With a growing student body and the addition of a Bachelor of Arts program, SMC welcomes nine new full-time faculty members to the college. All begin work in August.

“We are thrilled to be bringing in such a fine group of professionals to our community,” says Mark Gibbs, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “SMC faculty members are dedicated to supporting students’ academic, professional and personal goals.”

 Crystal Brown, Professor of Economics

Crystal Brown joins SMC’s growing business department as a professor of economics. Bringing more than nine years of teaching experience to SMC, she has held positions at Lenoir-Rhyne University, Gardner-Webb University Brown, Regent University, University of South Carolina Upstate, Limestone College, Spartanburg Community College and Montreat College. Brown received her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Regent University, her Master of Business Administration from Winthrop University, her Master’s Plus Marketing Certificate from Gardener-Webb University and her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina Upstate.

 Dawn Dingwell, Professor of Accounting and Business

Dawn Dingwell joined SMC’s business department as an adjunct professor of accounting in 2018 and will now teach full time. She has also taught accounting and business courses at Spartanburg Community College and RETS Technical Center in Centerville, Ohio. Dingwell received her MBA from the University of Cincinnati, her Bachelor of Arts in Financial Administration from Michigan State University and completed graduate accounting coursework at Gardner-Webb University.

 Kim R. Duckett, Professor of Biology

Kim Duckett received her Ph.D. in Reproductive Physiology and Neuroendocrinology from Kent State University and her Bachelor of Science from the University of Akron. She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina and has more than 15 years of teaching experience. Most recently, she taught AP biology, honors biology and human physiology at Spartanburg Day School.

 Courtney D. Gordon, Professor of Biology

Courtney Gordon has been hired as a full time professor of biology after serving as an adjunct at the college for three years. Gordon has also been an adjunct biology instructor at Spartanburg Community College. Gordon received her Master of Science in Plant Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of Florida, where she also spent four years as a research assistant. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Brigham Young University.

 Judy Mirick, Professor of Physics and Physical Science

Judy Mirick received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, her Master of Science in Physics and her Bachelor of Science in Physics from Clemson University. Mirick brings over 20 years of teaching experience to SMC. Her most recent teaching position was as a science instructor at Marlborough School in Los Angeles, CA.

 Stacy K. Parker, Director of the Criminal Justice Program and Professor of Criminal Justice

Stacy Parker comes to SMC from Muskingum University in Ohio where she taught for 12 years. She received her Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati, and received her Doctor of Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degrees from West Virginia University. Before her career in academia, Parker practiced law for nearly 10 years, serving as assistant prosecuting attorney for Kanawha and Jackson counties in West Virginia and Franklin County in Ohio.  Her first position after graduating from law school was assistant attorney general for the West Virginia division of corrections.

 Kate Roark, Professor of Drama and Speech and Director of the SMC Theatre Program

Kate Roark will be joining SMC’s theatre department in a full time role after being an adjunct professor since 2016. Roark has been teaching in the field for almost 20 years at various institutions including Converse College, Wofford College, Blackburn College, University of Houston-Downtown and Illinois Wesleyan University. She received her Ph.D. in Theatre History and her Master of Arts in Theatre History both from the University of Illinois of Urbana-Champaign and her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Sewanee, the University of the South. Roark is a board member and the secretary for Proud Mary Theatre Company—a nonprofit theater dedicated to presenting LGBTQ+ voices and stories in Spartanburg and the upstate region.

 Lisa A. Unterseher, Professor of Religion

Lisa Unterseher comes to SMC from Alaska Pacific University, where she was the Cardinal Newman Chair of Catholic Theology and professor of religious studies at Alaska Pacific University. She was also the R. Wright Spears Chair and professor of religion at Columbia College for 18 years. Unterseher received her Ph.D. in Religious Studies, History of the Christian Tradition, and her Master of Divinity from Southern Methodist University. She has received her Bachelor of Arts in History and English from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to her teaching career, Unterseher has also published a book on early Christian Studies, “The Mark of Cain and the Jews: Augustine’s Theology of the Jews and Judaism” and written multiple scholarly articles and book reviews.

Susan Wethington, Professor of Mathematics

After serving in an adjunct role at SMC, Susan Wethington joins  SMC full time. Prior to becoming professor of mathematics, Wethington taught math at Spartanburg Community College for 10 years. She received a Master of Education in Mathematics from Converse College, a teaching certification in Middle School Math and Science from USC Upstate and a B.S. in Computer Science from USC Spartanburg.