Ken Abernethy, Ph.D

Ken Abernethy received a BS with honors from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and master's and PhD degrees from Duke University. He has 30 years of teaching and consulting experience. He is the Herman N. Hipp Professor of Computer Science. He was formerly the chair of the Computer Science Department at Furman University and is currently the director of Furman's Rushing Center for Teaching and Technology. His current professional interests are focused in the areas of software development methodologies, software reliability tools and methods, and software project management.

John Barker Ph.D.

John Barker is the Director of Career Services at Furman University, a position he has held for over 9 years.  He has also taught Human Resource Management as adjunct faculty in the Business Administration Department.

John’s previous employment includes seven years at the University of Alabama as Associate Director of the Career Center where he also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in career planning and counselor education.  In addition to his 15 years in college administration and teaching, John has 12 years experience in the corporate sector in sales and human resource management. 

Greg Blake, BA and MS, is chief "encouragement" officer and founder of Greg PEP YOUniversity! A former leadership development specialist with Denny's, Greenville Hospital System and BMW, Blake's mission is to encourage people in corporate America. He has conducted national keynotes and training sessions with Ford, BASF, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Duke University Medical Center, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and numerous healthcare organizations. Described as a 6'7" live wire by his peers and business colleagues, Blake engages his audiences and classes with an enthusiasm and presence that is contagious. He pursued his passion to encourage corporate America after meeting leaders and followers in organizations who had become disillusioned, disheartened, discouraged and disconnected because of the changes they were facing both personally and professionally. He conducts customized PEPtalks! (keynotes), PEP rallies! (encouragement retreats for leaders and teams), and PEP YOUniversity "granule" sessions on a variety of topics. Blake believes in an approach to training that is practical, applicable and memorable. He provides tips, tools and techniques that can be implemented immediately back at the work site.

Following the dictum that one should "train about what you know best," John takes his unique and lifelong insights from being a customer and creates service-oriented training programs for telecom, utility, manufacturing, and banking companies. With experience in a variety of corporate positions and as an independent consultant, John specializes in lively and interactive programs that allow participants to draw upon their individual and industry experiences as customers. Recognizing there are universal truths involved in providing exceptional customer service, and providing a framework to marry these truths with the challenges, structure, and culture unique to individual businesses, John delivers training that thrives on group interaction. Most importantly, participants walk away with practical knowledge they can put to immediate use. John has served as a training and customer service manager for several telecom companies, worked as a training consultant, and holds a certificate in Human Performance Improvement awarded by the American Society for Training and Development.

Fred Current

Fred is Associate Professor Emeritus at Furman University after a twenty-year teaching career. Known for his attention to and support of his students, in 1996 he was named recipient of the Alester G. and Janie Earle Furman Meritorious Advising Award. In 1990 he was selected as the Sears-Roebuck Foundation and the Foundation for Independent Higher Education Teaching Excellent and Campus Leadership Award. Fred also consulted with corporate and private professional clients on financial accounting training for non-accountants, his special area of interest. He completed his graduate studies at Michigan State University and was certified as in internal auditor. Upon his retirement, the Furman Board of Trustees established the Jane and Fred Current Accounting Award Endowed Fund. Prior to his years in academe, Fred served twenty years in the United States Air Force, retiring as a Lt. Colonel and Comptroller of Seymour-Johnson Air Force base, a major defense installation.

Dr. "Mike" sets the standards for the type of person we should all strive to be.  This standard is set not only in his professional life but in his personal life as well. The multitude of friends that know him personally, can only sit back in amazement as Mike continues to meet goals many said four years ago could never be achieved.  An automobile accident left Mike Collins a quadriplegic.  Mike was determined from the onset that this would not hold him back and it certainly has not. He continues to push himself to limits most would never consider in regular workouts with physical and occupational therapists.  Personal caregivers enhance the workouts by aiding him at home, encouraging him to be as independent as possible.  Professionally, Dr. Mike continues to excel as well.  Nothing seems to hold him back.  He is a trainer, motivator, speaker, and consultant.  Mike acts as a consultant to many large firms, training management teams as well as aiding employees to realize their full potential within a company. Dr. Mike earned a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Science Degree from Baylor University and the Doctor of Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. Dr. Mike is also a faculty member of Furman University’s Center for Corporate and Professional Development where he frequently presents leadership seminars to a variety of clients in the business and non-profit communities.

