Dr. Edward D. Walker, II

Department Head and Professor of Management

Dr. Edward D. Walker II is recognized as a CPIM by APICS and as a Jonah by the Avraham Y. Goldratt Institute. Prior to receiving his PH.D. in Operations Management at the University of Georgia, Dr. Walker worked in production planning and control, distribution, and plant management.

His research interests include Theory of Constraints, project management, manufacturing planning and control systems, performance measurement and classroom pedagogy. He has published over 20 journal and conference articles.

Dr. Roy Copleand

Assistant Professor of Management

Dr. Roy W. Copeland is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Langdale College of Business where his areas of instruction are employment law and business law.  He joined the faculty in the fall of 2012.  Prior to joining the faculty of the Langdale College of Business, he was a practicing lawyer.  As a lawyer he received numerous awards and commendations including Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Georgia (2009), Georgia Super Lawyer (2005), the Justice Robert Benham Award (2005) and Who’s Who in American Law (1999).  He graduated from the University of Southern California Magna Cum Laude and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.  He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Georgia Law School where he was a Thurgood Marshall Fellow.  He completed his post J.D. Degree, the LL.M., from Temple University Law School where he received the Faculty Award for top student.

Dr. Copeland has published several articles in bar journals and law reviews on topics ranging from strategies for depositions to voting rights to presenting ministers as a witness in emotional distress cases.  His current research is in the area of black owned real property in America and the American jury system and the development of the jury selection process.  Copeland is married to Cheryl L. Copeland and they have four children.

Dr. Gary Hackbarth

Assistant professor of Managment

Dr. Gary Hackbarth is an Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems in the Langdale College of Business Administration, Department of Management and International Business, at Valdosta State University. He holds a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. 

His teaching, research, and consulting areas of interest include Health Informatics, Project Management, Healthcare Information Systems, Information System Strategy, and Organizational Memory. He has published in the Perspectives in Health Information Management, International Journal of Healthcare Delivery Reform Initiatives, European Journal of Information Systems, Information & Management, Database, Information Systems Management, Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies, Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, the Financial Times, and in both national and international conference proceedings. 

Dr. Hackbarth is also a retired Naval Aviator with extensive staff and inter-governmental experience, most recently serving as the U.S. Naval Forces Japan, Aviation Liaison to Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF).

 

Dr. Eric Howington

Assistant Professor of Management

Dr. Eric Howington earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Applied Statistics from the University of Alabama. His teaching areas are Business Statistics and Management Science. His interests include data analysis, statistical modeling, data mining, quality control, and the use of quantitative methods to solve practical problems. His published works have appeared in the peer-reviewed journals IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary ComputationJournal of College Student Development, and The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. He is a member of the American Statistical Association. Dr. Howington is married with one child.

Dr. Taewon Hwang

Assistant Professor of Management

Dr. Taewon Hwang received his Ph.D. in Management from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He currently teaches classes in Management Information Systems, Supply Chain Management, Quality Management, and Management Science. His research interests are business-to-business electronic commerce, IT innovation, and the strategic management of information systems. His articles have appeared in journals such as International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Journal of Organizational Computing & Electronic Commerce, Service Industries Journal, Management Decision, Service Business: An International Journal, and International Journal of Information Technology & Management.

Dr. Jonathan Krispin

Assistant Professor of Management

Dr. Jonathan Krispin is Assistant Professor of Management, joining the Langdale College of Business in January 2013, returning to academics after a 17-year career in the private sector.  He teaches MGNT 3250 – Organizational Behavior, MGNT 3910 – Small Business Management, and MGNT 4200 – Leadership Theory and Skills.  His research interests are primarily in the areas of organizational climate and culture, business process improvement, organizational change, and leadership development. 

 After completing his Ph.D. in Social and Organizational Psychology from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA in 1997, Jonathan joined the Prestolite Wire Corporation, a Tier One Supplier in the Automotive Industry.  While there, he led the effort to implement a leadership and process improvement process that resulted in a 20% productivity improvement, and commensurate improvements in quality and safety.  This led the organization to apply for the Georgia Oglethorpe Award, an award for Organizational Excellence awarded by the Governor’s Office and that is awarded based on the Malcolm Baldrige Award Criteria (a National Organizational Excellence awarded by the President) in 2000.  The company won the Oglethorpe Award on its first application.

 Following his time at Prestolite Wire, Jonathan joined Heatcraft Worldwide Refrigeration, the commercial refrigeration division of Lennox International.  In 2004, while he was Acting Director of Operations for the Tifton manufacturing plant, the Georgia Department of Technical and Adult Education recognized the facility he led as the mid-sized Manufacturer of the Year.  Jonathan continued at Heatcraft in several positions of increasing responsibility, including roles as a Master Blackbelt in the Lennox LeanSigma program, training and mentoring process-improvement change agents across the corporation, and then as Global Operations Leader for Marketing and Product Development for Heatcraft Worldwide Refrigeration, coordinating the marketing and new product development efforts across operations in North America, South America, Europe, China and Australia.

In 2008, Jonathan joined Pinnacle Prime Contractors in Valdosta, GA as Vice President for Human Resources and was later promoted to Executive Vice President in 2009.  Over the years, Jonathan has consistently taken consulting engagements on a part-time basis, and his clients have spanned a variety of industries.  The list of clients he has served includes the Ritz Carlton Hotels, the Hardin Construction Company, Cooper Tire Corporation, Smith-Northview Hospital and Regal Boats. 

