As the threat of war increases, Virginia Tech has compiled a listing of faculty members available to discuss specific aspects of war and its effect on our economy, our people, and our nation.

PRESIDENTIAL ANALYSIS; LEADERSHIP DURING TIMES OF WAR

Robert E. Denton, Professor, Communications Studies and Director of the Center for Leader Development. Denton is the author of 14 books on political communications, with particular emphasis on the Presidency. He was an invited speaker for a discussion on presidential communications at the George Bush Library at Texas A&M.

  • Media influences on U.S. presidents
  • Effects of war on presidential campaigns
  • Leadership during times of war
  • Military corps of Virginia Tech

Office: (540) 231-9825, rdenton@vt.edu

PR Contact: Annette Calhoun, (540) 231-2611, vtnews@vt.edu

THREATS POSED BY CHEMICAL and BIOLOGICAL AGENTS

Marion Ehrich professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathbiology and 2003-2004 president of the National Society of Toxicology.

  • Chemical agents and toxicology
  • Study of the adverse affects of chemicals in living organisms

Office: (540) 231-4938, marion@vt.edu

PR Contact: Jeff Douglas, (540) 231-7911, jdouglas@vt.edu

Gerhardt Schurig, associate dean for research and graduate studies and Nathan Sriranganathan and Stephen Boyle, the research team that led the RB-51 research effort. Shurig is an immunologist, and Boyle and Nathan are bacteriologists.

Schurig, Office: (540) 231-4992, gschurig@vt.edu

Sriranganathan, Office: (540) 231-7171, nathans@vt.edu

Boyle, Office: (540) 231-4641, smboyle@vt.edu

PR Contact: Jeff Douglas, (540) 231-7911, jdouglas@vt.edu

Bruno Sobral, director of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI)

  • Science of bioinformatics and genomic research and how it will assist efforts at prevention, protection, and prediction against biological weapons and infectious diseases.

Office: (540) 231-2100, sobral@vt.edu

PR Contact: Neysa Call, (540) 231-1259, necall@vt.edu

FAMILY ISSUES • PERSONAL FEARS AND ANXIETIES • COPING WITH STRESS

Anna Beth Benningfield, Visiting Assistant Professor, Human Development; Clinical Training Director, Marriage and Family Therapy Clinic.

Couple relationships

War/terrorism trauma

Coping with family stress and depression

Office: (540) 231-6807, abenning@vt.edu

PR Contact: Annette Calhoun, (540) 231-2611, vtnews@vt.edu

Scott Johnson, Associate Professor, Human Development; Director, Marriage and Family Therapy Doctoral Program.

How to talk with children about war

Ways to deal with children's fears and anxieties regarding war.

Office: (540) 231-3311, swj@vt.edu

PR Contact: Annette Calhoun, (540) 231-2611, vtnews@vt.edu

Karen Rosen, Associate Professor, Human Development, Clinical Supervisor at Virginia Tech's Center for Family Services in Northern Virginia.

  • Domestic violence during times of stress

Office: (703) 538-8461, krosen@vt.edu

PR Contact: Annette Calhoun, (540) 231-2611, vtnews@vt.edu

Russell Jones, Professor of psychology.

  • How parents can talk to children about war
  • How parents can help children avoid depression and feelings of helplessness
  • How adults can deal with feelings of depression and helplessness

Office: (540) 231-5934

PR Contact: Sally Harris, (540) 231-7911, slharris@vt.edu

MILITARY

Col. Ed Schwabe, Deputy Commandant of the Corps of Cadets.

  • Ground-maneuver warfare
  • Stateside effort to interface the military and homeland

Office: (540) 231-8595, (540) 552-8319, fschwabe@vt.edu

Col. Chuck Payne, Deputy Commandant of the Corps of Cadets.

  • Military history
  • Military efforts, ground combat, and terrorism

Office: (540) 231-3488, (540) 961-0204, chpayne1@vt.edu

FINANCIAL

Don Chance, First Union Professor of Financial Risk Management.

