Directory

Departmental Contacts

Psychology

Education Practice and Leadership

Teacher Education & Student Services

Leadership Team

	Janet Finch, Ed.D. Dean of College  Professor Office: E-403 Avon Williams Campus Phone: (615) 963-5451 Email:  jfinch@tnstate.edu
	Nicole Kendall Arrighi, Ed.D. Assistant Dean, Teacher Education Professor Office: 351 AWC Phone: (615) 963-5482 Email: nkendall@tnstate.edu
	Joshua Shive Interim Chair, Psychology Professor Office: 303 Clay Hall Phone: (615) 963-5160 Email:  jshive@tnstate.edu
	Beth Christian, Ph.D.  Chair, Education Practice and Leadership Professor   Office: H405 AWC Phone: (615) 963-5466 Email: bchristian1@tnstate.edu

College of Education
Robert E. Clay Hall, College of Education Building
Tennessee State University
3500 John A. Merritt Blvd.
Nashville, TN 37209

 Map / Directions 

Mrs. Ruth Gordon  
Senior Office Assistant,
Dean Office  

Office: 118 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5451
Email:  rgordon1@tnstate.edu

Ms. Karen Avant
Administrative Assistant,
Educational Leadership Department

Mrs. Gervaise Clark
Administrative Assistant,
Education Practice and Leadership Department

Office: AWC H400
Phone: (615) 963-5465
Email:    geclark@tnstate.edu

James Campbell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor 

B.A., 1982, Central State University; M.S., 1984, Oklahoma
State University; Ph.D., 1991, Oklahoma State University

Office: 308C Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-2920
Email:  jcampbell21@tnstate.edu

Lisa de la Mothe
Assistant Professor 

B.S., 2001, University of Tennessee at Martin; M.A., 2006, Vanderbilt University; Ph.D., 2008, Vanderbilt University

Office: 305D Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-1390
Email:  ldelamot@tnstate.edu

John Dossett, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor

Ph.D., University of Tennessee, Knoxville, M.S., Ball State University, B.S., Ball State University

Office: 304C Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-1559
Email:  jdossett@tnstate.edu 

Richard P. Garvin Jr., Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Trevecca Nazarene University, M.A., Fisk University, B.B.A., Philander Smith College

Office:      311 Clay Hall
Phone:     (615) 963-7799
Email:     rgarvin@tnstate.edu

Marie Hammond, Ph.D.
Associate Professor 

B.M.E., 1978, Olivet College, M.A., 1980, Ph.D., 1999, University of Missouri

Office: 305B Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5191
Email:  mhammond1@tnstate.edu

Esther M. Lynch, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Tennessee State University, M.S., Tennessee State University, B.S., Utica College of Syracuse University

Office:      308AA Clay Hall
Phone:     (615) 963-5152
Email:        emendez@tnstate.edu 

Raquel Martin, Ph.D
Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, M.S., Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, M.S., Lipscomb University
B.S., Fisk University

Office:      317 Clay Hall
Phone:     (615) 963-5150
Email:      rmarti42@tnstate.edu 

Megan Morrison, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Southern Illinois University

Office:     317AA Clay Hall
Phone:    (615) 963-5153
Email:      mmorri33@tnstate.edu

Robin Oatis-Ballew, Ph.D.
Associate Professor 

B.A., 1995, Fisk University; M.S., 1998, Howard University; 
Ph.D., 2001, Howard University

Office: 305A Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-1558
Email:  roatisballew@tnstate.edu

Joan Popkin, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor 

B.S., 1995, University of Tennessee; M.S., 1996, 
University of Tennessee; Ph.D., 2002, University of Tennessee

Office: 105A Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-1385
Email:  jpopkin@tnstate.edu

Brooke Rappaport, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Ph.D., University of Georgia, M.S., Tulane University, B.S., Tulane University

Office:    308DD Clay Hall
Phone:    (615) 963-1569
Email:      brappapo@tnstate.edu

Lauren Rocha, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi,  M.Ed., Texas A&M University, B.S., The University of Texas at Brownsville

Office:    303A Clay Hall 
Phone:    (615) 963-5345
Email:      lrocha2@tnstate.edu

Mary Shelton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor 

B.S., 1975, University of the South; M.S., 1989, George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University; 1999, Ph.D.,  George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University

Office: 304D Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-7984
Email:  mshelton@tnstate.edu

