Honors College – Faculty

Criminology and Criminal Justice, Professor
Doctor of Philosophy, Criminology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2008; Master of Criminal Justice, University of Colorado at Denver; BA, Psychology, University of New Mexico

Alison S. Burke joined the Criminology Department in 2008. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of New Mexico and spent a year studying psychology at Oxford University. Dr. Burke earned her Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice (MCJ) from the University of Colorado at Denver and her Ph.D. in Criminology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2008. She worked for more than five years with juvenile delinquents in medium-security treatment facilities and group homes in Colorado and helped implement delinquency prevention programs in Pennsylvania. Her research interests include juvenile justice, women and crime, gender and juvenile justice, and pedagogy in higher education. She has published articles in Educational Review, Journal of Effective Teaching, Journal of Youth, Violence and Juvenile Justice, and guest-edited an issue of Women & Criminal Justice.

Office: Taylor 223
Phone: 541.552.8288
E-Mail: burkea@sou.edu

English, Professor
BA, Rutgers College; MA, PhD, City University of New York

Edwin Battistella is the author, most recently, of Sorry About That: The Language of Public Apology. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Politico, Oregon Humanities, and the Oregonian. Battistella is on the editorial board of The Oregon Encyclopedia and is the co-editor-in-chief of journal Language and Linguistics Compass.

Office: Central Hall 245
Phone: 541.552.6620
E-Mail: battiste@sou.edu

Philosophy Chair, Professor, Co-Director – Campus Theme
Phd, MA, BA, Bangalore University; MA, University of Southern Mississippi

Prakash Chenjeri is professor of philosophy. He teaches courses in the areas of political philosophy, history of philosophy, philosophy of science, seminars in science and democracy, science and religion. He is also an affiliated faculty in the university’s Honors College. He has a PhD from Bangalore University and his research interests include the role of scientific literacy in democracy, epistemological issues at the interface of science and religion, political philosophy, and the idea of public reason and democracy. When he is not in the classroom, Prakash is involved in various community activities, including running the Friends of Philosophy group, a monthly meeting primarily for the community, and serving on the Ethics Board at Ashland Community Hospital.

Office: Central 253
Phone: 541.552.6034
E-Mail: chenjeri@sou.edu

Chair & Assistant Professor of Native American Studies
PhD in Native American Studies, University of California (Davis)

Dr. Colley is the Chair and an Assistant Professor of Native American Studies at Southern Oregon University. Her teaching and research interests include Queer Indigenous Studies, Native women, Native cinema(s), federal Indian law & policy, intertribal relations & conflict, and community health & healing. Dr. Colley has a forthcoming book titled Reframing Tribal Relations in the Casino Economy that investigates intertribal conflict and coalition in the tribal casino era.

Office: Taylor Hall 18B
Phone: 541.552.6751
E-Mail: colleyb@sou.edu

Philosophy, Instructor
PhD, University of Kentucky; MA, Philosophy, University of Houston; BA, Philosophy, University of Houston

Dr. Justin L. Harmon teaches a variety of courses in philosophy, including philosophy of art, ancient Greek philosophy, existentialism, philosophy of religion, and environmental philosophy. He has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Kentucky and specializes in 20th and 21st century European philosophy, aesthetics, and posthumanism. His recent research has focused on hermeneutics, materialist “proto-ethics,” and speculative realism. Outside of teaching and researching, Justin enjoys composing and performing experimental electronic music, participating in community radio, hiking with his Australian Cattle Dogs, and watching Houston Astros baseball.

Office: Central 248
Phone: 541.552.6164
E-Mail: harmonj@sou.edu

University Seminar, Instructor
PhD, Duke University, 1993; BA, The College of Wooster, 1986

Warren Hedges received his PhD from Duke University in 1993, where his dissertation focused on gender and literary realism. In addition to his academic work, he also helped run his family’s telecommunications company for two decades. Dr. Hedges started at SOU in the English Department in 1996, and later helped create SOU’s major in Emerging Media and Digital Arts. He currently teaches courses about topics such as digital imagery, Virtual Reality, transmedia storytelling, and creating convincing, internally consistent alternate worlds in genres such as science fiction and fantasy.

