Dr. Christie is the Associate Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Media & Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University. Professor Christie holds the Peggy Layman Welch Endowed Chair. At OSU, she teaches undergraduate courses in Strategic Communication and graduate courses in Mass Communication. She formerly served as Graduate Director for the MS Mass Communication program and as Strategic Communication Program Head. Prior to joining the OSU faculty, she was an associate professor of Public Relations at the University of Alabama.

The Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication has twice named her a Page Legacy Scholar (2012, 2018). She also has been recognized for her academic and professional achievements by Tulsa People magazine ("40 Notable Tulsans Under 40," July 2007), Public Relations Society of America (Accredited by the Universal Review Board), Kappa Tau Alpha (National Journalism Honor Society), Phi Kappa Alpha (National Honor Society), and Phi Beta Delta (International Honor Society).

Research Interests:

Ph.D. Communication, University of Oklahoma, 1995

M.S., Mass Communication, Oklahoma State University, 1992

B.A. Broadcast Journalism, Arizona State University, 1991


RESEARCH
Dr. Christie's research focuses on Media Ethics. She has published over 40 academic journal articles and book contributions. Recent works have examined the role of ethics education on advertising and PR student's attitudes and intended behaviors toward ethics. Studies have focused on native advertising and fake news. Her research in political communication also deals with ethics, or lack thereof. Her political communication research has included studies examining national and international political advertising, political public relations, adwatch coverage, presidential debate coverage, and mediated communication. Additionally, she has published a book on advertising and campaign messages in the 1996 Romanian election. Dr. Christie also researches on ethical issues in nation branding and sustainability communication. She also has contributed to research methods literature. Over three dozen of her refereed papers have been presented at academic conferences.

Jason B. Aamodt, Esq. is a practicing attorney with 20 years of experience working with Indian Tribes and individuals. My career is today comprised of four parts: Teaching, litigating Indian Trust and Environmental cases, starting a small brewery, and conducting social research concerning Justice and Sustainable Development. I am licensed to practice in all Oklahoma courts, the Northern, Western and Eastern Federal Districts of Oklahoma, the Western and Eastern Districts of Arkansas, the United States Federal Court of Claims, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Dr. Emily Abel is an Assistant Professor in Public Health and completed her PhD in Human Development and Family Science from Purdue University in 2022. Dr. Abel has extensive training in pediatric sleep health, developmental assessment, and developmental disabilities. Her research is broadly focused on measuring, understanding, and promoting sleep health for autistic children and their families. Most recently, Dr. Abel's work is focused on increasing accessibility in sleep research for autistic children and their family using tele-health approaches to sleep measurement (non-invasive, remote monitoring). In this work, she aims to improve equity in recruitment strategies and develop opportunities for children and caregivers to determine what improvement in sleep and quality of life looks like for them.

Dr. Abel is passionate about promoting access to sleep resources and research opportunities for children with developmental disabilities and families in the state of Oklahoma and beyond.

Dr. Abel is accepting undergraduate research assistants for Spring 2026 in the Researching Equitable Sleep Together (REST) Lab on the Stillwater campus.

Dr. Abel is accepting graduate students for Fall 2026 for the Community Health Sciences PhD program. Students who are interested in sleep health research, especially those interested in pediatric sleep, family health, or the intersection of sleep and disability, are encouraged to email Dr. Abel (emily.abel@okstate.edu). 

Andrew M. Abernathy is an assistant professor at OSU's School of Media & Strategic Communications. Abernathy conducts mixed methods research at the intersection of teaching, learning, media, and society. His research in experiantial and equity-oriented remediation in journalism & mass communication received the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's 2023 Campbell Research Award, and his current research interests explore the ethical integration generative AI in creative and classroom contexts, media literacy, and alternative assessment methods. 

A former journalist and public relations practitioner, Abernathy worked in professional media roles for more than 15 years before joining the OSU faculty in 2020. His professional work has been published by more than 50 publications and has been recognized by the National Association of Business Publications Editors, the Southern Public Relations Federation, the Mississippi Association of Broadcasters, and more.

A 2022 and 2023 nominee for the OSU College of Arts and Science Distinguished Teaching Award, his primary teaching interests include introductory and advanced media writing, campaign planning, market research and more. In 2024, Abernthy also received the CAS Outstanding Club Advisor for his work with OSU's Strategic Communications Club. He is a 2025 finalist for OSU's Regents Distinguished Teaching Award. 

