Describe your area of expertise.
Human Resource Management (HR) and Organizational Behavior. I hold two Human Resource certifications, which allows me to share with my students current trends in industry, academic theory and research in the field.
What has your published research uncovered thus far?
The very complicated implications of body size discrimination in the workplace.
What research do you have in progress?
More recently I’ve become interested in teaching and learning research. Current projects include exploring varied ways of evaluating student performance when working in teams and using creative visualization to teach visioning in an active learning space.
What do you enjoy most about teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels?
I don’t take lightly the privilege and responsibility of teaching; the privilege of preparing students for careers and life and the overwhelming responsibility of getting it right. I enjoy Interacting with students in unique ways. Every class has its own energy and experiences. To harness that energy, I enjoy using varied teaching approaches, some pretty unconventional (visioning, games/simulations, seemingly chaotic brainstorming), others very traditional (lecture, reflective writing) to share behavioral management. I am blessed to teach a business discipline which has applicability in all facets of life. Thus, I strive to bring material to life with practical life and work examples.
In my short time here, I’ve had the opportunity to teach undergraduate and graduate students. Each group of students had different needs and levels of engagement, and presented varied instructional challenges/opportunities. It’s the challenges/opportunities that I enjoy the most, the questions that require research, assistance with job preparation that yields life changing rewards, the class meetings that begin one way and end differently than I anticipated because of student contributions.
What are some opportunities you have taken to utilize your expertise in the Charlotte community?
None professionally yet. Although I am a Charlotte native, I just returned to the Queen City July 2018 after being gone for 20+ years. I have a heart for service and opportunities in the local community so far have been volunteering with middle and high school student initiatives (Hidden Valley Optimist club oratorical and essay contests, Charlotte Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Scholarship Committee). However, I’m no stranger to working in the local professional community. Prior to returning to Charlotte, I was active in the Central Mississippi community as president of the East Central Mississippi Human Resource Association, on the board of the Meridian MS Salvation Army, and facilitated and organized professional development trainings with Mississippi State University-Meridian and the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation.