2000 and earlier
2000
Twelve doctoral degrees were awarded by the Andrew Young School in 2000; six in Economics and six in Human Resource Development.
Ph.D. in Economics
Agnieszka Beilinska-Kwapisz completed her dissertation, "Alcohol Taxes, Prices, and Consumption: Drunk Driving Fatalities," and is now in the job market.
Barbara Edwards began work with the Tax Analysis Division of the Congressional Budget Office in Washington, DC., where she continues her research agenda regarding the impacts of tax relief provided to selected groups. Her dissertation topic was, "The Incidence of State and Local Tax Treatment of the Elderly."
Christopher Geller completed his dissertation, "Private Schools and Public Quality: An Analysis of the Effects of Private Schools on Public School Performance," and accepted a position at the School of Economics, Deakin University, in Australia.
James Murphy's dissertation topic was, "The Scope Test Reconsidered: Theory and Experimental Evidence." He is currently an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina in Asheville.
Carol Robinson Scotton completed her dissertation, "The Impact of Workplace-Risk Measurement on Estimates of the Value of a Statistical Life," and went to work for the Centers for Disease Control studying HIV/AIDS prevention policy.
Mary Kathleen Thomas, now a research scholar at the Cecil and Ida Green Center for the Study of Science and Society at the University of Texas in Dallas, completed her dissertation on "The State Share of Revenue for Public Education: Measuring Its Magnitude and Effect on Total Per Pupil Spending in Primary and Secondary School Districts."
Ph.D. in Human Resource Development
Lucinda Gibson and Thomas Myers, a husband and wife team, own the consulting company, Performance Alliance. Both received Ph.D.s in HRD this year. Lucinda's dissertation topic was, "Phases of Learning During Action Learning Experiences: An Exploratory Study." Tom's topic was, "Burnout and Organization Structure."
Mary Langley, whose dissertation explored "The Role of Pastoral Leadership in the Sociopolitically Active African American Church," now works for the Morehouse School of Medicine.
Patricia Sherrer, now a freelance consultant, completed her dissertation, "Cultural Learning: Internationalization in Greek Manufacturing."
Margaret Thompson completed her dissertation, "The Relationship Between Organizational Learning Cultures and Participation in Decision Making," and celebrated the birth of her second child fall semester. She has worked as a university instructor, independent consultant and in various internal roles as a training and development professional.
Michael Workman's dissertation topic was, "The Effects of Cognitive Style and Media on Commitment to Telework and Virtual Teams." He has accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the School of Information Studies at Florida State University.
1999
Thirteen doctoral degrees were awarded in 1999: six in Economics and seven in Human Resource Development.
Ph.D. in Economics
Lewis Francis Jameson Boex completed his dissertation, "The Causes of Residential Suburbanization in the United States." He accepted a position as Senior Research Fellow with the International Programs of the AYSPS.
David Robert Bowes completed his dissertation, "Identifying the Impacts of Rail Transit Stations on Residential Property Values in Atlanta." He accepted a research associate position in the Center for Economic Education at the University of Cincinnati.
Kelly Marie Brown completed her dissertation, "Mode, Population, and Gender Bias in Experimental Applications of Contingent Valuation." She accepted a position as an economist with the federal Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.
Dagney Gail Faulk completed her dissertation, "An Analysis of the Participation Decision and the Employment Impact of State Employment Tax Credits." She accepted a position as assistant professor of economics at the University of Indiana-Southeast.
Mary Mathewes Kassis completed her dissertation, "The Incidence of the Social Security Payroll Tax: An Analysis of the Impact of Social Security on the Labor Supply of Younger Workers." She is working at the Fiscal Forecasting Center with the Robinson College of Business at GSU, as research coordinator.
Steven Royce Maguire completed his dissertation, "An Economic Analysis of the Subsidization of Professional Sports Franchises." He accepted a position as Analyst in Public Finance for the Congressional Research Service. In this position, he consults congress on current tax legislation as well as performs anticipatory economic research on issues relevant to tax policy.
Graduates of the Ph.D. in Human Resource Development:
Kay Jernigan Bunch completed her dissertation, "The Relationship of Participation and Gender to Leadership Perceptions." She is an instructor in the Department of Management in GSU's J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
Suzanne D. Butterfield completed her dissertation, "Action Learning: Case Study of Learning and Transfer for Personal and Professional Development." She is an instructor at Brenau University in Gainesville, GA and an independent HRD consultant.
Susan Lutters Greene completed her dissertation, "Women's Mid-Life Career Change: The Case of Episcopal Women Priests." She is a Human Resource practitioner at Heraeus-Amersil, Inc.
Rhonda Hefner-Packer completed her dissertation, "An Investigation of Teachers' Perceptions Regarding Behaviors and Practices that Support the Implementation of Professional Development in Georgia Schools." She is an Education Program Specialist of the Leadership Academy, Georgia Department of Education.
James Stuart Kirley completed his dissertation, "Toward A Unified Theory of Collective Mind: A Model of Collective Mind through Analogy in Current Bodies of Knowledge." He is an organizational learning consultant at the Southern Company.
Robert Joseph Lahm, Jr. completed his dissertation, "The Phenomenon of Interpersonal Chemistry in the Hiring Process: Toward the Development of a Theory." He is an instructor at DeVry Institute.
Ji Ma completed her dissertation, "Cross-Cultural Training for Expatriates in U.S. Global Corporations: A Comparative Case Study." She is conducting training at ADP.