Betty Parker Ellis

Communications, Lockheed Martin and Fluor Corporation.

Marianne E. Frederick, RPT, MHSA

Lynne Jenkins

Kim Keefer

J. Lynne Wilson Jenkins has more than 14 years of experience in accounting, accounting software consulting and human resources as well as industry experience in manufacturing, service and transportation. She also owned and operated a preschool computer education business. An adjunct instructor at Furman, Lynne is currently employed in accounting with Tiger Transport Service, Inc., a leader in 24/7 expedited and dedicated freight, managed warehousing and third-party logistics. Her energetic personality combines people and analytical skills, which makes her a good fit for the Accounting for Non-Financial Managers and Accounting Principles courses that she teaches for Furman. A Georgia native, Lynne graduated magna cum laude from Georgia Southern University in 1989 with a BBA in Accounting. She earned an MBA in business from Georgia State University in 1993.

Kim has been involved in leadership education for twelve years. She developed and currently operates Furman's student leadership programs and Furman's Peak Performance Adventure Challenge Course. Leading groups through team building experiences is her passion. Kim is a certified Challenge Course manager and facilitator and a qualified instructor for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. In addition, she serves the Greenville community on the Board of Regents for Leadership Greenville.

Susan Lill, SPHR, CHRP

Rex L. Meade

For over 30 years, Rex Meade has been assisting others in bringing the best from the human resources so valuable in every organization. Grounded by his own work experiences within large engineering/construction firms and a regional hospital setting, Rex has a strong base of practical, workplace knowledge. He has his MA in Clinical Psychology from East Carolina University and is a licensed professional counselor. Rex serves on many volunteer and company boards. He is a graduate of both Leadership Greenville (1978) and Leadership South Carolina (1988). During the past seventeen years, Rex has focused on organizational improvement and leadership development. Having consulted with numerous large and small organizations, he continually strives to deliver highly customized services to each of his clients. Recent clients have included Fluor, CB&I, Lafarge, Alcoa, LINC (a nationwide HVAC services company), EFS (a national facility services company), Ahold, and SRHS (a regional healthcare system).

Prior to starting her own consulting business 14 years ago, Ann held human resources and training and development positions in manufacturing, public administration and retail environments. She received her BS degree from Furman University in business and her master's degree in human resources development from Clemson University. Moore also has earned a Life Senior Professional certification in human resources management. Moore's expertise is in all aspects of human resources management. She has extensive experience in plant start-ups, wage and salary administration, affirmative action plans, policies and procedures, and auditing human resources practices. Her training experience encompasses supervisory and management programs, human resources record keeping, workplace harassment, business etiquette and women in business. She also teaches the SHRM certification program.

Bonnie H. Nichols

Bonnie has worked with a variety of manufacturing and service industry organizations as a management consultant most notably in the areas of strategic planning, performance management, supplier quality and continuous improvement. Prior to this she spent over seven years at the BMW plant in Greer, South Carolina, as the quality systems manager and later as the in-house executive consultant and liaison with corporate BMW and "sister" plants in Germany. Earlier in her career she spent three years as corporate quality manager for Lockwood Greene Engineers and over nine years with Florida Power & Light Co. in Miami, Florida. Bonnie is a 1981 graduate of Virginia Tech and holds a BS degree in industrial engineering and operations research.

Sean Patrick O'Rourke, Ph.D.

Sean Patrick O'Rourke is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Furman University and Chair of the Department of Communication Studies. He received his J.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. Prof. O'Rourke teaches courses in the History of Rhetoric, Contemporary Rhetorical Theory, British and American Public Address, Freedom of Speech, the Ethics of Rhetoric, the Rhetoric of Law and Justice, and the Rhetoric of the Mass Media.

O'Rourke's articles and reviews have appeared in Legal Studies Forum, Rhetorica, Journal of the American Forensic Association, Southern Communication Journal, Communication Reports, Journal of the Early Republic, The American Journal of Legal History, Rhetoric Review, Rhetoric Society Quarterly, Advances in the History of Rhetoric, Canadian Journal of Rhetorical Studies/La Revue Canadienne d'etudes rhetoriques, The Forensic, Court Call, and Free Speech Yearbook, as well as several anthologies and conference proceedings.