I am currenty the Grant Program Manager in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering and for the South Central Sun Grant Program and the Biobased Products and Energy Center at OSU. I am also teaching at the Environmental Science Undergraduate Program. I am a holder of a B.S. degree in Agriculture from the Visayas State College of Agirculture (now Visayas state University in Leyte, Philippines), M.S. degree in Botany from the University of the Philippines, and a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from the North Carolina State University.

Research Interests:

Plant Ecophysiology

Originally from Gallipolis, Ohio, Brant Adams (b. 1955) holds a bachelor of music degree in piano performance from Capital University (Columbus, Ohio), a master of music degree in music theory from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Ph.D. in theory from The University of Texas at Austin, where he studied composition with Donald Grantham. He has taught at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, and since 1987 at Oklahoma State University, where he currently serves as professor and coordinator of the theory/composition area, and served as interim department head for academic year 2004-5, and became permanent head from 2008-2015, and once again as interim Director of the Greenwood School for academic year 2022-23.

In 1992, Dr. Adams was awarded the Distinguished Composer of the Year Award by the Music Teachers National Association for his Masque and Bacchanalia for woodwind quintet and piano. In 1994, he wrote the incidental music for the off-Broadway play Exchange produced at the Soho Repertory Theatre in New York City. In 2000, he arranged and orchestrated Sing for the Cure, a compilation of choral compositions of ten composers from around the U.S. commissioned by the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, and which has been performed in dozens of cities across the country.

His compositions, arrangements, and orchestrations have been performed and recorded around the world by orchestras and choral ensembles in England, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, the former Czech Republic, the Middle East, and across the United States. His choral compositions are published by Santa Barbara Music Publishing, and Mark Foster Music (Shawnee Press). He is widely known for his orchestrations and instrumental arrangements of sacred music which are published by the Lorenz Corporation, Shawnee Press, Alfred Music, and Southern Music. Performances of his music at regional and national meetings of professional music organizations include the Society of Composers, Inc., Music Teachers National Convention, American Choral Directors Association, College Band Directors National Association, and the National Flute Association. His orchestrations are frequently performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops Orchestra and the Kennedy Center with the National Pops Orchestra, both with maestro Steven Reinecke conducting, and has also written music for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Dr. Adams also works periodically in the recording and publishing industry as a producer, arranger, orchestrator, and conductor.

At OSU, Dr. Adams has received several awards including two Outstanding Faculty Member awards, the Friends of Music Distinguished Music Professor Award, and the Wise-Diggs-Berry Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2021, he received the OSU Regents Distinguished Research Award for his many musical publications.

Dr. Daniel Adamson was raised on a cow-calf ranch in southern Wyoming where he developed his love for agriculture and desire to help producers overcome challenges with practical, tested resources. Dr. Adamson completed his education at the University of Wyoming, where he attained a BS in Agroecology, MS in Agronomy, and PhD in Soil Science. Between his master's and PhD degrees, Dr. Adamson also worked as a Certified Crop Advisor for a regional agricultural co-op in northern Colorado. Dr. Adamson joined the department of Plant and Soil Sciences at Oklahoma State University in fall 2024 as the Extension Specialist for Soil and Water Management and Conservation. His research and extension interests are centered around management impacts on soil health and soil functionality on the farm, ranch, and around the home.  

Dr. Amelia Ahles (pronounced ALL-less) is a postdoctoral research fellow at Oklahoma State University working for Dr. Jayson Lusk in the Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resource. Her research focuses on using applied, experimental, and neuro economic tools to answer important questions about agriculture, human behavior, labor, charitable giving, and health & nutrition.

Federico Aime is the Spears Chair of Business Administration at the Spears School of Business, at Oklahoma State University. Federico is the author of numerous articles and chapters on the social psychological drivers of organizational decision making and performance. His research has been published in numerous outlets, including the Academy of Management Journal, the Strategic Management journal, the Academy of Management Annals, and the Journal of Management where he serves on the editorial board. He is also an active leader in the development of international scholarly research and faculty capabilities leading programs with a focus on building capabilities in developing economies. He has also received an honorary doctorate from MOI University (Kenya). Before becoming an academic, Dr. Aime occupied several senior management positions in foreign and international organizations such as Citibank and Zurich.

