writing Center as a safe space to explore ideas and talk through difficult subjects in addition to developing all-important writing and researching skills.