MTSA Affiliated Faculty
The MTSA program draws on faculty expertise from across virtually all of Clemson University, reflecting the highly interdisciplinary nature of Transportation Safety Administration. Faculty expertise spans management, administration, communication, engineering, science, epidemiology, planning, human resources, policy studies and GIS to name a few relevant areas.
Dr. Lori Dickes, PhD in Policy Studies, Assistant professor of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management
Lori Dickes is the Program Director of the Master in Public Administration Program at Clemson University in the College Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences and College of Education. Lori has been at Clemson since 2005. She has worked in the Department of Applied Economics, the Strom Thurmond Institute, and has served as the MPA Program Director since 2013. She is also Assistant Director of the South Carolina Water Resources Center-Clemson University. Dr. Dickes has taught economics and policy for over 20 years and is committed to improving young people’s understanding of economics and the role economics plays in our lives.
Dr. Jan Holmevik, Dr. Art. in Humanistic Informatics, Assistant Professor of English
Jan Holmevik is Assistant Professor of English specializing in Interactive and Social Media. He is Co-Chair of the RCID Serious Games Colloquium, and conducts research in game design, game culture, digital literacy, social media, visual communication, humanistic informatics, and electracy.
Dr. Eric Morris, PhD Urban Planning, Associate Professor, City and Regional Planning
Eric A. Morris's primary focus is transportation, particularly how transportation contributes to our quality of life. His current research focuses on transportation and happiness; transportation, time use, and activity patterns; and transportation and access to employment, shopping, food, and medical care. He has a strong interest in transportation equity and disadvantaged populations. He also conducts research in the field of transportation history, and is currently co-authoring a book on the development and financing of the freeway system. Other interests include transportation and land use, transportation finance and economics, transportation policy, and transportation and the environment. He wrote a column on transportation for the New York Times for several years, and now is a regular contributor to the Freakonomics website. He was also the Associate Editor of Access magazine. Before returning to academia he worked as a travel writer, a sports writer, and a television writer and producer.
Dr. Jennifer Ogle, PhD in Civil Engineering; Professor of Civil Engineering; American Society of Engineers; Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE); Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
Dr. Ogle is active nationally in promoting women in engineering and has worked with the USDOT Secretary's Office and WTS International to develop a national mentor program for females interested in transportation. She was recognized by President Obama as a Champion of Change for Women in STEM. Dr. Ogle is also the Faculty Director of Engage Dominica.
Dr. Andrew Pyle, PhD in Communication, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies
Dr. Andrew S. Pyle completed his PhD in Communication at George Mason University, and his MA in Applied Communication from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His research focuses on the intersection of crisis communication and intercultural communication. He is also interested in the ways that organizations employ social media to manage crisis communication. He also studies the scholarship of teaching and learning, seeking methods for enhancing the classroom experience for students and faculty alike. Dr. Pyle is teaching courses in the areas of Public Relations and Crisis Communication. He is an active member of the Southern States Communication Association and the Public Relations Society of America.
Dr. Bruce Rafert, PhD in Astronomy, Emeritus Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Visiting Professor of Transportation
Dr. Rafert has 35+ years of research and teaching in Remote Sensing Physics, including 3 years as Professor of Physics while working for the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute at their regional office in Denver, Colorado. He has extensive interdisciplinary pedagogical and research activities including multiple publications in physics, space sciences, astronomy, remote sensing physics, and transportation infrastructure. Dr. Rafert is a Former Teacher and Researcher of the Year, former Graduate School Dean (Clemson University) and Provost (North Dakota State University).
Dr. Bruce Ransom, PhD in Government, Professor of Political Science, Chair of Policy Studies at Strom Thurmond Institute
Bruce Ransom has been teaching political science at Clemson since 1994. He teaches State and Local Government, Urban Politics, Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations, African American Politics, and Policy Analysis and Political Choice (Ph.D. Program in Policy Studies). His research interests include political campaigns and elections, state voter identification requirements, legislative redistricting, community economic development, and African American Politics.
Dr. Cynthia Sims, PhD in Organizational Leadership, Assistant professor of Educational and Organizational Leadership Development
Dr. Fred Switzer, PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Professor of Psychology
Dr. Switzer is currently continuing his work with colleagues in the College of Engineering and Sciences on issues in infrastructure resilience and automotive safety. Dr. Switzer and his colleagues in the Department of Psychology established the Clemson University Driving Simulator Laboratory to provide a tool for examining issues of human judgment and decision-making and risk perception. He also established the Clemson Process Control Simulator laboratory to facilitate studies in the training of industrial operator teams and the interactions of training and supervision (industrial psychology) with interface design and plant operation (computer science and engineering) and with operator judgment and control (human factors psychology). In addition to this area of research, Dr. Switzer is currently conducting studies on cognitive and physiological indicators of team performance in industrial and military teams. Dr. Switzer has been a co-investigator on grants from Honda Research and Development Americas, the Office of Naval Research, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Fred has published in journals ranging from Accident Analysis and Prevention to the Journal of Applied Psychology as well as coauthoring multiple chapters in the Handbook of Industrial-Organizational Psychology Research Methods.