John Lewis School of Public Policy and Social Sciences

Explore our programs in Behavioral Science, Political Science, and Social Work to better understand people, communities, and the systems that shape our world.

Political Science and Public Affairs

Social Work

Social & Behavioral Sciences

John Robert Lewis (1940–2020) was one of the most influential leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement and later one of the nation’s most respected public servants. Born near Troy, Alabama, to a farming family, Lewis grew up under the racial segregation of the Jim Crow South. Inspired by the ministry and leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he became involved in the Civil Rights Movement while attending college in Nashville. As a young activist, Lewis participated in lunch-counter sit-ins, became one of the original Freedom Riders, and emerged as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), serving as its chairman from 1963 to 1966. At just 23 years old, he was one of the principal organizers and the youngest major speaker at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, establishing him as a national voice for civil rights, voting rights, and nonviolent social change.

Lewis’s most defining moment came on March 7, 1965, when he and Hosea Williams led hundreds of peaceful demonstrators across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, during a march for voting rights. Alabama state troopers attacked the marchers with clubs and tear gas, fracturing Lewis’s skull in an event that became known as “Bloody Sunday.” Images of the violence shocked the nation and helped build the political momentum that resulted in passage of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lewis continued his work to expand voting and political participation, eventually becoming executive director of the Voter Education Project. His career later moved from activism into government: he served in the Carter administration, on the Atlanta City Council, and in 1986 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia’s 5th Congressional District.

Lewis served in Congress from 1987 until his death in 2020, becoming widely regarded as a moral leader on Capitol Hill and a persistent advocate for civil rights, voting rights, education, healthcare, economic opportunity, and social justice. Throughout his life, he remained committed to nonviolence and encouraged younger generations to become active participants in democracy and to engage in what he famously described as “good trouble”—principled action in the pursuit of justice. President Barack Obama awarded Lewis the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Lewis died on July 17, 2020, at age 80 and subsequently became the first Black lawmaker to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. His journey—from a child of the segregated South, to civil rights activist, to more than three decades in Congress—left an enduring legacy centered on courage, ethical leadership, civic engagement, public service, equality, and the responsibility of each generation to strengthen American democracy.

Alexander, Stephanie L. (Associate Professor & Program Coordinator)
BA, University of Oklahoma, Sociology
MA, The University of Oklahoma, Human Relations
PhD, The University of Oklahoma, Sociology

Anderson, Adrian D. (Professor)
BS, Northwestern State University, Psychology
MSW, Southern University, Social Work
PhD, Tulane University, Social Work

Armstrong, Kiana (Associate Professor and Department Chair)
BSW, Alabama State University, Social Work
MSW, University of Alabama, Social Work
DSW, University of Kentucky

Attipoe, Hope (Associate Professor)
MSW, University of Georgia
M.Ed., University of Georgia
PhD, University of Georgia, Adult Education

Bell, Marion D. (Associate Professor)
BA University of Georgia, Political Science
MA Georgia Southern University, Social Science
PhD, Walden University, Public Policy & Administration – Homeland Security

Bongang, Benn L. (Professor)
MA, University of South Carolina, International Studies
MS, Boston University, Journalism
PhD, University of South Carolina, International Studies

Bowden, Geoffrey C. (Associate Professor & Program Coordinator)
BA, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Religious Studies
MA, University of Notre Dame, Social Sciences
MDiv, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
PhD, University of Notre Dame, Social Science

Cole, Lakesha (Associate Professor & Program Coordinator)
BA, The University of Southern Mississippi, Criminal Justice
Doctorate of Professional Counseling Professional Counseling
MS, Mississippi College, Marriage & Family Counseling
MS, Delta State University, Criminal Justice

Collazo, Marc (Assistant Professor)
BA, American Intercontinental University, Criminal Justice
MA, Grand Canyon University, Criminal Justice
PhD, Liberty University, Criminal Justice

Davis, Christina (Associate Professor)
BA, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Psychology
MA, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Applied Social Science
PhD, University of Georgia, History

Deloach, Roenia J. (Professor and Coordinator)
BSW, Jackson State University, Social Work
MSW, Ohio State University, Social Work
PhD, The Ohio State University, Social Work

Iancu, Otilia (Professor and Chair)
MPA, University of Kansas, Public Administration
PhD, University of Arkansas, Public Policy

Jindani, Shinaz G. (Professor & Program Coordinator)
BSW, University of Mumbai College of Social Work, Social Work,
DSW, Tulane University, Social Work
MSW, University of Mumbai College of Social Work, Social Work

Jordan, Kenneth A. (Professor)
BA, North Carolina College at Durham, Geography
MA, University of California, Berkeley, Geography
PhD, University of California, Berkeley, Geography

Kalantari, Behrooz (Professor)
BA, Avila University, Public Management
BA, Tehran Business College, Business
MPA, Southern Illinois University, Public Affairs
PhD, Southern Illinois University, Political Science

Kitchen, Tatyana (Lecturer)
BS, Savannah State University, Sociology
MSW, Savannah State University, Social Work
DSW, University of Kentucky, Social Work

Omunga, Philip (Associate Professor)
BA, University of Nairobi
MA, University of Nairobi, Valuation and Property Management
PhD, Kansas State University, College of Architecture, Environmental Design & Planning

Rivera, Pedro R. (Associate Professor and Chair)
BA, The City College of New York, History
PhD, Howard University, History

Serdikoff, Sherry L. (Associate Professor)
BA, Temple University, Psychology
MA, West Virginia University, Psychology
PhD, West Virginia University, Psychology

Smalls, Samanthis (Assistant Professor)
BA, Armstrong State University, History
PhD, Duke University, History

Stewart, Katherine L. (Associate Professor & Program Coordinator)
BA, University of North Carolina, Psychology
MA, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Psychology
PhD, University of Kansas, Behavioral Psychology

Strickland, Brittany (Assistant Professor)
BA, University of Toledo, History
MS, Troy University, Criminal Justice
MBA, St. Leo University, Business Administration
PhD, Saybrook University, Psychology