• Impact of war on financial markets and investing

Office: (540) 231-5061, dmc@vt.edu

PR Contact: Sookhan Ho, (540) 231-5071, sookhan@vt.edu

Celia Ray Hayhoe, Assistant Professor and Certified Financial Planner"

• Financial planning and spending during

• Necessary documents and storage tips

• Contingency planning

Office: (540) 231-3497

chayhoe@vt.edu

PR Contact: Annette Calhoun, (540) 231-2611, vtnews@vt.edu

TELECOMMUNICATIONS • SECURITY

Charles Bostian, Clayton Ayer professor of electrical and computer engineering.

• Disaster communication technology

• Increased interest in homeland security technologies

• Disaster response

Office: (540) 231-5096, bostian@vt.edu

PR Contact: Liz Crumbley at (540) 231-9772, lcrumb@vt.edu or Judy Hood at (540) 231-5096, jhood@vt.edu

France Belanger, director of the Center for Global Electronic Commerce and associate professor of accounting and information systems.

• Telework/telecommuting phenomenon and how war could change the perspective of organizations and individuals in this matter

• Security awareness

Office: (540) 231-6720, (540) 961-2862, belanger@vt.edu

PR Contact: Sookhan Ho, (540) 231-5071, sookhan@vt.edu

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

Doug Borer, associate professor of political science and scholar of international relations.

• U.S. policy in the Middle East

• Questions related to Afghanistan

Office: (540) 231-5342, (540) 552-5487, dborer@vt.edu

PR Contact: Sally Harris, (540) 231-6759, slharris@vt.edu

Gerard Toal, professor of geography & international affairs (Virginia Tech's Northern Virginia Center).

• Political geography, world political map, global-conflict issues, Kurds, U.S. geopolitical thinking, Russia and Europe-US divide

Office: (202) 554-7406, toalg@vt.edu

Frederick Krimgold, co-director of the World Institute for Disaster Risk Management and Virginia Tech outreach administrator in Northern Virginia, can address topics of preparedness, response, and recovery for "extreme events."

Krimgold has several projects underway that relate to protection of civilian populations from attack:

  • Use of virtual environment (CAVE) technology for training search and rescue teams
  • Development of terrorist risk evaluation criteria for commercial buildings (with FEMA)
  • Regional Risk Assessment for Critical Infrastructure (Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments)
  • A US/ Russia workshop on the development of intelligent maps for first responders

(funded by US Citizens Research and Development Foundation)

Office: (703) 535-3444, krimgold@vt.edu

PR Contact: Sarah Newbill, (540) 231-2108, vtnews@vt.edu

MIDDLE EAST HISTORY • ISLAMIC RADICALISM • U.S. RELATIONS

William Ochsenwald, professor of history and author of The Middle East: A History.

  • Conflicts involving Iraq
  • The national identity and cohesiveness of Iraq
  • The impact of Islam in the current crisis, Islamic radicalism, the history of nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism in the modern Middle East
  • U.S. relations with the Middle East

ochsen@vt.edu

PR Contact Sally Harris, (540) 231-6759, slharris@vt.edu

FIRST AMENDMENT • FREEDOM OF SPEECH • FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

William W. "Wat" Hopkins, Associate Professor, Communication Studies; Editor, Communication and the Law; U.S. Supreme Court scholar; member of Virginia's FOIC Council.

• First Amendment

• Freedom of the press and freedom of speech

• News organizations and the threat of libel

• US Supreme Court and free speech issues

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIC)

• Mass media ethics

Office: (540) 231-9833, whopkins@vt.edu

PR Contact: Annette Calhoun, (540) 231-2611, vtnews@vt.edu

MEDIA & WAR

Matthew P. McAllister, Associate Professor, Communication Studies; research on the commercialization of American culture; advertising during the Gulf war.

• mass media and a democratic society

• impact of war-time advertising

• war-time PSAs

• ideological messages in mass media

Office: (540) 231-9830, mattm@vt.edu

PR Contact: Annette Calhoun, (540) 231-2611, vtnews@vt.edu

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