Dr. Akkerman earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and PhD degrees from North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1992 and 1998, respectively. She practiced small animal clinical medicine for six years before entering academic veterinary medicine.

In 2001, Dr. Akkerman joined North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Anatomy, a position she held until 2015. During her tenure, her primary teaching responsibilities included veterinary anatomy and embryology for both small and large animal species within the DVM curriculum. In addition to her teaching roles, she contributed extensively to college service, including participation in curricular review and implementation initiatives, admissions, and diversity-related efforts.

In 2015, Dr. Akkerman was recruited to Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine as an Associate Professor, where she continues to teach anatomy. At OSU-CVM, she has played a significant role in modernizing anatomy instruction through the integration of new teaching technologies and the restructuring of the anatomy curriculum. She has also been deeply involved in curriculum governance and reform, serving as Chair of the Curriculum Committee from 2015 to 2023 and contributing to curricular review, development, and implementation of an outcomes-based curriculum.

From 2021 to 2025, Dr. Akkerman served as Director of the Clinical Skills Program, where she led the development, coordination, and assessment of key components of the newly implemented curriculum. Her professional interests center on teaching excellence, educational assessment, competency-based veterinary education, and the development and evaluation of clinical skills.

Dr. Sara Alian is an Teaching Assistant Professor at the department of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering at Oklahoma State University. She has over 14 years of experience in geospatial science applications in natural resource management and geospatial science education. Her expertise is in the areas of geospatial sciences, GIS technology, and remote sensing to inform resource management decisions, including land, water, and forest management. She developed a new course entitled "GIS for Water Resources" (BAE 4323/BAE 5323) in response to increasing demand for geospatial analysis skills in the job market and research projects. Th course cover various aspects of geographic information system (GIS) applications in water resources. 

Dr. Alian has worked on interdisciplinary projects funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Great Lakes Protection Fund, and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to generate new information, geospatial data, and insights for sustainable biofuel feedstock management and production of biofuel feedstocks, to evaluate ecological water stress in the Great Lakes Region, and New Mexico-Texas-Mexico border region. She is currently collaborating on a USGS funded project examining environmental flows in the water scarce region.

Research Interests:

• Applications of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, and spatial modeling in natural resources management
• Geospatial science and technology education

I am a scholar of contemporary Spain and a Professor of Hispanic Studies at Oklahoma State University. Broadly speaking, my research studies how people reconstruct their understanding of temporality and identity through literature, music, and film after events that fundamentally alter collective worldviews. I work across disciplines, combining literature with political and cultural theory, and I pay particular attention to minoritized languages like Asturian.

I have examined narratives written in exile following the Spanish Civil War, and cultural production—especially fantasy and sci-fi cinema—in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. My current work explores cultural activism and how traditions are being reimagined in present-day Asturias. My research has appeared in journals such as  Bulletin of Hispanic Studies, MLN, Catalan Review, Lletres Asturianes, and Linguistic Minorities in Europe Online. I am the co-editor of the book Asturian Studies in the 21st century, and have two forthcoming edited collections on Asturian women writers and migration. My work has been supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education (Hispanex) and by Oklahoma State University, among others.

I serve as President of Asturian Studies / SAnTINA, an international research network that promotes scholarship on Asturias. I organized the network’s second international conference at OSU in 2023. I'm also part of the Modern Language Association liaison group within ALCESXXI (Asociación de Literatura y Cine Español Siglo XXI), and I serve on the scientific committees of ARLAS (Archivu de la Represión Llingüística del Asturianu) and the Textos UEx collection at the Universidad de Extremadura. I co-edit the Asturiana Studies book series at De Gruyter, and I currently direct the Spanish program at OSU. As co-founder and coordinator of Voces y versos-Tulsa, I promote Spanish-language poetry and music performances in the local community.

Before arriving at OSU, I taught at Central Michigan University and at the Univerzitet Džemal Bijedic´ in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. I earned my PhD in Hispanic Cultural Studies from Michigan State University, and my BA and MA in Hispanic Philology from the Universidá d’Uviéu in Spain.

In addition to my academic work, I translate and write creatively in Spanish, English, and Asturian. I bring this multilingual and multicultural approach to my teaching, where I aim to engage students with the richness and complexity of Iberian languages and cultures.

Research Interests:

Literature, film and music in contemporary Iberian cultures (Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, Asturian). Exile studies. Memory studies. Studies of the future. Minoritized Languages. Asturian Studies.