Ph.D. in Literacy Studies
Program Administration
Jwa K. Kim, Ph.D.
Co-Director
Email: pykim@mtsu.edu
Diane J.
Sawyer, Ph.D.
Co-Director
Email: djsawyer@mtsu.edu
Core Faculty
The core faculty of the Ph.D. in Literacy Studies forms
an interdisciplinary team of active researchers across
departments (Elementary & Special Education,
Psychology, English, Speech & Theater) and two
colleges (Education & Behavioral Science and
Liberal Arts).
For more information about a particular faculty member,
click on their name to view their professional profile.
Associate Professor
Education: Boston University
Department: English
Expertise: Applied Linguistics
Current Research: Children’s acquisition of the lexicon.
Website: www.mtsu.edu/english/Profiles/blackwell.shtml
Email: ablackwe@mtsu.edu
María Rosa Brea-Spahn, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor
Education: University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Department: Speech and Theatre
Expertise: Spanish-English Bilingualism, Language Development, Literacy
Current Research: Spanish-specific patterns, language proficiency, and nonword repetition performance in English language learners
Email: mbrea@mtsu.edu
Kathleen G. Burriss, Ed.D.
Full Professor
Education: Arizona State University
Department: Elementary and Special Education
Expertise: Early Childhood, Play, Outdoor Play
Current Research: Outdoor learning and play; Professional development
Website: www.mtsu.edu/~kburriss/
Email: kburriss@mtsu.edu
Rebecca M. Fischer, Ph.D.
Full Professor
Education: Vanderbilt University
Department: Speech and Theater
Expertise: Audiology and Speech Pathology
Current Research: Auditory/Verbal Therapy
Website: www.mtsu.edu/~comm_dis/faculty/r_fischer.html
Email: rfischer@mtsu.edu
Jwa K. Kim, Ph.D.
Full Professor
Education: University of Oklahoma
Department: Psychology
Expertise: Psychometrics; Quantitative Psychology
Current Research: Factor structures; item response theory
Website: http://www.mtsu.edu/psychology/faculty/kim/
Email: pykim@mtsu.edu
Cyrille Magne, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Education: University of Paul Cézanne, Marseille, France
Department: Psychology
Expertise: Cognitive Neuroscience
Current research: Neural basis of language perception and comprehension; exploration of the similarities and differences between the brain areas involved in language and music processing.
Website: http://www.mtsu.edu/~cmagne/
Email: cmagne@mtsu.edu
Diane J. Sawyer, Ph.D.
Full Professor
Education: Cornell University
Department: Elementary and Special Education
Expertise: Reading Development and Disabilities
Current Research: The Genetic Basis of Dyslexia; Early Identification of at-riskness for reading disability
Email: djsawyer@mtsu.edu
Affiliate Faculty
Dorothy Valcarcel Craig, Ed.D.Associate Professor
Education: Tennessee State University
Department: Educational Leadership
Expertise: Second Language Methods, Technology Utilization, Action Research
Current Research: Technology & second language acquisiton, action research in the classroom, literacy acquisition.
Website: www.mtsu.edu/~dvcraig
Email: dvcraig@mtsu.edu
Mary Carol G. Thigpin, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor
Email: cthigpin@mtsu.edu
Caresa Young, Ph.D.
Education: Vanderbilt University