Georgia State University Research Foundation

Dr. Donald Hamelberg (Ph.D. ’01) is interim vice president for research and economic development at Georgia State University. He previously served as the associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Before joining the dean’s office, Dr. Hamelberg led the Department of Chemistry as chair for three years. He also served as associate chair, director of graduate studies, associate director of graduate studies and professor of Chemistry. He has been a faculty member at Georgia State for 15 years.

He earned a Ph.D. in Computational Biophysical Chemistry from Georgia State in 2001. He also did postdoctoral training at the University of Illinois in Chicago, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Hamelberg has earned more than $4 million in grant funding to carry out computational biophysical chemistry research at Georgia State. He has published more than 100 studies and currently serves as editor of the journal Computational Biology and Chemistry (Elsevier), and as reviewing editor of eLife. He is also a member of multiple editorial advisory boards.

Career awards and recognitions include the NSF CAREER Award, prestigious recognitions from the American Chemical Society and Georgia Cancer Coalition, and multiple college awards.

Jared Abramson joined Georgia State University in 2022. Prior to that, he served as Vice President for Financial Planning and Operations at George Washington University where he was responsible for creating and maintaining the university’s long-range strategic financial plan as well as the annual operating and capital budgets. Jared has also served as vice chairman for administration and finance for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Miami and was director of strategic planning in University of Miami’s vice provost for research office. Prior to that role, he managed data services for the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Kerry Heyward is the chief university attorney for Georgia State and provides legal advice to university administrators. She also serves as advisor to the president and provost on legal and administrative matters. Ms. Heyward serves on the University Senate, Senate Athletics Committee, Institutional Review Board, and is a member and secretary of the Georgia State Research Foundation. She is a member of the National Association of College and University Attorneys. She earned a B.A. in English from the University of North Florida and her J.D. from Stetson University College of Law. She is licensed to practice law in Georgia and Florida.

Dr. M. Brian Blake was named Georgia State University’s eighth President in June 2021.

He came to Georgia State after two years as Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at George Washington University, where he oversaw the academic mission of the institution, supporting all academic endeavors and overseeing the research enterprise across the university’s 10 schools and colleges. Prior to joining George Washington in 2019, Blake was Executive Vice President for Academics and the Nina Henderson Provost at Drexel University in Philadelphia, where he led the implementation of a new, responsibility-centered budget model and the president’s strategic plan.

Before going to Drexel, Blake was Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Miami in Miami, Fla., where he oversaw 155 programs in 12 schools and colleges. He was an Associate Dean for Research and Professor at the College of Engineering at the University of Notre Dame where he oversaw research programs and graduate studies in the College of Engineering.

Blake, a computer scientist and software engineer, spent six years as a software architect with Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and The MITRE Corporation. Blake has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Mercer University and a Ph.D. in information and software engineering from George Mason University.

As Provost, Dr. Parsons-Pollard serves as the university’s chief academic officer. Her portfolio includes the development and implementation of the university’s academic programs and policies, supervision of deans and associate provosts, and direction for international initiatives and study abroad, graduate policy and programming, institutional effectiveness (institutional research and reporting), strategic planning, and assessment of learning outcomes and academic programs. Additionally, she directs activities in the recruitment, hiring, retention and promotion processes for faculty positions.

Since arriving at Georgia State, she has created, implemented and championed a variety of faculty development programs to support and strengthen faculty in teaching and research, as well as leadership programming for department chairs and other administrators. She has also developed and implemented faculty policies and procedures, managed university awards and recognition events for faculty, and assisted with the promotion and tenure process.

Dr. Parsons-Pollard’s academic field of interest is in criminal justice, and she holds an appointment as Professor of Criminal Justice in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State. Her research and scholarship has focused on program evaluation, juvenile justice, and disproportionate minority contact by the criminal justice system.

She earned her Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in public policy and administration, as well as a master’s degree in criminal justice and a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from VCU.

Member
Regents’ Professor, Biology

Dr. Brinton is a microbiologist whose research is focused on identifying and analyzing virus-host molecular interactions in cells infected with West Nile virus (a flavivirus) or simian hemorrhagic fever virus (an arterivirus). She is also affiliated with the Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection. Dr. Brinton earned her Ph.D. in microbiology and virology from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Dr. Kemp is a sociologist who joined the Gerontology Institute in 2005 as a visiting professor. She holds a joint appointment in the Gerontology Institute and the Department of Sociology. Dr. Kemp’s research focuses on topics related to family and the life course. Most of Dr. Kemp’s research is set in assisted-living communities, where she examines issues such as intergenerational relationships, later life couples, work-life balance, formal and informal care, ethnicity and aging, and gender, sexuality and aging. She is involved in two five-year studies funded by the National Institute on Aging, a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Dr. Kemp received her Ph.D. from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Thomas J. Vicino is the dean of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, where he is also a professor in the Urban Studies Institute. Previously, he held numerous administrative roles at Northeastern University, including as associate dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, chair of the Department of Political Science, and director of the Master of Public Administration Program. He also served on the faculty of Wheaton College in Massachusetts and the School of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington.

As dean, Vicino brings a passion for inclusive excellence in higher education as an academic administrator, researcher, teacher, mentor and strategic planner. His leadership focuses on advancing opportunities through interdisciplinary research, experiential education, innovative programs, global citizenship and lifelong learning with a record of building collaborative partnerships and civic engagement. He weaves a deep commitment to building community and belonging throughout his work.

Vicino has dedicated his career to advancing the next generation of scholars and service professionals. As the chief executive officer and chair of the Governing Board of the Urban Affairs Association, Vicino led the foremost international professional organization for urban scholars, researchers, and public service professionals.

An internationally recognized scholar of urban affairs, Vicino specializes in the political economy of cities and suburbs, focusing on issues of metropolitan development, housing and demographic analysis. He is the author or editor of five books as well as numerous book chapters, essays, reviews and research articles in leading peer-reviewed journals. He serves on various editorial boards including the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City and Urban Planning.

A first-generation college student, Vicino holds a Ph.D. and M.P.P. in public policy from the School of Public Policy at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He holds a B.Sc., cum laude, from the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.

Dr. Sevcik is professor of psychology and chair of the developmental psychology doctoral program. She is the founding co-director of the Georgia State area of focus on Research on the Challenges of Acquiring Language and Literacy and a founding member of the Center for Research on Atypical Development and Learning. Her research interests center on the development of symbolic processes, specifically oral and written language development. Dr. Sevcik’s work has focused on children and youth with, or at risk for, developmental and learning disabilities and on language and reading interventions designed and implemented for these populations. Her work has been funded by a series of federally supported grants. Several of these grants have been large-scale, multi-site studies that are placed in school districts in Atlanta and at collaborative sites across the U.S. and Canada. She is also the principal investigator on an IES post-doctoral training grant on Language and Literacy Interventions for Special Populations. A Fellow of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and an associate editor for its journal, she is also a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Sevcik is a member of the National Joint Committee on the Communication Needs of Individuals with Severe Disabilities and serves on the Board of Directors for the U.S. chapter of the International Society of Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

Member
Professor, Law

Dr. Williams is a professor of law at the College of Law and the Middle East Studies Center. His teaching and research focus on many cross-disciplinary areas, including bankruptcy and business reorganization; corporate governance and ethics; financial forensics; mergers and acquisitions; intellectual property; Islamic law; antiquities laundering; and protections of cultural heritage and property.  Dr. Williams is the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors Scholar in Residence. He was appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal to the State Board of Human Services where he has served since 2009.  Dr. Williams holds a J.D. from George Washington University and a Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of Leicester.  He is a Fellow in the American College of Bankruptcy.