Joshua Shive, PH.D.
Interim Chair, Psychology
Professor

B.S., Truman State University; M.S., Purdue University;
Ph.D., Purdue University  

Office: 303 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5160
Email:  jshive@tnstate.edu

Amy Sibulkin
Professor 

B.A., 1976, Clark University; M.S., 1979, Cornell University;
Ph.D., 1981, Cornell University 

Office: 305C Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5088
Email:  asibulkin@tnstate.edu

Thurman Webb, Ed.D.
Associate Professor

Ed.D., Walden University, M.S., Tennessee State University, B.S., Tennessee State University

Office:      308A Clay Hall
Phone:     (615) 963-1593
Email:      twebb@tnstate.edu

Tiffany Williams, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Ph.D., Cleveland State University, M.S.,  Cleveland State University, B.A.,  Cleveland State University

Office:     308C Clay Hall
Phone:    (615) 963-2175
Email:      twill278@tnstate.edu  

Samantha Graves, M.Ed.
Data Analyst

B.S. Tennessee State University, 1999; M.S.,  Tennessee State University, 2001

Nicole Kendall Arrighi, Ed.D.
Assistant Dean, Teacher Education
Professor

B.S.  1999, University of Tennessee at Martin
M.S.  2000, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University
Ed.D. 2005, Tennessee State University

Office: 351 AWC
Phone: (615) 963-5482
Email: nkendall@tnstate.edu

Beth Christian, Ed.D.
Department Chair, Education Practice and Leadership
Professor

B.A.  1991, University of Tennessee
M.A.  1993, Middle Tennessee State University
Ph.D. 2002, Peabody College of Vanderbilt University

Office: H405 AWC
Phone: (615) 963-5324
VSCC Campus: (615) 230-3706
Email: bchristian1@tnstate.edu 

Kisha Bryan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

B.A.    1999 Voorhees College
M.A.T. 2001, State University of New York
Ph.D.  2012, University of Florida 

Office: G405 AWC
Phone: (615) 963-5466
Email:  kbryan@tnstate.edu

Sumita Chakraborti-Ghosh, Ph.D. 
Professor 

B.S.  1975, Calcutta University, Calcutta, India
B.S.  1987, Utah State University
M.A.  1979, Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta India
Ph.D. 1998, New Mexico State University

Office: F414 AWC
Phone: (615) 963-5476 
Email:  schakraborti@tnstate.edu  

Soala Dede, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor

B.S., 2004, M.Ed. 2010, Ed.D. 2017, Vanderbilt University

Office: E-408    
Phone: (615) 963-5304    
Email:        sdede@tnstate.edu 

Ehichoya Edokhamhen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

B.S.   2008, Ambrose Alli University, Nigeria
M.A.  2017, East Tennessee State University
Ph.D. 2023, East Tennessee State University

Office: F402 AWC
Email: eedokham@tnstate.edu 

Eleni Elder, Ed.D.
Professor 

B.A., 1985, University of Mary Washington
M.Ed., 1998, Virginia Commonwealth University
Ed.D., 2002, Florida Atlantic University

Office: G-404
Phone: (615) 963-7296
Email: ecoukos@tnstate.edu

Janet Finch, Ph.D.
College of Education Dean/Professor

B.S., 1972, M.A., 1978, Tennessee State University;
Ph.D.,1985, George Peabody College of Vanderbilt University

        Celebrating 25 years of Service

Office: E-403
Phone: (615) 963-7038
Email:  jfinch@tnstate.edu

Kirmanj Gundi, Ed.D.       (K-12 Coordinator)
Professor

B.S., 1986, Tennessee State University
M.Ed., 1994, Tennessee State University
Ed.D., 1998, Tennessee State University

Office: F409
Phone: (615) 963-2299
Email:  Kigundi@tnstate.edu

Retta Guy, Ed.D.
Professor

B.A. 1982,  University of Kentucky
MPA. 1995,  Kentucky State University
Ed.D. 2004, University of Kentucky

Office: F405 AWC
Phone: (615) 963-5465
Email: rguy@tnstate.edu 

Donghyun Kang, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

B.A.   2003, Seoul National University of Education
M.Ed. 2007, Seoul National University of Education
Ph.D. 2019, Texas A&M University

Office: E409 AWC
Phone:  (615) 963-5465
Email:  dkang@tnstate.edu

Faculty Website 

Show Mei Lin, Ph.D. 
Assistant Professor

B.A.     1981  Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan
M.S.W. 1985, California State University, Fresno
Teacher Certification 1997, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Ph.D.    2009 The  University of Oklahoma  

