Tom Traxler has been practicing law in Greenville, South Carolina since 1979 and is a partner in the law firm of Carter, Smith, Merriam, Rogers, & Traxler, P.A. His areas of practice are commercial litigation, computer litigation and domestic relationships. He received his B.A. in German in 1974 from Davidson College and his J.D. in 1979 from the University of South Carolina. He serves on the South Carolina Board of Bar Examiners and is the past president of the Greenville County Bar. He developed the legal software The All-in-One Child Support Calculator and Alimony Calculator which are used by South Carolina Family Court judges and lawyers.

He came to Furman as an adjunct instructor in 1981. He teaches Business Law in the UES program. "I enjoy teaching because the students in the evening program are both intelligent and highly motivated. Any students, who has to work during the day and still wants to sit in class for several hours at night, is going to be motivated and eager to learn. When you couple that with the student's intelligence, you have the best kind of student any instructor could ask for. It is extremely rewarding to explain and teach new ideas to people who want to learn them."

Paul. O. Batson, III

Paul Batson is a licensed accountant and financial consultant with Batson Account and Tax, P.A., and has served as its president since the inception of the firm in 1987. Baton Accounting and Tax, P.A., provides accounting, tax and financial consulting services to individual and small companies in the Greenville area.

For 30 years, Batson has also been a college instructor and has served as an adjunct professor at Furman University for over 25 years teaching courses in economics, investment management and personal finance. Additionally, he has taught numberous courses in the fundamentals of the stock market and portfolio management, as well as other courses in business and personal financial matters.

Before going into private practice in 1987, he served as chief financial officer of a regional business in Greenville, and previously worked for an international firm as accounting manager and cost accountant.

For several years, batson was actively involved in the Greenville Chapter of the National Asociation of Accountants (now the Institute of Management Accountants), and served as its president in 1984. In that year, the organization earned national honors for its achievements in professional issues and community involvement.

"Teaching for UES at Furman is a joy in my life! The interactions with mature students is always rewarding and I often feel I learn more than they do! The program is a wonderful extension of Furman's excellence."

Susan Dunnavant
Manager of User Services, Computing & Information Services, Furman University

Susan joined Furman in 1997. She previously taught for West Virginia University and West Virginia Graduate College in the 70s and served as Interim Director of Research for the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies and a full-time professor in the 80s. Completing her doctorate in 1983, she provided research and statistical advising to masts and doctoral candidates for WVU and Marshall University and taught information technology, computer science and statistics courses until coming to Furman. At Furman she has participated in several national conferences, writing and representing papers on the emerging wireless technologies to field technical support, and forming collaborative partnerships with users to promote efficient service delivery models.

Usually teaching practical technology courses for the UES program, Susan enjoys sharing her lifelong passion for emerging technologies with the Furman students. "This population is very fulfilling to interact with as a facilitator. Give them just a little guidance and they run with it. I consider working with the Furman students and the top notch resources we have in the technology labs a distinct privilege. I always look forward to the UES classes as the highlight of my week!"

Gregory W. Haselden, CPA

Greg Haselden is an accountant and educator who has served both for-profit and not-for-profit business concerns for over 10 years. As an accountant, Greg's areas of responsibility have spanned from general accounting services for small local businesses to auditing national middle-market public companies. In the classroom, Greg brings a "real life" experience that animates the learning experience of students. Greg received a BA degree with honors in accounting from Furman University. He is a licensed certified public accountant in the State of South Carolina, and he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (SCACPA). Greg currently serves as the Vice President for Finance and Operations and Treasurer of the Board of Trustees at Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina, in addition to regularly teaching as an adjunct instructor for Furman University's Undergraduate Evening Studies.