Office: Susanne Homes Hall, 105
Phone: 541.552.6926
E-Mail: hedges@sou.edu

Political Science, Associate Professor
BA, MA, California State University, Chico; PhD, University of California, Davis

Professor Hughes teaches introductory political science courses, upper-division courses in American and comparative politics, and both the Research Methods course and Senior Seminar. He is also the director of the Southern Oregon Center for Social Research. Teaching/Research Area: American and Comparative Politics, Research Methods.

Office: Taylor Hall 022
Phone: 541.552.6188
E-Mail: whughes@sou.edu

Anthropology, Associate Professor
PhD and MA, University of Arizona; BA, Guilford College

Jessica acquired her PhD and MA from the University of Arizona, after receiving her BA from Guilford College. Jessica’s main interests and teaching curriculum include topics such as conservation, environmentalism, applied anthropology, and border and migration studies, surrounding countries like Mexico, the US, as well Latin American studies.

Office: Taylor Hall 222
Phone: 541.552.6599
E-Mail: piekielj@sou.edu

Philosophy, Associate Professor
PhD, University of Minnesota; BA, Johns Hopkins, Philosophy; MA, Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Tennessee

Dr. Devora Shapiro is Associate Professor of Philosophy, and serves as affiliated faculty for SOU’s GSWS program. She earned her BA from Johns Hopkins University, an MA in Clinical Medical Ethics from the University of Tennessee, and her PhD in Philosophy from the University of Minnesota. She specializes in philosophy of science, feminist epistemology, and philosophy of medicine. Her previous work has centered around the articulation of non-propositional accounts of experiential knowledge, as well as critiques of the political and epistemic value of “objectivity”. Her current work focuses on applying intersectional theory within the context of medical diagnosis and pharmaceutical trials, as well as in the philosophy of epidemiology. In her spare time Dr. Shapiro negotiates collective bargaining agreements, designs things, and does the kind of ballroom dancing that one can win at. Additionally, she can often be found at music venues, but only the questionable sort, and listening to music, but only the superior sort.

Office: Central Hall 246
Phone: 541.552.6622
E-Mail: shapirod@sou.edu

Mathematics, Senior Instructor
MS in General Studies: Science/Mathematics, Southern Oregon University; BS in General Studies: Science/Mathematics, Southern Oregon University

Larry Shrewsbury has been implementing the use of “flipped-classrooms” (homework done in-class, with movies and reading outside of class), in-class activities, and has adopted an open-source textbook (i.e. free). He is currently working on helping students apply the research-validate effective study techniques. Since 1995 his favorite class to teach is MTH 243 (Intro to Statistical Methods).

Office: Central Hall 235
Phone: 541.552.6583
E-Mail: shrewsbury@sou.edu

University Seminar/Physics and Engineering, Senior Instructor II
PhD, Materials Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2005; BS, Materials Science, Northwestern University, 2000

Ellen is a dedicated educator and scientist whose teaching is enriched by extensive, international travels and engagements to investigate and discuss the changing climate system and emerging alternative energies with fellow scientists. At SOU she has taught courses in Physics, in Honors College, and in Green House and University Seminar. She is currently a Board member of the Geos Institute, a local non-profit organization composed of climate change scientists who work throughout North America to consult cities and regions in climate change adaptation, sustainable forestry, and water management. Since 2006, she has focused heavily on science outreach for women and minorities and taught a variety of undergraduate studies, physics, and engineering courses and is a part of Advocates for Women in Science, Engineering, and Math. Prior to beginning her career at SOU, she was supported by a Chateaubriand Fellowship and served at a National Center for Scientific Research laboratory in Marseille, France.

Office: Science Building 179
Phone: 541.552.6489
E-Mail: sieme@sou.edu