Turner Business

The TSYS School, led by Rania Hodhod , announced the formation of a new advisory board at the Turner College's March 2026 meeting. Composition of the board includes a mix of industry professionals, academic experts and some of the TSYS School's top undergraduate and graduate students. The professional members of the new TSYS School Advisory Board are Curtis O'Neal , founder and CEO of Cybernetics Global, Victoria Thomas , Director of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education for the Muscogee County School District, Shea Spencer , Business Development Consultant for Global Payments, Jonathan White , Information Security Manager at Global Payments, Jose Canedo , Senior Software Developer at Global Payments, Jaden Jefferson , IT Support Specialist at Aflac, Anita Lawrence , Director of Output Services at FIS, and  Adbdelrahman Arafat , Systems Engineer at Ankerpak. On the academic side of the board are TSYS School computer science professors Yi Zhou , Jianhua Yang , Amjad H...

Twenty-four hours. Dozens of opportunities to give. That’s what awaits Columbus State University alumni and friends starting at 5 p.m. on Monday, April 6, when the university launches CSU Gives. The annual online giving drive highlights how alumni and donors can quickly impact students’ experiences and academic success through their charitable contributions. “Gifts of all sizes benefit our students every day,” said Alexis Gray , Assistant Director of Alumni and Student Engagement and 2018 graduate of the Turner College's MSOL program, who is co-leading the CSU Gives effort. “They make college affordable through scholarships and make learning from outstanding faculty possible in the classroom. They enhance the college experience through unique experiences and leadership development that help our students succeed in their studies and position them for success in their careers.” Gray explained that the 24-hour giving period will feature some competitive online “power hours” designed t...

It has been between two and three years since Turner Business reported on the TSYS Center for Cybersecurity Advisory Board. At that time the Board maintained 10 members and the Center's Director was Turner College alum  Patrick Aiken . Now, Sean Glieberman serves as the Center's Director, and he recently announced that the Board is now comprised of 12 members and has its own section on the Center's website. The Board's current membership is shown in the image below. Transitioning off the Board since our 2023 blog post is Christopher Lovelock , who is now a member of the TSYS School computer science faculty. Joining the Board since our 2023 blog post are Casey Hergett , the Muscogee County School District's Senior Director of Enterprise Technologies, Stacy Hughes , ABM's Chief Information Security Officer and Vice President, and Josh Pauli , Chair of the Department of Cyber, Intelligence and Information Operations at the University of Arizona.   

Although the search for a new dean of the Turner College is not yet underway, faculty and staff were recently informed that Margie Yates, Dean of the College of Education and Health Professions, has been named chair of the search committee. CSU is currently seeking volunteers to serve on the search committee while work is still occurring on search firm selection. Once the committee is constructed, "listening sessions" will take place on campus. Yates earned a BSEd from the University of Georgia, and MEd from CSU and a PhD from Auburn University. Stay connected to Turner Business for more on this search. In other news, TSYS School Director Rania Hodhod recently announced that this summer's Study Abroad program in Egypt has been cancelled due to travel restrictions resulting from the war in Iran. Next, Turner College faculty were informed last week that construction on the Synovus Center is ahead of schedule. Punch list walkthroughs are already taking place, and the end d...

Columbus State University honored 13 students, employees, alumni and community leaders on Wednesday, March 25, with its annual Legacy Awards at its annual Legacy Celebration Banquet. Among the winners was  Joy Mwanja , who received the Kiongozi Award for Outstanding International Leadership. Modeling “kiongozi,” which  in Swahili  means “leadership," the Center for Global Engagement bestows this honor on a graduating international student who has demonstrated campus involvement and academic leadership. Mwanja, a graduate student from Kampala, Uganda, majoring in cybersecurity, is honored for her contributions to internationalizing the campus and enriching the lives of those she meets. Mariah Washington received the W.D. Feeney Award. Like the 2013 Columbus State alumnus and former university employee for whom the award is named, Washington is known for her strong commitment to helping fellow students overcome challenges related to their disabilities. She has notably volu...

Contemporary news coverage of the property damage and human cost associated with the California wildfires of 2024 and early 2025 provided some of the most heart-wrenching images of a natural disaster in U.S. history. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, more than 8,000 individual fires had, by the end of 2024, burned almost 1.1 million acres of California property and destroyed more than 1,700 structures.  The combination of drought conditions, thick underbrush and Santa Ana winds worked to extend the fires into January of 2025, particularly around Los Angeles and San Diego. Prominent among these fires was the Pacific Palisades fires, which began in the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles County on 7 January 2025 and would eventually devastate large swaths of Pacific Palisades, Topanga and Malibu before ultimate containment of them on the last day of the month.  More than 30 lives were lost as a result of the fires and estimates of the prop...