He has also published pieces in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, Houston Post, Seattle Times, [Portland] Oregonian, San Diego Union-Tribune, Birmingham News, Hartford Courant, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Minneapolis Star Tribune, [Louisville] Courier-Journal, and other daily newspapers. Dr. O’Rourke is currently working on two books, one on Hugh Blair and the other on early Supreme Court orators.  He has also developed many seminars over the past twenty-one years while consulting with the United States Forest Service, Pacific Gas & Electric, the College News Association of the Carolinas, Metropolitan Group [of Portland, OR], C-Span, and other groups. 

Cathy’s dedication to Client-Focused Selling comes from over 20 years of success with this sales approach. She has delivered hundreds of sales workshops based on this process, which focuses, from start to finish, on understanding and meeting your clients’ most critical needs. She also facilitates strategy sessions focused on effectively positioning and marketing your products and services. Cathy has an MBA in Computer Applications and Information Systems from NYU, and a BA degree in English from Lafayette College. She has studied in Mexico at The University of the Americas. Clients include CMP Media, Disney, Int’l Association for Exhibition Management, Inc. Magazine, Putman Media, Sears, The Times-Mirror Company and US West. Prior to consulting, Cathy was with Ziff-Davis for ten years, where she developed and directed sales and marketing staffs; collaborated with management teams to develop strategic marketing plans; and traveled extensively in Europe to consult in marketing development and sales training for new business ventures.

Scott Simmerman, PhD

Scott Simmerman is an internationally known presenter and developer of team building exercises and interactive programs focused on organizational change. He is the former chair of the Upstate Chapter of the American Society for Quality and a frequent presenter at training and quality conferences worldwide including AQP, IAF, ASTD and many others. A former professor of psychology at Furman, he has been consulting and training since 1978 and has presented in 29 countries. Scott has been senior vice president of operations for a major retail firm, human resource director for a small retail chain and has been in business as a professional consultant and trainer here in Greenville since 1984. He holds an MS degree in psychology from Iowa State University and received his PhD from UNC Chapel Hill in 1976.

Harry Shucker, Ed.D.

Dr. Shucker received his B.A. degree in history from Furman University in 1966. After graduation, he served two years in the Army including a tour of duty in Vietnam. Dr. Shucker returned to Furman in 1968 to begin his career in higher education as an Admissions Counselor. In 1971, he attended the University of Georgia and received his M.Ed. in Student Personnel Services in August of 1972. While at the University of Georgia , he was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. Dr. Shucker returned to Furman in fall of 1972 as Director of Financial Aid. In 1974, he became Director of Residential Living and remained in that position until he was appointed Director of Student Life in 1983. In 1985, Dr. Shucker was promoted to Vice President for Student Services and was awarded the Ed.D. in Student Personnel Services from the University of South Carolina in 1987. From 1991 to 1996, he served as an adjunct faculty member for the University of South Carolina and currently serves on Clemson University’s Counselor Education Advisory Board. Recently, Dr. Shucker was recognized by having a Furman endowed scholarship named in his honor and an endowed scholarship named in his honor by Phi Eta Sigma, National Honor Society. As the result of his professional contributions to higher education, he was selected to receive the University of Georgia’s Outstanding Masters Alumni Award, the Goldberg Medal from the Associated Colleges of the South, and the Melvene Draheim Hardee Award from the Southern Association of College Student Affairs.

Dr. Shucker and his wife, Pam, a writer, naturalist, and science teacher, have two children and a granddaughter. Cherington works for Eagle Capital Management in New York City while Burgess is employed as an office engineer for Rodgers Builders in Greenville, South Carolina. Dr. Shucker is active as a deacon in First Baptist Church of Greenville, having recently served as Chair of the Personnel Committee. Other areas of interest include mentoring students, hiking, boating, and traveling.