Office: H401 AWC 
Phone: (615) 963-1348 
Email:  slin@tnstate.edu 

Graham P. Matthews, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

B. A.     1969, Central State University
M.A.     1970, University of Michigan
Ph.D.    1976, University of Michigan
M. Div. 1982, Vanderbilt University Divinity School  

Office: F413 AWC
Phone: (615) 963-5029
Email:    gmatthews2@tnstate.edu

Terrance McNeil, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor 

B.S., 1994, Florida A&M University
M.Ed., 2011, Full Sail University; 2018, Florida A&M University

Robbie Melton,  Ph.D.
Interim Provost, Interim Vice President/Professor  

Ed.S., Wayne State University,1976
Ph.D. University of Michigan, 1979 

Trinetia Respress, Ed.D. (Higher Education Coordinator)
Interim Graduate Dean/Professor  

B.B.A., 1989, University of West Georgia
M.A., 1994, Tennessee Technological University
Ed.D., 1997, East Tennessee State University

Heraldo Richards, Ph.D. 
Associate Professor

B.A., 1975, University of Chicago
M.A., 1985, University of Michigan
Ph.D., 1993, Northwestern University 

Office: H407 AWC
Phone: (615) 963-5620 
Email:  hrichards@tnstate.edu

Twianie Roberts, Ed.D.
Professor

B.S., 1988, Fisk University; M.S., 1990
Tennessee State University; Ed.D., 1993
Tennessee State University

Office: 407    
Phone: (615) 963-2299    
Email:        trober25@tnstate.edu

Eric Vogel, Ph.D.
Professor

B.A., 1971, Louisiana State University at New Orleans
M.Ed., 1974, University of New Orleans
Ph.D., 1983, Florida State University

Office: H-409
Phone: (615) 963-7089
Email:  evogel@tnstate.edu 

Celeste Williams, Ed.D. 
Professor

B.S., 1987, Guilford College; M.S., 1995; Ed.D. 2001,                     
Tennessee State University

  Celebrating 20 years of Service

Office: H406 AWC
Phone: (615) 963-5446 
Email:    cwilliams@tnstate.

Hyeon Jean Yoo, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

B.S., 2007, M.A. 2010 Gyeongsang National University, South Korea;
M.S. 2021, Auburn University; Ph.D. 2021, Auburn University

Office: F411 AWC
Email: hyoo@tnstate.edu

Nicole Kendall Arrighi, Ed.D.
Assistant Dean, Teacher Education
Professor

B.S., 1999, University of Tennessee at Martin, M.S. 2000,
Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, Ed.D, 2005,
Tennessee State University

Ms. Zora Bates
Program Coordinator 
Teacher Education & Student Services (TESS) 

Office: 112 Clay Hall
Phone: 615-963-2193
Email: zbates@tnstate.edu 

Ms. Linda Fair
Field Placement & Clinical Experience 
Teacher Education & Student Services (TESS) 

Office: 103 Clay Hall
Phone: 615-963-4885
Email: Lfair@tnstate.edu   

Rhonda Stewart , Ed .D.
Director/Activity Director
Adjunct

B.S., 2000, Tennessee State University; M.Ed.,2002, Tennessee State University;
Ed.S., 2005, Middle Tennessee State University, Ed.D., 2017 Tennessee State University 

Office: 212A Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-6897
Email: rstewart@tnstate.edu 

Debbie Hayes, Ed.D 
Program Coordinator/Academic Success Coach-Psychology, Adjunct 

B.A., 1989, Berry College; M.L.A.S, 2006, Vanderbilt University;
Ed.D., 2021, Tennessee State University 

Office: 212 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-6915
Email: dhayes36@tnstate.edu  

Susan Githua, Ed.D.  
Project Coordinator/Academic Success Coach-Psychology, Adjunct

B.S., 2002, Kenyatta University; M.S., 2015, Tennessee State Univesity;
Ed.D., 2021, Tennessee State University 

Office:  212 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-6921
Email:  sgithua@tnstate.edu  

Ms. Nakayla Walker, M.Ed. 
Academic Success Coach-Elementary Education, Adjunct 

B.S., 2017, Middle Tennessee State University; M.Ed., 2020, Middle Tennesse State University

Office:  212 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-6892
Email:  nwalke11@tnstate.edu