Constitution Day Lunch Discussion & Debate:
Trax on the Trail Concert : Music from Elections & Suffrage
Constitution Week Lunch Discussion:
The Stop Woke Act & Free Speech
Panelists:
Office of Leadership Programs and Usury Forum on Leadership
Panelists:
Security, NATO, and Defense
Times Talk:
The Dobbs Decision, the Constitution, and the Abortion Controversy
The First Freedom: Madison, Jefferson and Religious Liberty
Panelists:
Constitution Week Lunch Discussion:
Women & Politics
Panelists:
The End of the Electoral College?
Panelists:
Cathy Cox became Georgia College’s 12th President on October 1st, 2021. Prior to joining Georgia College, Cox served as Dean for Mercer University School of Law from 2017 – 2021 and served as president of Young Harris College for a decade prior to that. A native of Bainbridge, Georgia, Cox’s distinguished career in law, education, politics, and journalism embodies what it means to have a “liberal arts” background.
Having first pursued an interest in cultivating plants, Cox earned her associate’s degree at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, before turning her attention to journalism at the University of Georgia where she graduated summa cum laude. Writing for The Times of Gainesville and The Post-Searchlight of Bainbridge, Cox would cover local area crime and the courts, inspiring her to pursue a degree in law. She served as editor-in-chief for the Mercer Law Review before graduating magna cum laude from Mercer Law School. Cox practiced law in her hometown of Bainbridge and in Atlanta for 10 years, during which time she was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives. She subsequently broke new ground in her election as Georgia's Secretary of State, becoming the first woman in Georgia’s history to serve in this Constitutional office.
During her term as president of Young Harris, the small private liberal arts college garnered a reputation for excellence, growing from a two-year to a four-year institution. Cox was recognized for her work in 2017 with the Young Harris College Medallion and was named an honorary alumna. In 2020, she was named Georgia’s Woman Lawyer of the Year by the Middle Georgia Chapter of the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers.
Cox is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and the recipient of Leadership Georgia’s prestigious J.W. Fanning Award for progressive leadership and service. She has served on a number of civic, philanthropic, and business organizations and boards and is a prolific thought leader, delivering scores of keynote speeches and presentations and conducting media interviews on a wide range of topics spanning her expertise in higher education, law, politics, and election law and integrity. Cox is married to attorney Mark Dehler.
Dr. Victoria Gordon, is the Coverdell Visiting Scholar for fall 2022 at GCSU. She is a recently retired professor from Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, where she taught for sixteen years in the Department of Political Science, Master of Public Administration program, and served as the Director of the Center for Local Governments. Dr. Gordon’s areas of research interest include municipal finance and human resources management, and her service has most recently focused on women and politics, with a particular focus on the 19th Amendment and the importance of exercising the right to vote. Her scholarly work is published in Economic Development Quarterly, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Public Personnel Management, International Journal of Public Administration, Journal of Public Affairs Education and Public Voices. Dr. Gordon is the author of two books–Maternity Leave: Policy and Practice (2020 second edition) and Participatory Budgeting in the United States: A Guide for Local Governments (2017). She earned her Doctor of Public Administration degree from the University of Illinois–Springfield, and her Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas. Dr. Gordon has served as a city clerk, as a county housing department director, and as a city administrator. Dr. Gordon is looking forward to teaching a Women and Politics course this semester and connecting GCSU students, faculty, staff and greater Milledgeville community to programming focused on the journey to the passage of the 19th Amendment and continuing challenges to exercising the right to vote.
Dean C. Copelan is a lecturer of business law and ethics at Georgia College. Prior to coming to Georgia College, he served as an attorney at Spivey, Pope, Green and Greer in Macon, practicing in the areas of wealth management and probate and estate administration.
