Faculty Senate

Carmen Harris Faculty Chair  Media 107 864-503-5732

Dr. Carmen Harris is a professor of history who teaches African-American, U.S., Southern, and Latin American history. Her research and teaching interests include African-American, Southern and South Carolina history. Dr. Harris served a six-year term as a member of the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Humanities Council, and has served on the Membership Committee and Minority Committee of the Southern Historical Association. Dr. Harris has published several articles and book chapters on various subjects related to African Americans in agricultural extension programs. Additionally, she has shared her scholarship as a public historian on issues related to African Americans and agriculture for news articles, television documentaries, and podcasts She provided background on African Americans in the turn of the century rural South and on-air talent for the documentary When Harry Met Meghan and for Andrew Morton’s book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess.

Dr. Harris has served in several capacities in faculty governance including as a Senator, as the chair of the Academic Affairs Committee (twice), the Assessment Committee, and the Admissions and Petitions Committee, the responsibilities of which now fall under the Student Services Committee.

Lisa Johnson Past Faculty Chair Media 245 864-503-5724

Dr. Lisa Johnson is a Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Directs the Center for Women's and Gender Studies. She teaches courses in feminist theory, feminist disability studies, girlhood studies, LGBTQ studies, and other electives in the Women's and Gender Studies minor. Dr. Johnson has received grants from the South Carolina Humanities Council and the Spartanburg County Foundation, and she has been the recipient of several awards at USC Upstate, including four Tapestry awards for Multicultural Program of the Year. Her current research on neurodivergence and feminist psychiatric disability studies is forthcoming in Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. She served as Chair of the Promotion and Tenure committee in 2018-2019 and is currently Faculty Chair.

Kimberly Shorter Recording Secretary George 209 864-503-5716

Dr. Shorter received a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of South Carolina and completed her postdoctoral work in molecular psychiatry at the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine. She is an Associate Professor of Biology and is the Pre-Health Professions Coordinator and faculty advisor for the Eta Delta Chi chapter of the Tri-Beta Biological Honors Society. Dr. Shorter’s research is on the effects of microRNAs and B-vitamin overexposure on epigenetic changes in neurons with relevance to neurodegeneration and autism spectrum disorders.

Trevor Rubenzer Faculty Parliamentarian 864-503-5890

Dr. Trevor Rubenzer earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2007. He has taught many courses at the University of South Carolina Upstate since 2007, focusing on international politics, U.S. foreign policy, and research methods. His research interests center on the impact of ethnic minority interest groups on U.S. foreign policy. Dr. Rubenzer has published articles in several top political science journals including the American Journal of Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, and Foreign Policy Analysis. He is currently completing a book that explores the partisan nature of U.S. foreign policy.

Shuang Hundley Faculty Governance Webmaster 864-503-5646

Dr. Shuang Liu Hundley has been an assistant professor of mass media and digital studies at USC Upstate since Fall 2018. She earned her doctorate in communication from Washington State University. Her research is focused on learning about how media, especially new media technologies, improve health and how such information is processed and understood. Her research has been published in Health Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Computers in Human Behavior.

(24) Bradley Baumgarner*
864-503-7432