Hy Small

Hy Small has conducted over 500 seminars to more than 50,000 professionals internationally and has over 20 years of proven experience in designing and implementing leadership training, employee involvement, and continuous improvement culture change processes that have increased organizational productivity, teamwork, and total quality. Hy has worked with hospitality, manufacturing, car rental, correctional systems, US Department of Defense, hospital systems, banks, non-profits, city governments, law enforcement, colleges, small businesses, chambers of commerce, and public utilities just to name a few. Hy has a strong background in team facilitation, group dynamics, and public presentation skills. He is experienced with developing user surveys, establishing performance standards and measurement processes in both public and private, union and non-union organizations. Hy holds a Masters Degree from Sam Houston State University and a BS Degree in Secondary Education from Temple University. He has taught at the middle school, high school, college, and corporate university levels and is currently working on his first book "Positive Personnel Selection Process: How to Select Employees for Fun and Profit."

Tom Smythe, PhD

Tom Smythe is the Robert E. Hughes Professor of Economics and Business Administration at Furman. Prior to arriving at Furman in the fall of 2001, he taught undergraduate and graduate banking and financial markets and institutions at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He received his PhD in finance from the University of South Carolina in 1999. Prior to returning to school full time in 1996, Tom worked for Mobil Oil Corporation in Fairfax, Virginia, for seven years. During that time, he obtained his master's in business administration from George Mason University. Prior to working for Mobil, Tom spent four years as an engineering officer in the U.S. Army after graduating from Furman with a degree in mathematics in 1985. Tom's research interests include mutual funds, corporate governance issues and banking. His work has been cited in the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times and has been published in a wide range of practitioner and academic journals. Additionally, he is a frequent commentator on business issues for upstate print and television media outlets.

Ellen S. Stevenson

Ellen has more than 25 years of experience in leadership and organization development in a number of positions as an internal and external consultant. She has proven ability to manage both process and task issues. This flexibility enables her to respond effectively to management and employees at all levels. Prior to starting Optimal Performance, she held management positions in manufacturing operations with JP Stevens/West Point Pepperel. She holds a BS from Cornell University and a master of science in education focused on the adult learner from Marywood College. She is a certified instructor in numerous programs and has conducted training for audiences around the world.

Kristofer K. Strasser, Esq.

A 1984 Furman graduate, Kris is a shareholder with the law firm of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart, P.C. Joining the firm after graduating from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1987, Strasser has had extensive experience in all areas of labor and employment law, including Title VII, ADA, ADEA, FMLA, ERISA, FLSA, NLRA, and state common law and statutory actions. This experience includes both significant litigation and day-to-day routine advice. He has conducted seminars and supervisor training sessions on numerous employment and labor law topics. He also has litigation experience in cases involving significant environmental, bankruptcy, partnership and contract issues.

William B. Stubbs III, SPHR

Bill Stubbs is the Sr. Director of Human Resources for BI-LO, LLC headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. He has worked in retail human resources for over 20 years.

In his current capacity Bill is responsible for Recruiting, Staffing, Training, and Management Development.  This includes the BI-LO School of Business, the company’s Corporate University, which Bill founded in 1996 and holds the designation of Dean Emeritus.  The BI-LO School of Business has won awards from the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) in 2002 and 2004 in recognition as a worldwide best practice in the Supermarket industry.  Additionally Bill has consulted with retail companies all over the world including Asia, South America, and Europe on Human Resources issues.

Bill received a B.A. from Louisiana College in Mass Communications and his Master's in Organizational Communications from Baylor University.  As a graduate student at Baylor, he taught Public Speaking and Fundamentals of Speech.  He also designed and conducted management training seminars for the Baylor Banking Institute, a program for banking executives throughout the Southwest.

Bill is an adjunct professor on the faculty of Furman University and teaches Human Resources Management and Business Management courses each year.  He has also conducted over 1000 training seminars and workshops throughout the world. 

In addition to his business responsibilities, Bill is active in many professional, civic, and religious organizations and currently serves on the board of the Greenville YMCA and the Food Marketing Institute’s Human Resources Advisory Committee.

