Thirty-three new faculty members have joined Coastal Carolina University for the 2009-2010 academic year. A listing of new faculty members by academic college follows:

Spadoni College of Education

Linda Anast-May is an assistant professor in educational leadership. She earned a Ed.D. from Vanderbilt University. She led the development of a master's degree program in educational leadership at Coastal Carolina University which was recently approved by the South Carolina Higher Education Commission and the State Board of Education. May was previously an assistant professor in the graduate department of educational leadership at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., as well as supervising principal and superintendent interns throughout the state.

Gregory Geer is an assistant professor in educational leadership. He earned a master's degree in economics from Syracuse University, a bachelor's degree from SUNY at Potsdam, and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from the University at Albany. Geer served as the superintendent of the Byron-Bergen school district in upstate New York. He also served five years as the superintendent's liaison to New York State Public High School Athletic Association and was a faculty member of the New York State Council of School Superintendents' superintendent development program.

Nanci Howard is a lecturer of education. She received a bachelor's degree in special education from Winthrop University in 1985 and a master's degree in education of divergent learners from Columbia College in 2003. Howard's areas of interest are diversity, educational psychology, Asperser's Syndrome and working with parents and educators to meet the needs of students with mental health issues.

Sheldon Kohn is an assistant professor of English education and literacy. He earned a bachelor's degree at Georgia State University, a master's degree at the University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. at Georgia State University. For the past nine years, he has worked as a public school teacher in Georgia. His research interests include the interaction of culture and education.

Edwards College of Humanities And Fine Arts

Jason Bordt is a lecturer and will teach core courses in writing and composition. A teaching associate since 2008, Bordt earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Central Florida and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Minnesota State University.

Jennifer Boyle is an assistant professor of English. She earned a master's degree in comparative literature and a Ph.D. in English from the University of California at Irvine. She has spent the last six years as an assistant professor of English at Hollins University in Virginia. Boyle was a fellow at the Pembroke Center at Brown University, the recipient of two Regents Fellowships at the University of California, and a Fellow at the Folger Institute and Library.

Amanda Brian is an assistant professor of history. She earned a bachelor's degree in history and German from the University of Indianapolis in 2001, a master's degree in history from the University of Illinois in 2004, and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Illinois in 2009. Her scholarly expertise centers on German children in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Brian also has interests in gender and comparative feminisms, European colonialism, medicine and science.

Wesley Fondren is assistant professor of communication (research theory and methods). He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Alabama, a Master of Divinity degree from Samford University, and a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Alabama. Fondren was previously a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Alabama.

Yun Sil Jeon is an assistant professor of Spanish. She earned a Ph.D. from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in Spain and had been deputy director of the Latin American Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Her interests include further developing Coastal Carolina University's study abroad to include a program in either Argentina or Mexico.

Scott Mann is joining the Department of Visual Arts at Coastal Carolina University after 11 years in professional practice as a graphic designer/creative director. Mann earned a bachelor's degree in graphic design from Illinois State University and a master's degree in graphic design from the University of Notre Dame. He was cofounder of Tangent Design Group Inc. and also spent several years teaching graphic design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Illinois State University.

Steve McCartney, a teaching associate at Coastal Carolina University since 2007, earned a bachelor's degree in linguistics from SUNY Albany and a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. He has held visiting professorships at Texas A&M and the University of South Carolina.

Shannon Stewart is a lecturer and will teach courses in composition, literature and business writing. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, a master's degree from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and a Ph.D. in composition and rhetoric from the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Cheryl Ward is an associate professor of archaeology in the history department. She earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from Texas A&M University. She founded and codirected the Institute of Nautical Archaeology in Egypt and has served as a national speaker for the Archaeological Institute of America. Her expertise centers on ancient shipwrecks and shipbuilding.

College of Natural and Applied Sciences

Ogul Arslan is a visiting assistant professor of mathematics. She earned a master's degree in mathematics from Wayne State University and a Ph.D. in mathematics from University of Florida. Her research interests are representation theory and finite geometries. Arslan previously taught undergraduate level courses at both the University of Florida and at Wayne State University.

Meghan Carnes is a lecturer of mathematics. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics education at Anderson University and a master's degree in mathematics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She previously taught mathematics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Rajendra Dahal is an assistant professor of mathematics. He earned a master's degree from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His area of research is in applied mathematics with a concentration on dynamic equations on time scales.