Dean earned his undergraduate degree in accounting from Georgia College and State University in 1991. He received his J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law in 1994, where he was a member of the Mercer Law Review and Brainerd Currie Honor Society. After attending the School of Law, Dean attended the University of Miami, where he earned an LL.M. in estate planning. Upon finishing his education, Dean became an associate attorney at The Bowden Law Firm in Atlanta, and then at James, Bates, Pope & Spivey in Macon. He also served as Vice President and Senior Trust Advisor at Wachovia Bank, as First Vice President and Estate Settlement Manager at SunTrust Bank, and Assistant General Counsel at Bank of America.
Justice Verda M. Colvin was appointed to the Supreme Court on July 20, 2021, by Gov. Brian Kemp. She is the first African-American female appointed by a Republican governor to the state’s high court.
Previously, she served on the Court of Appeals, having been appointed by Gov. Kemp in April 2020. Her time as judge also includes nearly six years as a Superior Court judge in the Macon Judicial Circuit, during which she served on the Council of Accountability Court Judges.
Born and raised in Atlanta, Justice Colvin attended Daniel McLaughlin Therrell High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in government and religion from Sweet Briar College in Virginia and her juris doctorate from the University Of Georgia School Of Law.
Judge Colvin is committed to service professionally and personally. In 2019, the Supreme Court appointed her to serve on the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC). Additionally, during her tenure as a Superior Court Judge she served on the CSCJ Bench & Bar and Legislative Committees and as a member of the Council of Accountability Court Judges (CACJ) where she was part of the Funding Committee, the Committee Chair for Accountability and Treatment Courts and a member of the CACJ Executive Committee. Justice Colvin was serving as co-chair of the Rules Committee for the Council of Superior Court Judges (CSCJ) at the time of her appointment to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Kemp. She formerly served on Gov. Nathan Deal’s Criminal Justice Reform Committee and the Law Enforcement Task Force Committee. During her service on the Court of Appeals Justice Colvin served as a member of the Internal Operations Manual and the Continuing Judicial Education and In-house Continuing Legal Education for Staff Attorneys. She co-chaired the Strategic Planning/Court Futures Committee and was appointed to serve on the Continuing Judicial Education Board of Trustees. In her service on the Supreme Court of Georgia she currently serves as the Chair of the Access to Justice Committee.
Among her numerous awards and honors are Justice Verda M. Colvin Month in honor of Women’s History Month in Macon-Bibb County (2022) by Mayor Lester Miller, Alaimo Award (2022) by Georgia Trial Lawyer Association (GTLA), The Leah Ward Sears Award for Distinction in the Profession (2021) by GABWA, The Young Lawyer Division of the State Bar of Georgia Distinguished Judicial Award (2020-21), The Honorable Debra Bernes Community Volunteer Award (2021) by GAWL, Tradition of Excellence Award as a Judge by The General Practice and Trial Section of the State Bar of Georgia (2019), Middle Georgia Association of Women Lawyers Outstanding Woman Lawyer of the Year (2019), The House of Hope-Women’s History Month Award (2019), NAACP President’s Award (2018), Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Pearls of Service Award (2017), Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Citizen of the Year (2016 and 2017), Career Women’s Network Woman of Achievement (2016), Georgia Orthodox Missionary Baptist Association Community Service Award (2015), and Leadership Macon’s Robert F. Hatcher Distinguished Alumni Award as a Community Leader.
Matt Roessing is a Lecturer in Legal Studies at UGA’s Terry College of Business, where he teaches the legal aspects of business, real estate, and international trade. Matt taught business law at Georgia College from 2012-2017 and won several teaching awards, including the business school’s Students’ Choice Award and the university-wide Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a member of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and recent winner of its annual Master Teacher Competition. While at Georgia College, Matt started the U.S. Supreme Court Review and helped expand Constitution Day into a week of cross-disciplinary events. Matt previously worked in the Washington, D.C. office of Arnold & Porter LLP and now runs his own law firm in Milledgeville, where he represents local business owners and serves on the board of the Chamber of Commerce. A self-professed “SCOTUS nerd,” Matt follows the Court and his discussions of its decisions have been featured on Georgia Public Broadcasting, Macon’s LawCall, and Georgia College’s WRGC. His Law Blog can be found here.
Randy Beck joined the University of Georgia School of Law faculty in 1997 and has held its Justice Thomas O. Marshall Chair of Constitutional Law since 2011. From 2018 to 2021, he served as the school's associate dean for academic affairs.
Beck's constitutional law scholarship includes: "Qui Tam Litigation Against Government Officials: Constitutional Implications of a Neglected History" in the Notre Dame Law Review (2018); "Twenty-Week Abortion Statutes: Four Arguments" in the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly (2016); "Transtemporal Separation of Powers in the Law of Precedent" in the Notre Dame Law Review (2012); "Self-Conscious Dicta: The Origins of Roe v. Wade's Trimester Framework" in the American Journal of Legal History (2011); "Gonzales, Casey and the Viability Rule" in the Northwestern University Law Review (2009); "The Heart of Federalism: Pretext Review of Means-End Relationships" in the University of California-Davis Law Review (2003); and "The New Jurisprudence of the Necessary and Proper Clause" in the Illinois law Review (2002). His law and religion scholarship includes the chapter "The Biblical Foundations of Law: Creation, Fall, and the Patriarchs" in Law and the Bible: Justice, Mercy and Legal Institutions (InterVarsity Press, 2013) (with D. VanDrunen) and "God the Judge and Human Justice" in the Journal of Law & Religion (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Notably, in 2016-17, Beck served as the Garwood Visiting Fellow in Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions.
A dedicated teacher and scholar, he has twice received the law school's C. Ronald Ellington Award for Excellence in Teaching and has been honored by the graduating class on four occasions as the recipient of the John C. O'Byrne Memorial Faculty Award for Furthering Student-Faculty Relations.
Prior to his law school appointment, Beck worked for more than five years as a general litigation associate with the law firm Perkins Coie in Seattle, Washington. He also has government experience from service as an attorney-advisor in the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel.
Beck has served as a judicial clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. He graduated first in his class at Southern Methodist University School of Law and earned his undergraduate degree from Baker University.
Stacey Evans is a wife, mother, lawyer, and legislator. She lives in the Morningside neighborhood of Atlanta with her husband Andrew; their two children, Ashley and Jack; and their rescue dog, Dexter.
She is a first generation college graduate. She earned her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia. She practices law at her own law firm, Stacey Evans Law. She takes on healthcare giants in Medicare fraud cases in addition to representing individuals in toxic tort and defamation cases. She is a member of the Board of Directors of G-CAPP (Georgia Coalition for Adolescent Power & Potential) and serves on the Board of Visitors for the UGA School of Law. Stacey has served as chair of Georgia’s WIN List, treasurer of NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia, and was president of the Young Democrats of Georgia. Stacey represents House District 57 in the Georgia House of Representatives. This is Stacey’s second stint as a legislator; she represented House District 42 in Cobb County from 2011-2017. During her legislative service, Stacey has passed legislation to expand the HOPE Grant for technical colleges and fought for civil rights legislation. She also previously served as Chair of the Democratic House Caucus.
Tracy Adkison is known for her work as a community leader, advocate and mentor. By trade, she is an award-winning Project Manager for over 20 years. Tracy made history being elected the first African American President of the League of Women Voters of Georgia. She was also selected by LWVUS to be a National Coach with the Ruth S. Shur Fellow Program. With 12 local leagues and 600 members statewide, the League works tirelessly to empower voters and defend our democracy. They do this by registering citizens to vote, hosting candidate and issue forums, as well as creating an on-line voter guide to assist citizens in preparing their ballot choices for elections. The League is a Nonpartisan organization fighting for the people on issues ranging from healthcare to education to voting rights. Tracy has been a member of the League for 20 years.