Fred limits his practice to labor and employment law and is certified as a specialist in this field by the South Carolina Supreme Court. He has extensive experience, including advising clients in preventive measures to avoid formal charges and lawsuits; handling union campaigns; negotiating collective bargaining agreements; and representing clients before the National Labor Relations Board and before the United States Courts of Appeal. Fred frequently lectures before professional and civic groups on topics relating to his area of practice. He has published numerous articles on labor law in business and legal publications. He is a member of the Alabama, Florida and South Carolina Bars, as well as the Bars of several federal district courts, courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He is one of only five South Carolina lawyers who are Fellows in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

As a shareholder with Ogletree Deakins law firm, Bernard has extensive experience in employment litigation, including workers' compensation defense, and OSHA compliance. This experience ranges from appearing before the North and South Carolina, and Virginia workers' compensation commissions, advising clients on OSHA compliance issues, and defending employers in general civil litigation, to handling individual employment discrimination cases before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the federal courts as well as handling wrongful discharge and other employment-related litigation in state and federal courts. A 1983 graduate of Clemson University with a degree in chemical engineering, Tisdale graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1989.

Shannon W. Wilson.

Shannon received a BS degree from Furman University and served as Furman's Alumni Director from 1998 to 2002. She holds a business etiquette certificate from the highly regarded Protocol School of Washington and in 2002 began her own consulting business in the areas of international protocol and business etiquette. Shannon believes that proper business etiquette is an invaluable component in building and maintaining strong business and personal relationships. Her extensive experience in relationship building at Furman and enthusiasm for her subject have quickly established Shannon's reputation as a knowledgeable facilitator who turns what many perceive a staid and stodgy topic into an enjoyable and exciting presentation.

M. Baker Wyche III, Esq.

A practicing attorney for 30 years, Baker has extensive experience in the fields of litigation, labor relations and employment law. His experience includes providing advice to employers in various industry groups about human resource management, strategic planning, risk analysis, and employment litigation defense. Baker has provided counsel to employers during union campaigns, representation elections and decertifications as well as to employers faced with a bargaining obligation. His experience includes arbitration of numerous disputes arising under collective bargaining agreements and under employment and severance agreements. Elected to The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, Baker graduated from Vanderbilt University, where he received a doctor of jurisprudence degree and BA degree, with a major in business administration and minor in economics.

Robyn has worked in broadcast journalism for 15 years in Spartanburg and Tucson, Arizona, and for South Carolina ETV. She also directed communication departments and served as spokesperson for several state agencies. She was appointed to serve as press secretary for Governor David Beasley in 1995. She currently is the manager of Public Relations for the Greenville Hospital System, where she oversees all internal and media and community relations. She is an adjunct professor at Furman where she teaches advocacy and organizational communications. She holds a BA in speech from Florida State University and an MA in communications from the University of Michigan. Zimmerman's areas of expertise are media relations, public speaking, and business and organizational communications.

Staff

Ken Abernethy is Herman N. Hipp Professor of Computer Science and director of the Rushing Center for Teaching Technology at Furman. The Rushing Center works closely with the Center for Corporate and Professional Development to provide services and training to the information technology industry. More particularly, the Rushing Center specializes in tailored professional training and curriculum development in the areas of project management and software development methodologies. Abernethy received his bachelor of science from UNC-Charlotte and his MA and PhD from Duke University. He has been at Furman for 20 years.

Dr. Brad Bechtold is director of Continuing Education and the Center for Corporate and Professional Development at Furman University. He has 19 years of experience in the design, delivery and evaluation of human resource and organizational development programs for a variety of corporate clients including General Electric, Caterpillar, Amoco Performance Products, RBC Insurance, Michelin North America, the City of Greenville, Mitsubishi, Fluor Corporation, Hitachi, Bowater, BMW, Lockheed, and Cryovac.
Brad received his bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Furman University. He earned a master of science in industrial and organizational psychology and the doctor of education with an emphasis in human resource development from Clemson University. Brad has served in both membership and board positions for the United Way, Greenville Society for Human Resources Management, the American Society for Training and Development, and the University Center of Greenville. Brad is also a graduate of Leadership Greenville (Class XXIV) and the Richard W. Riley Institute's Diversity Leadership Academy (Class IV).

Rhonda Childress has worked at Furman for 15 years. For ten years, she served as departmental assistant for the Computer Science Department. Since 1999, she has been departmental assistant for the Rushing Center for Teaching and Technology with primary responsibilities for organizing professional development seminars, workshops and symposia and interacting with corporate client organizations. More recently, she added responsibilities assisting the Center for Corporate and Professional Development in its professional training and organizational development activities.