Clint Fuchs is a lecturer in computer science. He earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and an master's degree in computer science at the University of South Carolina. Fuchs earned a Ph.D. in computer science at the University of South Carolina. His research focus is in the area of artificial intelligence.

Jamie Hedges is a lecturer of mathematics. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Furman University and a master's degree in secondary education from Coastal Carolina University. She previously taught mathematics in the Horry County School District.

Robert Jenkot is an assistant professor of sociology. He earned a Ph.D. at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. He most recently taught at the University of Alabama. His research interests include illicit drugs and drug policy, deviance, criminology, and race and ethnic relations.

JongHan Kim is an assistant professor of psychology. He earned a Ph.D. at University of Maryland. He recently taught at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. His research interests include interpersonal relations, decision making, self-presentation and other social psychology topics.

Oscar Levin is a visiting assistant professor of mathematics. He earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and philosophy from the University of Northern Colorado and a Ph.D. in mathematics at the University of Connecticut. His current research interests are in mathematical logic and computability theory.

George Lyerly is an assistant professor of exercise and sport science. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of South Carolina where he also served as coordinator of the public health undergraduate program. Lyerly studies the effectiveness of physical activity in individuals with chronic disease, including the comparison of different lifestyle/physical activity and exercise-based interventions on sedentary individuals and clinical populations.

Genevieve Marchand is a lecturer in outdoor recreation. She earned a Ph.D. in recreation, parks and leisure from the University of Minnesota. Her specialties include outdoor leadership development, trip planning and management, and outdoor programming in therapeutic and developmental areas such as wilderness therapy for chemically dependent individuals. Marchand divides her time with the Office of Student Affairs, leading student trips and developing outdoor adventure and ropes course programming.

Jonathan Gulledge is an assistant professor of psychology. He earned a Ph.D. at Georgia State University. He most recently taught at Lee University. His research interests include human and nonhuman working memory, visual short-term memory, laterality of cognitive functions and social interactions.

Susan Mgrdechian is a lecturer of biology. She earned a bachelor's degree from Queens College, CUNY. She earned a doctorate in chiropractics from New York Chiropractic College. Mgrdechian maintained a private chiropractic practice for several years, and then began teaching for the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners.

Scott Parker is an assistant professor of biology. He earned a Ph.D. in biology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Parker is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Sydney, Australia, where he studies the evolution of viviparity in lizards and snakes as well as factors influencing the distribution of ectotherms. He joins the Coastal Carolina University faculty in January 2010.

John Shugart is an assistant professor of chemistry. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Emory University after receiving his undergraduate degree from Berry College. Shugart's research interests include green chemistry, peptide and protein chemistry, as well as the chemistry of nitrogen heterocycles.

Michael Stellefson is an assistant professor of health promotion. He earned a Ph.D. in health education from Texas A&M University. His research and grant interests include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease self-management education, fall prevention among elders, and health marketing utilizing technological applications.

Matt Wilkinson is an assistant professor of sociology. He earned a Ph.D. at Louisiana State University. His research interests include social interaction, identity, social integration, delinquency, sociology of culture, sociology of medicine and health.

Denise Williams is a lecturer of mathematics. She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in mathematics education from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. She previously taught mathematics at Robeson Community College as well as at the high school level.

Wall College Of Business Administration

Carol Megehee is an associate professor of marketing. She served on the faculty at University of Missouri, University of South Alabama, Spring Hill College and, most recently, Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, La. She earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Mississippi, a master's degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas. Megehee's research interests include Southern culture, tourism and student ethical conduct.

Sheila Mitchell is a lecturer of accounting. Since 2006, she has been a part-time teaching associate at Coastal Carolina University. She served full-time on the faculty at USC-Upstate and also worked in public accounting with Deloitte and Touche. She earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from USC-Upstate and a master's degree in professional accountancy from Clemson. Her teaching focus will be financial and intermediate accounting.

Minhua Yang is an assistant professor of finance. She is working toward a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Central Florida. Minhua's teaching and research expertise includes the areas of corporate finance, investments, financial markets and institutions, and international finance. Minhua previously worked as a financial analyst for Shandong Export & Import Company in China.