Directory

Departmental Contacts

Educational Leadership

Psychology

Teaching & Learning

Teacher Education & Student Services

Leadership Team

	Janet Finch, Ed.D. Dean of College  Professor Office: Robert Clay Hall, room 118 Phone: (615) 963-5451 Email:  jfinch@tnstate.edu
	Rajah Smart, Ed.D.  Assistant Dean, College of Education Associate Professor Office: 112 Clay Hall  Phone: (615) 963-5620  Email:  hrichards@tnstate.edu
	Nicole Kendall Arrighi, Ed.D. Assistant Dean, Teacher Education Professor Office: 112A Clay Hall 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.  Interim Chair, Teaching & Learning  Professor   Office: 203 Clay Hall Phone: (615) 963-5466 Email: bchristian1@tnstate.edu
	Twianie Roberts, Ed.D. Interim Chair, Education Leadership Assistant Professor Office: Clay Hall 103   Phone: (615) 963-5450   Email:    trober25@tnstate.edu
	Rhonda Stewart, Ed.D. Director/Activity Director Adjunct Office: 212A Clay Hall Phone: (615) 963-6897 Email: rstewart@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,
Teaching & Learning Department

Office: 203 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5465
Email:    geclark@tnstate.edu

Ms. Jamila Chambers 
Administrative Assistant,
Psychology Department

Office:      303 Clay Hall
Phone:     (615) 963-5141
Email:       jchamb12@tnstate.edu

Twianie Roberts, Ed.D.
Interim Chair, Education Leadership
Assistant Professor

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

Office: Clay Hall 103  
Phone: (615) 963-5450  
Email:    trober25@tnstate.edu

Trinetia Respress, Ed.D.
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.

Office: 107 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5045
Email:  trespress@tnstate.edu

Soala Dede, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor

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

office: Clay Hall 106 
Phone: (615) 963-5304 
Email:  sdede@tnstate.edu 

Eleni Elder, Ed.D.
Associate Professor 

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

Office: A404  Avon Williams Campus
Phone: (615) 963-7296
Email:  ecoukos@tnstate.edu

Janet Finch, Ed.D.
Dean, College of Education
Professor

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

Office: L401  Avon Williams Campus
Phone: (615) 963-7038
Email:  jfinch@tnstate.edu

Kirmanji Gundi, Ed.D.
Professor 

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

Office: 103 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-2299
Email:  kigundi2@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

Office: Clay Hall 108-A
Phone: 615-963-2111
Email:  tmcneil3@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: A403 Avon Williams Campus
Phone: (615) 963-7089
Email:  evogel@tnstate.edu 

Rajah Smart, Ed.D.
Assistant Dean, College of Education
Associate Professor

B.A. 1997, Western Michigan University, 2000; M.Ed., University of Phoenix, 2006, Policy Fellowship, Michigan State University, 2012; Ed.D., University of Michigan, 2019

Office:     103 Clay Hall
Phone:    (615) 963-5045
Email:      rsmart@tnstate.edu 

Robbie Melton, Ph.D.
Interim Provost & VP for Academic Affairs
Professor

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

Dr. Robbie K. Melton
(615) 963-5301
rmelton@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  

Rajah E. Smart, Ed.D.

Assistant Dean/Associate Professor

B.A. 1997, Western Michigan University, 2000; M.Ed., University of Phoenix, 2006, Policy Fellowship, Michigan State University, 2012; Ed.D., University of Michigan, 2019

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: 112A Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5482
Email: nkendall@tnstate.edu

Kisha Bryan, Ph.D.
Professor

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

Office: 211 Clay Hall
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, Rabindrabharah University,
Calcutta, India; Ph.D., 1998, New Mexico State University

Office: 209B Clay Hall 
Phone: (615) 963-5476 
Email:  schakraborti@tnstate.edu  

Beth Christian, Ph.D. 
Interim Chair, Teaching & Learning 

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

Office: 216 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5324
VSCC Campus: (615) 230-3706
Email: bchristian1@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: 203 Clay Hall
Email: eedokham@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: 203 Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5465
Email: rguy@tnstate.edu 

Latoya Johnson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

B.S., 2007, University of Southern Mississippi; M.A.T., 2011,
Belhaven University; Ph.D., 2015, University of Georgia

Office: 211A Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-1346
Email:  ljohns91@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: 105C Clay Hall
Phone:  (615) 963-5465
Email:  dkang@tnstate.edu

Faculty Website 

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: 204B Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5029
Email:    gmatthews2@tnstate.edu

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: 209A Clay Hall 
Phone: (615) 963-1348 
Email:  slin@tnstate.edu 

UrLeaka Woodard Newsome, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

B.S., 2002, Mercer University; M.S., 2005, Louisiana Tech
University, Ph.D., 2016, University of Georgia

Office: 211D Clay Hall
Phone: (615) 963-5477
Email:  unewsome@tnstate.

Heraldo Richards, Ph.D. 
Associate Dean, College of Education
Associate Professor

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

Office: 112 Clay Hall 
Phone: (615) 963-5620 
Email:  hrichards@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: 211C Clay Hall 
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: 203 Clay Hall
Phone:
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