New Faculty Bring a Wealth of Diverse Expertise

BSU Welcomes Two New Department Leaders & More Than 20 New Faculty

MEDIA CONTACT: Damita Chambers, dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 mobile

(BOWIE, Md.) – Bringing a wealth of diverse teaching, research and professional experience, more than 20 new Bowie State University faculty, including two new department leaders, enhance the university’s learning community.

Most notably, Dr. Rose Shumba became the new chair of the Department of Computer Science, and the Department of Military Science also welcomed Captain Grant McDonald as the professor of military science. Dr. Shumba brings nearly 20 years of collegiate teaching, research and leadership experience with face-to-face, online and hybrid academic programs. Cpt. McDonald previously commanded a forward support company in the 82^nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg. Earlier, he served as a company executive officer and assistant S3 in the Warrior Transition Brigade at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, supporting the long-term care of wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The additional 20 new faculty are: 

• Deborah Bailey, assistant professor, Department of Management, Marketing & Public Administration
  Dr. Bailey was a visiting professor in the department in 2018 before joining the faculty. Her previous collegiate instructional experience include teaching human diversity in education and society, qualitative research methods and community-based organizations at Columbia University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, University of Delaware and Prince George’s Community College.

• Debra Coppedge, director of the simulation resource center, Department of Nursing
  Professor Coppedge has more than 20 years of collegiate teaching experience in clinical nursing, coordinating experiential learning for students in multiple settings. She has managed the simulation laboratory spaces in the Center for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Nursing since its opening in 2017.
• Lucy Gichaga, assistant professor, Department of Communications
  Dr. Gichaga has taught multiple undergraduate and graduate-level courses in social media strategies, media law and ethics, interpersonal communications and speech at Shaw University, Regent University and United States International University, in addition to advising several graduate students on their thesis research.
• Shadiya Hossain, assistant professor, Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics
  Dr. Hossain has taught courses in financial markets and institutions, international economics/finance, money and banking, and managerial economics at the University of New Orleans and Black Hills State University in South Dakota. Her research interests include economic policy and international economics and finance.
• Marja Humphrey, assistant professor, Department of Counseling
  A nationally certified counselor, Dr. Humphrey has more than 15 years of teaching and research experience in school counseling and community clinical/ mental health courses at Johns Hopkins University, George Mason University, University of Maryland University College and University of Maryland. She has extensive research presentations and publication credits.
• James Hyman, assistant professor, Department of Management, Marketing & Public Administration
  Dr. Hyman has taught the graduate courses in the department since 2017. He is CEO of a certified, minority business providing policy research and program consultation services to foundations and government in areas of youth development, community development, economic development, prisoner reentry and social capital. He also has a strong background in social science and policy research, public policy development and program design and implementation.
• Kavita Kapur, assistant professor, Department of Management, Marketing & Public Administration
  Dr. Kapur has more than 20 years of experience as faculty, executive trainer and a consultant in human resources management consultant. Her teaching work has been primarily in the areas of management, organizational behavior and leadership, intercultural and global management. She has taught at Adolfo Ibanez University in Chile, Pannashastra University in Cambodia and Kathmandu University.
• Adem Kaya, assistant professor, Department of Teaching, Learning & Professional Development
  Dr. Kaya has more than 15 years of experience in higher education and K-12 teaching, coaching Division I student-athletes, athletics management, and sport marketing. He has been a visiting assistant professor at the State University of New York at Cortland and the Guilford County Public Schools in North Carolina.
• Temptaous McKoy, assistant professor, Department of Language, Literature & Cultural Studies
  Dr. McKoy was a writing instructor at East Carolina University since 2015, teaching scientific and technical writing. Her research interests include HBCU culture and curriculum development, racial identity markers and the development of cross-cultural training documents in the workplace.
• Rand Obeidat, assistant professor, Department of Accounting, Finance & Economics
  Dr. Obeidat has been an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota and University of Maryland University College, as well as a lecturer at Yarmouk University in Jordan. He has also taught at University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky and Jordan University of Science and Technology.
• Dayo Oyeleye, assistant professor, Department of Management, Marketing & Public Administration
  Dr. Oyeleye has taught as a Bowie State adjunct professor for management and marketing courses since 2004. He has been a consultant in organization change management for Deloitte Consulting and Accenture, working with clients such as Louisiana State University, AIG, John Deere and Texas A&M University.
• Akeda Pearson, assistant professor, Department of Teaching, Learning & Professional Development
  An award-winning, results-oriented educational leader, Dr. Pearson has more than 20 years of experience in professional development, program development, strategic planning and instruction in collegiate, charter, urban, traditional and alternative school settings. She continues to serve as the department’s director of advanced studies in teaching and learning.
• Janell Pryor, assistant professor, Department of Fine and Performing Arts
  Professor Pryor is an award-winning scholar with more than 10 years of collegiate teaching experience for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses. In addition to her teaching role, Professor Pryor will also serve as coordinator of the BSU Gallery of Art in the Fine and Performing Arts Center. She also has more than 10 years of professional curatorial experience, which includes art exhibitions at university galleries.
• Supriyo Ray, assistant professor, Department of Natural Sciences
  Dr. Ray brings extensive teaching and research experience in microbiology, molecular biology and biochemistry, actively engaging undergraduate students in research activities. He has also guided undergraduate and graduate students in their thesis research. He comes to Bowie State from the University of Texas at El Paso.
• Karnati Reddy, assistant professor, Department of Natural Sciences
  Dr. Reddy has a strong background of teaching and research in biology, bioinformatics and computational chemistry, with experience at Albany State University in Georgia and Alagappa University in India. He also authored or co-author multiple articles published in peer-reviewed research journals.
• Vivian Shannon-Ramsey, assistant professor, Department of Social Work
  Having served as the department’s field liaison since 2016, Dr. Shannon-Ramsey has facilitated students’ experiential learning through placements in community organizations. She has also taught social work research, social work with communities and human behavior in social environments at Bowie State, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Salisbury University. Having extensive global experience, she was a 2017 Fulbright-Hays Scholar, studying culture, social reforms and institutions in Santiago, Chile.
• Jacquelyn Sweeney, assistant professor, Department of Teaching, Learning & Professional Development
  Dr. Sweeney returns to an assistant professor position after having coordinating Bowie State’s graduate reading program since 2017. She recently secured a National Endowment for the Arts grant to produce a play, inspired by her collaborative research project with a professor at Kent State University. She was previously the BSU coordinator of the undergraduate elementary education program. 
  
• Sheneese Thompson, assistant professor, Department of Language, Literature & Cultural Studies
  Dr. Thompson has more than 10 years of experience in education, most recently teaching courses in African-American literature and black women cultural and politics at Ohio State University. She has also been a visiting professor in the Black Studies program at Denison University in Ohio.
• Sabah Uddin, assistant professor, Department of Language, Literature & Cultural Studies
  Dr. Uddin has taught first-year composition, as well as courses on race and ethnicity, global women’s issues, social justice and the politics of fashion at the University of California Los Angeles, University of South Florida and Merrimack College.

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, criminal justice, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit www.bowiestate.edu.