FSU Welcomes New Faculty

Fairmont State University welcomed 10 new faculty members for the 2008-2009 academic year.

New faculty members are the following:

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

Dan Gurash, Interim Director of Marion County's Public Library and former adjunct professor at Fairmont State, will join the Behavioral Science Department as a Temporary Assistant Professor. Gurash holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity Theological Seminary at Newburgh, Indiana University; a Master of Divinity degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio; Master of Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth; and a B.A. from California State University, Fresno. In addition to his pastoral, library and teaching duties, he has participated in Leadership Marion, has done research and presentation on educational resources available on the internet and recently completed his Chaplaincy Residency at West Virginia University Hospitals.

H. Suzanne Heagy will serve as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Language and Literature. She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in English/Creative Writing (fiction) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and her B.A. in English at the University of Indiana-Purdue University, Indianapolis. Heagy's research interests include African-American and Women Writers, Feminist Theory and Narrative Craft. Her awards include Distinguished Paper at Rutgers English Graduate Students Spring Conference, Academy of American Poets Award and Best of Issue in Horizon: The Annual Literary Magazine of the South Carolina Writers Workshop. Heagy was a presenter and reader at the sixth Annual Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities and at the University of Stirling Poetry and Sexuality Conference, Stirling, Scotland. She has designed graduate English courses, volunteered for the Poets in the School Program in Shalom High School, Milwaukee, and founded the Scribblers' Guild for the Lebanon Public Library of Indiana.

Nancy Landis-Taylor is completing her doctoral work at West Virginia University. She holds an M.A. in Counseling from West Virginia University and a B.S. in Psychology and Nursing from Fairmont State. She joins the Behavioral Science Department as a Temporary Assistant Professor of Psychology. Landis-Taylor has been an adjunct professor at Fairmont State since 2000, a clinical manager at Youth Academy and owns and operates Mon Valley Counseling Services. She is a Registered Nurse, National Board Certified Counselor, and Licensed Professional Counselor. She is a member of Marion County's Chamber of Commerce and Business and Professional Women's Association and is completing her dissertation, "A Comparative Analysis: The Nature, Content, and Ethics of Counseling Styles of Ministers."

Kristi Lowther will serve as Temporary Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice. She earned her M.S. in Criminal Justice at Fairmont State and her B.S. in Criminal Justice from Glenville State College, where she graduated summa cum laude and ranked first in her class. Lowther currently works in the Office of Admissions and has been an instructor for West Virginia Business College where she coordinated internship opportunities. She is a member of Pi Gamma Mu, International Honor Society of Social Sciences and Alpha Phi Sigma, National Criminal Justice Honor Society.

Lennie E. (Betsy) Shaw joins the Department of Social Science as a Temporary Assistant Professor. She earned her J.D. at West Virginia University, and M.S. and B.S. degrees in Criminal Justice at Fairmont State. She currently works as an intern in the Marion County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, where she conducts research and drafts legal documents. Shaw received a fellowship for work with West Virginia Public Defender Services in Clarksburg, has worked in the Office of Marion County's Circuit Clerk and was an intern at the North Central West Virginia Office of Probation and Parole. She served as president of her law class at WVU and holds membership in Pi Gamma Mu and Alpha Phi Sigma honoraries.

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Joseph C. Blankenship joins FSU as an Assistant Professor of Information Systems. He holds a D.Sc. in Information Systems and Communications and B.S. and B.A. degrees in Information Systems and Finance, all from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. He is completing his M.S. in Computer Information Systems at Boston University. Blankenship has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Findlay, Ohio; at Youngstown State University and Dowling College of New York; Director of Integrated Systems for Danet, Inc., in Wexford, Pa.; and Project Manager of MK Consulting in Pittsburgh. His publications and presentations include "Breast Cancer Predictive Research Methods," 2006 American Medical Association Journal; "Competitive Intelligence through Business Performance Management," 2004 Issues in Information Systems Journal (also presented at International Association for Computer Information Systems); and "Ethics and Information Systems" at Robert Morris University. Blankenship has mentored student research projects and serves on the Board of Directors of the Boardman Ohio, Rotary Club. He is a member of ACBSP and the Academy of Management.

T. Jean Engebretson will serve as an Associate Professor of Business Administration. She earned her Ph.D. from Cleveland State University, her M.P.A. and B.S. degrees at WVU, and has been a CPA since 1991. She was most recently a Professor of Business Administration at Davis & Elkins College and a VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Site Coordinator in Parsons, W.Va. VITA offers free tax help to persons with disabilities, non-English speaking persons and older taxpayers. Engebretson has also been an accountant for Arnett & Foster in Charleston and was the recipient of a $2,000 research grant at Cleveland State as well as several grants from the WVSCPA Accounting Foundation for classroom and VITA projects. She incorporates theory, effective communication, computer competency and experiential learning into her courses.

Timothy R. Oxley, current Assistant Vice President for Academic Services will join the School of Business as Associate Professor of Business and MBA Program Director. He holds an Ed.D. and Ed.S. in Leadership Studies and an M.S. in Management from Marshall University, as well as a B.S. degree from Concord University. Oxley brings 16 years of higher education administrative experience to the School of Business serving in various leadership and outreach roles, the most recent as Director of the Gaston Caperton Center in Clarksburg. Prior to his career shift to higher education, he spent 16 years in community and economic development with five of those years as the Executive Director of Region 4 Planning and Development Council. In addition to Oxley's professional experience, he has served as an adjunct faculty member for Glenville State College, Concord University, Pierpont Community & Technical College and Fairmont State University, including as a member of the graduate faculty. 

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

Ryan Dumont will be a Temporary Instructor in the Department of Health and Human Performance, and is beginning his fifth season on the football coaching staff. Dumont earned his B.S. in Physical Education at West Virginia Wesleyan and his M.Ed. at Fairmont State.  While at Fairmont, he has served as offensive coordinator and coach of quarterbacks and has mentored All-WVIAC first team selection Wendell Johnson and all conference performer Jo Jo Parker. He has coached football at North Marion and Buckhannon Upshur High Schools, is a member of the American Football Coaches Association and is licensed as an NCAA Recruiter.   

Jaci Webb-Dempsey will serve as an Associate Professor and comes to us from the graduate faculty of Human Resources and Education at West Virginia University. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education from UNC Chapel Hill, her M.A. in Education from UNC Wilmington and her B.A. in Fine Arts from Methodist College. In addition to her faculty work at WVU, she has been a program specialist for Energy Express, a Carolina Teaching Fellow, public school teacher, Arts Council program coordinator and art museum administrator. She is currently leading a research team for the Globaloria WV Pilot, an international technology project, and is co-principal investigator for the WV Partnerships for Teacher Quality Research Initiative. She has served as an evaluator for numerous statewide education projects, and her publications include book chapters, articles, research reports and training materials. Webb-Dempsey is a member of the American Educational Research Association and Kappa Delta Pi; she is the WVU College of Human Resources & Education nominee for Outstanding Researcher.