Focus
The Focus series highlights faculty and staff across the University of West Georgia and celebrates the wealth of contributions they make in academics.
Drs. Isabel and Corey Maggiano joined the UWG Anthropology faculty in 2015. Biological anthropologists with a special interest in bioarchaeology and skeletal biology, they study the microscopy and chemistry of bone, and how it records people's lived experiences in structures invisible to the naked eye.
Dr. Patrick Hadley joined UWG in 2008, after several years as a corporate and government attorney. An expert in media law and a celebrated teacher, Hadley earned tenure in 2014 and was named associate dean in the School of Communication, Film, and Media in 2024. He lives in Atlanta with his wife Asia, his fourteen-year-old son Alivin James (A.J.), and his twelve-year-old daughter Amira.
This special issue focuses on faculty accomplishments across UWG.
Dr. Oliver Duah was born and raised in Ghana, West Africa. He began his higher education as a nursing student at the University of Ghana, Legon, then transferred to UWG in his junior year, after moving to the United State in 2009. Dr. Duah earned his B.S. and master's degrees in nursing at West Georgia, and his doctorate from Augusta University. He believes that his experience as a chemistry workshop leader during his undergraduate days at UWG contributed greatly to his success as a nursing educator.
Duah serves as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs and Assistant Professor for the School of Nursing at UWG.
Dr. Lisa Connell grew up in northern California, where she attended Humboldt State University, graduating summa cum laude. She earned her doctorate at the University of Washington and started teaching at West Georgia in 2010. Dr. Connell lives in Carrollton with her husband, daughter, and son.
Connell serves as Professor of French at UWG.
Dr. Lewis Baumstark was born and raised in Blountville, Tennessee. He attended college at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville and graduate school at Georgia Tech. A self-described "band and theater nerd in high school" (he played the French horn), Baumstark believes that his early experiences as a stage performer have helped him "stand in front of the students and deliver a lecture without falling apart." He lives in Atlanta with his wife Tiffany, son Jake, and family cat Hopper.
Baumstark serves as Professor of Computer Science at UWG.
Chris Mothersole earned a Bachelor of Music at the New England Conservatory of Music and a Master of Performance at the Royal College of Music London. A native of Austin, Texas, he was captivated at an early age by the clarinet, the instrument also played by his father, a computer engineer. Today, Mothersole breaks the boundaries of classical music as a soloist, composer, and chamber musician. His most recent work places him at the forefront of clarinet performance, in large part due to his innovative use of electric-guitar effect pedals, which open up new vistas of sound and invite collaborations with composers also devoted to creating new music for the medium.
Mothersole serves as Instructor of Music at UWG.
Casey McGuire earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Alfred University and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The daughter of a taxidermist and decoy carver in rural Vermont, McGuire began creating objects at an early age. As her technique and thinking matured, she applied her sculptural imagination to questions of home, the damaging human impact on the environment, and the politicization of natural landmarks.
McGuire serves as Professor of Art at UWG.