She has served her community through various nonprofit organizations since she was in middle school. Tracy has been an avid member of Toastmasters. She has been featured in radio, print and television interviews because of her service, dedication and perseverance. She was featured in Urban Spice Magazine for Women’s History Month; and was honored to be named one of Atlanta’s 100 Most Influential Black Women by the Atlanta Business League two years in a row. Tracy, and her husband Eric, have 3 children and 1 grandson. They cherish the memory of their daughter Monica LaShundra, who died in a car accident. In her spare time, she loves to travel, read, cook, and enjoys riding her motorcycle.
Nicholas Creel is currently an Assistant Professor of Business Law at Georgia College. His research interests include religion and politics, international law, and constitutional law. His academic accomplishments include a recently completed PhD in political science from Texas Tech University, a JD from the University of Dayton, and an LLM in international and comparative law from St. Mary's University.
Dr. Lynne Ford joined the Department of Political Science at the College of Charleston in 1991 and served as department chair from 2000 until 2008. From 2010 until 2014, Dr. Ford served as Associate Provost for Curriculum and Academic Administration. Most recently, she has served as Associate Vice President for the Academic Experience (2014-2022) before returning to the faculty in Political Science full-time in Fall 2022.
Ford earned her B.A. degree from The Pennsylvania State University and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her teaching and research interests are in American politics with an emphasis on women and politics, elections and voting behavior, and civic engagement. Her book, Women and Politics: The Pursuit of Equality is now in its fourth edition. The Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics, published in 2008, was named one of the top twenty reference books by the New York Public Library in 2009. In 2009 she joined the author team for American Government & Politics Today, an introductory text, now in its 19th edition (2020). She serves on the editorial board for two political science journals and has served in a variety of leadership roles with the American Political Science Association and the Southern Political Science Association including the Status of Women Committee for both organizations and the APSA Departmental Services Committee.
Leif Hoffmann is an Associate Professor of Political Science. He was born in Germany and earned a Master in European Studies at the Universität Osnabrück, a Diplôme (master-level equivalent) in International Management at the École supérieure de commerce et management de Poitiers as well as a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Oregon. Since 2012 he teaches a variety of courses in Political Science at Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho as well as the college’s Introduction to Geography course. His research interests include comparative politics and international relations, specifically comparative federalism, market-building and the European Union. In his dissertation he demonstrates how the European Union market is legally more integrated than the internal market of the United States in many important economic arenas, such as public procurement and services.
Dr. Victoria Gordon, is the Coverdell Visiting Scholar for fall 2022 at GCSU. She is a recently retired professor from Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky, where she taught for sixteen years in the Department of Political Science, Master of Public Administration program, and served as the Director of the Center for Local Governments. Dr. Gordon’s areas of research interest include municipal finance and human resources management, and her service has most recently focused on women and politics, with a particular focus on the 19th Amendment and the importance of exercising the right to vote. Her scholarly work is published in Economic Development Quarterly, Review of Public Personnel Administration, Public Personnel Management, International Journal of Public Administration, Journal of Public Affairs Education and Public Voices. Dr. Gordon is the author of two books–Maternity Leave: Policy and Practice (2020 second edition) and Participatory Budgeting in the United States: A Guide for Local Governments (2017). She earned her Doctor of Public Administration degree from the University of Illinois–Springfield, and her Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas. Dr. Gordon has served as a city clerk, as a county housing department director, and as a city administrator. Dr. Gordon is looking forward to teaching a Women and Politics course this semester and connecting GCSU students, faculty, staff and greater Milledgeville community to programming focused on the journey to the passage of the 19th Amendment and continuing challenges to exercising the right to vote.
Gene Straughan is a professor and Director of the Justice Studies Program at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho. He has won numerous awards for teaching such courses as American National Politics, State and Local Government, Law and Society, Political Philosophy, Constitutional Law, Civil Liberties and Civil Rights, First Amendment Law, Native American Law, and International Law. He has taught and coached undergraduate mock trial and moot court teams. He has also served as an agency program evaluator for Community Prosecution and Law Enforcement grants, funded by the United States Department of Justice.
