Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Joshua Ruppel, Director of Research

Joshua V. Ruppel, PhD is a Professor of Chemistry and Director of Research at USC Upstate. His current research focuses on the synthesis and characterization of a library of organic compound which may have applications as an antibiotic or in cancer therapy. His research has been published in well-respected peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal of Organic Chemistry, Organic Letters, European Journal of Organic Chemistry, Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, and Tetrahedron Letters. Dr. Ruppel regularly engages undergraduate students in his research, providing valuable hands-on laboratory experiences for those students seeking placement in graduate and/or professional school, or seeking employment in STEM careers after graduation. His research efforts and working with students inside and outside the class room have been recognized by a number of awards including: USC Breakthrough Star award and the USC Upstate Excellence in Teaching and Advising Award in 2019 along with the 2018 award for Excellence in Research and Scholarly Pursuits

Fall 2023 Interim Editor

Virginia Cononie, Associate Librarian; Coordinator of Research

Virginia Cononie's published scholarship takes an interest in scholarly communication, library funding advocacy, and marketing and outreach. At the library, she engages with students and library users at the research desk, instructs information literacy sessions, and collects materials for varying subjects.

Associate Editors

Dr. Darlene Amendolair , Associate Professor

Darlene Amendolair Ph.D., an Associate Professor. Dr. Amendolair has been on faculty of USC Upstate since 2006; received her Ph.D. from Capella University in 2007, masters in Resource Management (Computer Network) from Webster University 1986, US Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) Certificate in Science,1989, and master in nursing administration from University of South Carolina 1983; served in the US Army Nurse Corps from June 1968 to September 1997, retiring as a Colonel. Currently teaches in the BSN, RN-BSN, and Graduate programs. Research activities include Effects of Cell Phone use and the patient’s perceptions of being cared for, use of Virtual Environments in learning, perceptions of women with cognitive dysfunction after chemotherapy, nurses’ perception of the barriers to exhibit caring behaviors, PI for the development of a Care Model for a local hospital, PI for the development and validation of a Professional Nursing Practice Model. Support research for staff nurses by providing structure classes and individual mentoring. She received Palmetto Gold Faculty award 2015, Daisy Faculty award 2014, and University of South Carolina Breakthrough award 2014. Have served of various University and MBSON committee, currently on the Chair, Promotion and Tenure Committee, Senate, and am parliamentarian for MBSON. Has been a presenter at several conferences, both national and international conference, Author/Co-author of several published manuscripts; have obtained a total of $46,640 in grant funding.

Matthew Donaldson, Associate Professor of Graphic Design

Born and raised in South Carolina, Matthew Donaldson now lives in Spartanburg, S.C., and serves as an assistant professor of graphic design at the University of South Carolina Upstate. He teaches a variety of courses in graphic design, including Interface Design I, Graphic Design I, II and III, and Senior Seminar, and serves as co-director of The Studio, a student-run, faculty-led design firm at USC Upstate. In 2007, Matthew earned a Bachelor of Arts in visual arts from Francis Marion University, and in 2010 earned a Master of Fine Arts in graphic design from the University of Memphis. Upon entering the professional design industry, Matthew worked as an interactive designer for Thompson & Co. in Memphis, Tennessee, and as an assistant professor of graphic design at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Matthew also works as a freelance designer, primarily focusing on web design, and is currently researching content-management systems and responsive design and development.

Dr. Tina Herzberg, Professor of Special Education

Tina Herzberg, Ph.D. is a Professor of Special Education and currently serves as Director of Graduate Programs for the School of Education. Her primary research interests are braille literacy and preparation of tactile materials for students who are visually impaired. Her research began with the exploration of quality in literary braille materials and has now transitioned to exploration of quality in math braille materials. Her work has primarily been published in the international peer-reviewed Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness. Prior to her arrival at USC Upstate, she served as a general education classroom teacher, an itinerant teacher of students with visual impairment, specialist for a regional service center and adjunct instructor.

Elaine Marshall, Director of Sponsored Awards

Elaine Marshall is the Director of Sponsored Awards at USC Upstate. She has been with the University since 1996 and works with all faculty and staff on the Upstate campus who pursue and receive grant funding. Elaine holds a national Certified Research Administrator designation from the Research Administrators Certification Council. She also has a BA in English and History and a MA in English Literature from Clemson, where she also taught full-time before coming to USC Upstate.

Dr. Ben Montgomery, Associate Professor of Biology

Dr. Montgomery is an Associate Professor of Biology. His research focuses on the evolutionary ecology of plant reproduction and plant pollinator interactions. He is currently focused on the partitioning of pollinators among different species of Silene, a genus of wildflowers with a wide array of floral traits and multiple pollination syndromes. Dr. Montgomery is also interested in delayed self-pollination as a mechanism that allows for cross-pollinations while also providing reproductive assurance. His longer-term research interests include competition for pollination between different species and mechanisms for the maintenance of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) as well as repercussions of CMS for the maintenance of genetic diversity. He has been working with the Spartanburg Trees Coalition to work toward the eradication of Kudzu in the natural area on the USC Upstate campus and is the de facto curator of the Upstate Herbarium. He has published his work in several journals, including the following: Biological Invasions, Oecologia, Annals of Botany, American Midland Naturalist, Oikos, and Botany.

Dr. Renu Pariyadath, Assistant Professor of Communication

Renu Pariyadath is an Assistant Professor of Communication. Her published scholarship takes interest in the communicative processes that lead to the dissolution of Self-Other constructs within intercultural-, organizational- and transnational communication contexts. She particularly focuses on how people and organizations use non-identity-based modalities of organizing for social and environmental justice, locally and globally, borrowing widely from critical communication theory and transnational feminist theory. More recently, she has been engaged with projects related to critical pedagogies and pedagogies of care. Renu has published in journals such as Environmental Justice and Women's Studies Quarterly (WSQ) and has contributed to several edited collections of scholarly papers.

Dr. Shannon Polchow, Associate Professor of Management

Dr. Shannon Polchow graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a Ph.D. in Spanish. She teaches a wide array of classes at the University of South Carolina Upstate, including introductory Spanish language, Spanish literature and civilization of Spain. Her research interests include the works of Miguel de Cervantes and other writers from early modern Spain. Her most recent publications can be found in Hispania and the MIFLC Review.

Dr. Julie Wade, Associate Professor of Management

Julie T. Wade is an Associate Professor of Management in the Johnson College of Business and Economics (JCBE). She received her Ph.D. in Management Information Systems from Clemson University and her research interests include social media and virtual communities. Her work appears inMIS QuarterlyandCommunications of the Association for Information Systems, among other outlets.