 Jonathan resides in Valdosta, Georgia with his wife of 20 years, Paige, and their four children.  His interests include riding and working on motorcycles, playing guitar, sports of all kinds, and taking long walks on the beach.

Dr. K. Nathan Moates

Assistant Professor of Management

Nathan Moates received his undergraduate, Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Auburn University. He currently teaches classes in Organizational Behavior, Performance Appraisal and Rewards, and Organizational Design and Analysis. His main research interests are supervisor/subordinate interactions and organizational analysis methodologies. His hobbies include reading, watching sports, playing guitar, and spending time with his wife, Brandy.

Dr. S. Andrew Ostapski

Professor of Management

Dr. S. Andrew  Ostapski is a Professor of Management at VSU. Since 1993,  he has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in The Environment of Business, Business Law, and International Management.  He enjoys teaching in the classroom as well as on closed circuit television or through the Internet.  He is a recipient of COBA's Outstanding Teaching Award.  He has published 15 books and over 25 peer-reviewed articles.  He currently serves as the Commanding Officer of VTU Law 0805, NOSC Jacksonville, whose mission is to provide legal assistance to the military community.  He is a former trial attorney who worked criminal defense and prosecution.  He clerked for a federal bankruptcy judge and served as the national bankruptcy expert for the U.S. Customs Service.  Prior to coming to VSU, he taught International Business and other specialized legal topics at the University of Miami.  

Dr. Todd Royle

Professor of Management

M. Todd Royle received both his BS and MBA from the University of Utah. He earned a Ph.D. at Florida State University. He teaches/has taught undergraduate management courses in organizational behavior, international business, and career development. His main research interests relate to accountability, culture, and organizational politics.

Dr. Mel E. Schnake

Professor Emeritus of Management

Dr. Mel Schnake received an M.B.A. degree from Illinois State University and a D.B.A. degree from Mississippi State University.  He is MBA Director and Professor of Management.  He teaches organizational behavior, human resource management and labor relations at the undergraduate level; and organizational behavior in both the on-campus MBA program and online Georgia WebMBA program.   His research interests include organizational citizenship behavior, organizational dysfunctional behavior, the relationship between human resource management programs and organizational effectiveness, and intrinsic work motivation.

Dr. John E. Oliver

Professor Emeritus of Management

Dr. John E. Oliver earned his Ph.D. from Georgia State University in 1980 following a ten-year career as a banker from 1967 to 1977. He also has experience in manufacturing and retail, and spent four years in the U.S. Navy serving two tours in the Vietnam War. Much of his college work was done at night while pursuing a career and raising three daughters and a son. He presently has seven grandchildren and more on the way.

Dr. Oliver has published over 100 articles, cases, instruments, programs, and experiential learning exercises; and has consulted in manufacturing, service, financial, and government organizations. He loves teaching, research, service, his colleagues, and his students.

His hobbies include sailing, canoeing, fishing, gardening, his family, friends, and work. He is a lucky, happy man who has been well blessed and well loved. He is thankful.

Dr. Fredrick A. Ware Jr.

Professor Emeritus of Management

Dr. Fred A. Ware, Jr., Professor of Management, has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from Georgia Tech, an MBA from Emory University, and a Ph.D. in Business Administration (Management) from Georgia State University. He was employed for ten years by Lockheed Aircraft in production design, cost analysis, and management information systems before joining VSU. Dr. Ware served three years in the U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama including one year as an engineering representative in a contractor plant in North Carolina.

At VSU,  Dr. Ware served for eight years as Head of the Department of Management & Information Systems, is a former Director of the MBA Program, former Executive Secretary of the Faculty Senate, and chair of numerous university and civic committees. In 2001 he served as Chairman of the VSU Presidential Search & Advisory Committee. He is a Rotarian (past president), a former Elder of  First Presbyterian Church, a member of the board of directors of the Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, and an active member of the Lowndes/Valdosta Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Ware served at the State level on the Advisory Council of the Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network.

Dr. Ware has an active interest international business, exporting, and study-abroad, having taught several times in the University System of Georgia's European Council summer programs in  France and England since 1997. (See www.valdosta.edu/~fware). Dr. Ware and his family lived in Europe for one year (1982-83) when he was on leave from VSU teaching graduate business courses in England, Spain, Germany, and The Netherlands.

Dr. Ware currently teaches International Management, Small Business Management, Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, and Leadership Skills Development. He has a number of scholarly publications and has been active as a management consultant in the area of supervisory training and development. His research and case-writing interests are in religion-based motivational factors, confidentiality issues in managing executive (academic) searches, study abroad program administration, and optimization of pedagogy in conducting overseas business student field trips.  

Dr. Robert J. Williams

Professor Emeritus of Management

Dr. Robert J. Williams is an professor of Management .  He received his B.S. and MBA degrees from Troy University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Florida State University.   Dr. Williams has teaching interests in the areas of business policy and quantitative methods, and his research interests include firm governance, business ethics, and management teams.  Dr. Williams is a member of the Academy of Management, the Southern Management Association and the Society for Case Research.  He has been at VSU since 2003.

Dr. Phyllis G. Holland

Former Department Head and Professor Emeritus of Management

Phyllis Holland received her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.  She taught Strategic Management and Family Business Management.  Her research  focused on case writing and instructional development.