Faculty Mentors

Faculty members not only mentor students in their research, but help them present research at local, regional, and national conference. They will build skills to help you enroll in graduate school with confidence. 

Alla Balueva
Alla BaluevaProfile page

Professor, Math

Phone678-717-3668

Office locationWatkins Academic Building, 150, Gainesville

Tanya Bennett
Tanya Bennett, Ph.D.Profile page

Professor of English

Phone678-717-3870

Office locationNesbitt Academic Building, 4154, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: American Literature, Gender Studies, Multicultural Literatures, The Novel

Macklin Cowart
Macklin Cowart, Ph.D.Profile page

Associate Professor, English

Phone678-717-3431

Office locationNesbitt Academic Building, 4134, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: Medieval literature, grammar, language/linguistics

Bryan Dawson
Bryan Dawson, Ph.D.Profile page

Associate Department Head and Professor of Psychological Science

Phone706-867-4514

Office locationBarnes Hall, 211, Dahlonega

Area(s) of Expertise: Industrial/Organizational psychology and Cross-cultural psychology

Tom Diggs
Tom Diggs, Ph.D.Profile page

Professor

Phone678-696-2970

Office locationScience, Engineering, Tech, 108, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: Ecology, Evolution, Botany, Phylogeography (Advising Area of Expertise: Biology)

Susann Doyle-Portillo
Susann Doyle-Portillo, Ph.D.Profile page

Department Head, Psychological Science

Phone678-717-3857

Office locationStrickland Academic, 124, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: Social psychology and Personality/Individual differences

Terry Easton
Terry Easton

Professor, English

Phone678-717-3426

Office locationNesbitt Academic Building, 4130, Gainesville

Pamela Elfenbein
Dr. Pamela ElfenbeinProfile page

Director, Institute for Healthy Aging

Phone678-717-3688

Office locationAdministration Building, Suite 111, Room 108, Gainesville

Gregory Feiden
Gregory Feiden, Ph.D.Profile page

Associate Professor

Director, North Georgia Astronomical Observatory

Phone706-864-1510

faculty.ung.edu/gafeiden

Office locationRogers Hall, 101, Dahlonega

Area(s) of Expertise: Stellar structure and evolution

Sheri Hardee
Sheri Hardee, Ph.D.Profile page

Dean, College of Education/Professor

Phone706-864-1998

Office locationNewton Oakes Center, 127, Dahlonega

Michele Hill
Michele Hill, Ph.D.Profile page

Professor of Psychological Science

Phone706-867-2771

Office locationBarnes Hall, 205, Dahlonega

Area(s) of Expertise: Clinical/Counseling psychology

George Justice
George Justice, Ph.D.Profile page

Senior Lecturer, History

Phone706-310-6362

Office locationFaculty Center, 707, Oconee

Area(s) of Expertise: American South, Constitutional History, Political History , Georgia History, Nationalism

Sara Mason
Sara Mason, Ph.D.Profile page

Department Head, Sociology & Human Services

Phone678-717-3878

Office locationStrickland Academic, 185 A, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: Tourism & Leisure Studies, Race and Ethnicity, Social Stratification, Culture, Memory, and Place.

Michallene McDaniel
Michallene McDaniel, Ph.D.Profile page

Professor

Phone678-717-3695

Office locationStrickland Academic, 102, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: Identity Construction, Meaning Construction, Culture, Religion, Gender

Esther Morgan-Ellis
Esther Morgan-Ellis, Ph.D.Profile page

Associate Professor of Music

Phone706-867-2218

Office locationNix, 203, Dahlonega

Area(s) of Expertise: Music in Silent-Era Film Exhibition, Community Singing, Music in WWI, Tin Pan Alley, Appalachian Music

David Patterson
David Patterson, Ph.D.Profile page

Professor

Phone706-864-1741

Office locationHealth and Natural Sciences, 428, Dahlonega

Area(s) of Expertise: Paleontology, Mammal Ecology, Stable Isotopes (Advising Area of Expertise: Biology, Pre-Physician's Assistant)

Bryson Payne
Bryson Payne, Ph.D.Profile page

Coordinator, Student Cyber Programs

Phone706-864-1694

https://brysonpayne.com

Office locationCottrell Center, 310, Dahlonega

Cenate Pruitt
Cenate Pruitt, Ph.D.Profile page

Associate Professor

Phone678-717-3464

Office locationStrickland Academic, 150, Gainesville

Ryan Shanks
Ryan Shanks, Ph.D.Profile page

Professor, Biology

Phone706-864-1368

Office locationHealth and Natural Sciences, 410, Dahlonega

Area(s) of Expertise: Behavioral Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology (Advising Area of Expertise: Biology, Pre-Medicine)

Troy Smith
Troy Smith, Ph.D.Profile page

Associate Professor

Psychological Science

Phone678-717-3670

Office locationStrickland Academic, 147, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: Cognitive psychology and Neuroscience

Emilia Sola Gracia
Emilia Sola Gracia, Ph.D.Profile page

Lecturer in Biology

Phone706-864-1575

Office locationHealth and Natural Sciences, 429, Dahlonega

Area(s) of Expertise: Animal Behavior, Parasite-Host Interactions, Ecology, Social Behaviors

Clayton Teem
Clayton Teem, Ph.D.Profile page

Professor, Psychological Science

Phone678-717-3938

Office locationStrickland Academic, 160, Gainesville

Efren Velazquez
Efren Velazquez, Ph.D.Profile page

Associate Professor of Psychological Science

Phone678-717-2264

Office locationStrickland Academic, 218, Gainesville

Area(s) of Expertise: Health psychology and Cross-cultural psychology

Helpful Questions to Ask

You are bound to have so many questions for your mentor, you may not know where to start. You will meet with your mentor twice per month for your junior and senior year.

When meeting with your mentor, prepare and ask relevant questions and be respectful of your mentor’s time and experience. Ask yourself what you learned from the meeting and how you can apply it to your goals. We have created a list of questions that may help listed by topic.