(Specialty in U.S. Political History)

Ph.D., Purdue University

(Specialty in Interdisciplinary Leadership)

Ph.D., University of Central Arkansas

(Specialty in Higher Education Administration)

Ed.D., University of Arkansas at Little Rock

(Specialty in Christian Theology, Material Culture, and Media Criticism)

Ph.D. University of Virginia

(Specialty in Ethics, American Pragmatism, and Philosophy of Science)

M.A., University of Chicago

(Specialty in Anthropology, Performance Studies, Asian Studies)

Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin

Research: As an anthropologist of performance and a theatre artist, my interests include theatre and social justice, Asian theatre, puppetry, and other forms of expressive culture. I conducted my doctoral dissertation fieldwork in Shanghai and in the U.S. on martial arts and identity. I was basically interested in how martial arts practitioners formed ideas about themselves and others through physical practice and media. The project gave me an opportunity to do something I loved (tai chi) while learning how to be an anthropologist and folklorist. That initial, intensive research experience got me interested in the methodology of play. In other words, I love learning about people through playing with them: martial arts, games, performances, or any other kind of play.

Current Research: Through the Honors Senior Seminar course “Art of Change” and sophomore course “Theatre and Social Justice,” the Schedler Honors College conducts theatre workshops with youth on probation in Faulkner County and in other counties around Arkansas. We partner with county juvenile courts and with Ozark Living Newspaper Theatre on this project.

Performing Arts: In my “other life,” I’m an actor, writer, and artistic director of Ozark Living Newspaper Theatre. In recent years, I’ve been a performer with Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre right here in Conway and with Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum in L.A. I am a 35-year member of SAG-AFTRA.

Teaching: I try to bring to my teaching a balance between sharing knowledge about my academic disciplines, nurturing students through the skills and joy of research, and developing ways for students to creatively engage in service, both locally and globally. Before I became an academic, I worked for several years with refugee populations in Hong Kong and the U.S. and also worked with several human rights organizations, and I always find myself drawing on the relationships I formed with friends, students, and colleagues in those years to try to be a better teacher.

(Specialty in Cultural Geography, Landscape Studies, and Legal Geographies)

Ph.D. University of Kentucky

(Specialty in Criminal Law, Elder Law, and Mental Health and Attachment Issues in the Legal System)

J.D. Bowen School of Law at UALR

(Specialty in Legal Studies)

J.D. Bowen School of Law at UALR

(Specialty in Social Foundations of Education)

Department: Living Learning Communities

Ph.D. University of Georgia

Department: School of Communication

M.A., UALR

(Specialty in Sociology, Honors Education)

Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln

(Specialty in American Studies and Environmental Literature)

Ph.D. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill