Appointments to the Senior Organizational Structure

Trip Addison is the Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs for Georgia Southern University overseeing the Office of University Advancement and Alumni Relations, the Multimedia Development Center and the Office of University Marketing and Communications as well as the University’s economic development, government relations and community engagement efforts. Additionally, Addison is the President of the Georgia Southern University Foundation.

He joined Georgia Southern University in 2015 after serving as assistant director of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Addison has served as the deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and as a policy adviser to Governor Deal in the areas of natural resources, tax, labor, and economic development. Addison previously served as chairman of the Georgia Occupational Regulation Review Council and member of the Georgia Erosion and Sediment Control Overview Council.

He is a member of the Georgia Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits. Addison earned a bachelor’s degree in Construction Management and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southern University. He, his wife, Ashley, and their child, Elizabeth, reside in Richmond Hill, Georgia.

Christopher Curtis, Ph.D., is a professor of History and currently serves as the Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Armstrong State University. He has worked at Armstrong since 2013 and previously held the offices of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and the Chair of the Department of History. Prior to coming to Savannah, Curtis held faculty and administrative positions at Claflin University and Iowa State University. He began his teaching career as a high school teacher in Virginia.

Curtis was appointed as a representative on the South Carolina State Board of Archives by Governor Nikki Haley in 2010. He has served as an expert witness on church property rights and recently concluded a term as President of the St. George Tucker Society for Southern Studies. Currently, he is a member of the editorial board of the Georgia Historical Quarterly.

Curtis is the author of Jefferson’s Freeholders and the Politics of Ownership in the Old Dominion (Cambridge University Press: 2012) and of several articles and essays on early American law and the American South. Most recently, he published a chapter on judicial honor in the edited collection, The Field of Honor: Essays on Southern Character and American Identity (University of South Carolina Press: 2017). Curtis holds a Ph.D. from Emory University and served as an Infantry Officer in the United States Marine Corps.

Georj Lewis, Ed.D., is the Vice President for Student Affairs at Armstrong State University, and joined the University in 2013. A 23-year veteran of higher education, Lewis is responsible for providing leadership for the division of Students Affairs, advancing strategic goals of the campus and collaborating with the various campus and community stakeholders on initiatives designed to foster student success.

Throughout his career, Lewis’ experiences have enabled him to develop a comprehensive view of college campuses. Beginning with his higher education career in admissions and enrollment, Lewis coordinated minority recruitment efforts and developed a basic knowledge of all campus services and programs. After transitioning to multicultural affairs, Lewis led the diversity efforts at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and then transitioned to leading the same efforts at Georgia Southern University.

After serving as a diversity professional, Lewis went on to serve in a senior-level administrative position as Dean of Students, where he became skilled at strategic planning, leading multiple department units, and providing vision and leadership for a departments that delivered services that are critical to student growth and development. After serving at Georgia Southern for nearly 11 years, Lewis transitioned into the role of Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (VCSA) at Indiana University Northwest. In this role, he served as part of the senior leadership team and was engaged in the strategic vision for planning that affects student success, life and experiences on the campus.

Throughout his career, Lewis was an advocate for students, leading and collaborating in the development and implementation of programs promoting student and professional staff success. He developed grant-funded support programs to address the needs of underrepresented students and created staff development programs that facilitated excellence in student service and professional growth. In addition, Lewis has taught graduate courses on student services in higher education and undergraduate first year experience courses.

Lewis has received several awards, been invited to serve on various major campus committees, is active nationally through consulting and delivering conference presentations, and voluntarily serves in the community. He and his wife, Anchelle, have three children and two grandchildren.

Robert L. Whitaker is the Vice President for Finance and Operations at Georgia Southern University. Prior to joining Georgia Southern in 2013, Whitaker served as the Vice President for Finance and Administration at Georgia Highlands College, a position he held since 2008.

From 2001 to 2008, Whitaker served as the director of business services at Southern Polytechnic State University. Earlier in his career, he spent six years working in business and finance positions at the state of Georgia, including two years at the University System of Georgia system office as assistant budget director.

In his higher education roles, Whitaker has been instrumental in developing, constructing, and managing over $326 million in privatized housing, food service, and student center functions. In 2010, he received the University System of Georgia Office of Facilities Real Estate Award for Partnership with the University of West Georgia for the development of the joint Douglasville Instructional Site. He also actively worked to establish an athletics program at Georgia Highlands College. Whitaker provides leadership, planning, and management to financial services, human resources, university police, facilities planning and service, auxiliary services and athletics compliance, and has a strong history of successful stewardship of both physical and financial resources.

Whitaker is the treasurer of Georgia Southern University’s Research, Philanthropic, Housing and Athletic Foundations, and was appointed to the Shared Services Governing Board by the University System of Georgia’s Chancellor. He co-authored the Tuition Differential Analysis for Southern Polytechnic State University and the Information Technology Report for the University System of Georgia.

He holds a Bachelor in Business Administration Accounting from Morehead State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia Southern University.

Jana Briley joined Georgia Southern’s internal audit operation in December 2004 as an Auditor II and was promoted to Director in November 2009. Briley’s experience also includes more than 14 years as an accounting professional in Georgia Southern University’s Controller’s Office and as an Accountant for the Georgia Southern University Foundation. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia Southern University. She also holds the professional designation of Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). Briley is a member of The Institute of Internal Auditors and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is a Board Member-at-Large for the Association of College and University Auditors.

Maura Copeland was named Associate Vice President for Legal Affairs in April 2011. Prior to her current position, she had served as Associate University Attorney since 2007. Earlier in her career, she served as a law clerk in the Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Court of Common Pleas and the State Court of Hall County, Georgia. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Furman University, earned her Juris Doctor from Mercer University School of Law, and earned an LL.M. in Taxation from Villanova University School of Law.

Amy R. Heaston, Ed.D., is the Chief of Staff in the Office of the President at Armstrong State University, and has served in this role since 2010. A 28-year veteran of higher education, Heaston strategically directs messaging and manages special projects for the President. She also leads the university’s Crisis Response Team, oversees campus-wide execution of Armstrong’s Strategic Plan, coordinates the submission of key reports to the University System of Georgia and streamlines operations for the President’s Office, including budget management, meeting preparation and key initiative research.

Previously, Heaston served as an associate provost at Georgia Southern, assisting with the delivery of the university’s key initiatives and overseeing the directors of the Center for Excellence in Teaching, First-Year Experience and University Honors programs. She also managed faculty evaluations and the university’s comprehensive program review process. As well, she led the Academic Advisement Council and served as the Provost’s designated liaison to the Behavior Assessment Team, Enrollment Management Council, Faculty Service Committee, Faculty Welfare Committee, Strategic Planning Council and Undergraduate Committee.

A lifelong champion of education and advocate for students, Heaston also directed Georgia Southern’s Field Experiences and Partnerships program and managed the Clinical Associate and Demonstration Teacher programs while establishing policies and procedures related to student and teacher exchanges for the International Learning Community. In addition, she was the university’s Acting Chair of the Department of Early Childhood Education and Reading, where she spearheaded departmental curriculum, goals and program development.

Heaston holds an Ed.D. from Ball State University and was a professor of Early Childhood Education for more than 20 years. She has served on dozens of service and higher education committees and garnered outstanding education awards. She has been published in numerous higher education journals and presented at national and international conferences on a broad range of topics, from retention and graduation to facilitating excellence in students and diversity in learning.

Tom Kleinlein was officially announced as Georgia Southern’s Director of Athletics on Nov. 12, 2012. A former college football player at Wake Forest University, Kleinlein joined the Eagles following two years at Kent State University, where he served as the deputy athletics director, and five years at Arizona State University, where he served as the associate athletics director for football.

Now concluding his fifth year at the University, Kleinlein continues to make his mark in all facets of the department. During his tenure, Eagle athletics have won nine conference championships, appeared in regional and conference playoffs, and the football team won the GoDaddy Bowl — its first bowl appearance in program history. Kleinlein also spearheaded an overhaul of the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation, creating a regionally based organization which has increased annual donations from $800,000 to well over a record-setting $1.8 million. He has overseen renovation projects totaling more than $33 million, he has worked to increase the department’s annual operating budget from $11 million to $26 million annually, and he has signed multi-million-dollar deals with Learfield Sports, Coca-Cola and Adidas.

Kleinlein accepted his current assignment at Georgia Southern after serving in executive roles with the Kent State, Arizona State and Rutgers Athletic Departments. Prior to his career in college athletics, he served as a high school history teacher and coach in Guilford County, North Carolina.

A student-athlete at Wake Forest, Kleinlein earned four letters as a member of the Demon Deacons’ offensive line (1989-92). He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from Wake Forest (1992), Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State (2008) and started his career in athletics administration as an academic counselor at his alma mater.

Originally from Inwood, New York, Kleinlein and his wife, Tara, have two sons – Austin and Mason.

Leigh Price joined Georgia Southern University in March 2006 as an administrative specialist in the Office of the President. In this role, and in her current role, Price coordinates and maintains all budget-related work for the office, and assists in organizing the President’s special projects and events.

Before joining Georgia Southern, Price was a small business owner and operator for seven years. She previously served as a recreation manager and supervisor at the Hyatt Regency Hilton Head, where she coordinated activities and events for guests. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Recreation from Georgia Southern in 1996.

Ron Stalnaker brings more than 20 years of higher education and corporate technology and leadership experience to his current position. He began his career at Georgia Southern in 2005 as a Web Service Architect and has served in increasingly responsible roles. Prior to his appointment as Chief Information Officer, Stalnaker served as Associate CIO, a role in which he helped develop and manage the University’s Information Technology strategy, focusing on the institution’s long-range technology needs.

Prior to joining Georgia Southern, he worked at IBM Global Services, where he led, designed and managed technology projects for a wide range of clients including Fortune 500 corporations, state and local government entities, K-12 education and several non-profits. While at IBM, he provided strategic guidance to client leadership in the areas of web and mobile development, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation, fraud detection, risk and compliance.

Stalnaker earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Information Systems from Georgia Southern University and an Executive MBA from Auburn University.

Lisa M. Sweany brings more than 15 years of award-winning experience to her current role as the director of athletics at Armstrong State University.

Sweany was named a 2017 Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year for NCAA Division II, announced by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). Sweany was one of four honorees in NCAA Division II.

In her six years at Armstrong State, the Pirates experienced unprecedented success both on and off the playing field.

Armstrong State won four straight Peach Belt Conference Commissioner’s Cups from 2012-15, the league’s All-Sports trophy, becoming the first league school to accomplish the feat since the University of North Florida from 1999-2004. Over 40 teams during six years advanced to NCAA Championships play.

Overall, during her six seasons with the Pirates, Sweany saw five NCAA Division II National Champions, 23 Peach Belt Conference regular season and 15 tournament titles, 43 NCAA Championships appearances, 86 All-Americans, 12 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and 214 All-Peach Belt Conference honorees. Armstrong State also won a pair of Peach Belt Conference Presidential Academic Awards (2012-13 and 2013-14), while also capturing NCAA Division II national championships in men’s tennis (2012) and women’s tennis (2012, 2013, 2015 & 2016).

On campus, Armstrong State saw several improvements to its facilities with phase one of its new tennis complex opened in August 2016, as well as new lights to the Armstrong State soccer field coming online in September 2016. The 2016-17 athletic year also marked the 50th Anniversary of Pirate athletics.

Sweany joined Armstrong State in July of 2011, coming from fellow NCAA Division II school Grand Valley State, where she served as assistant AD and then senior associate AD for 10 years. With the Lakers, Sweany was responsible for budget, personnel and facilities management. Her other duties included direct supervision of seven coaches, overseeing game and event operations, as well as management of all athletics personnel. In addition, Sweany coordinated all aspects of compliance and eligibility for more than 500 student athletes. She was named the Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA)/NCAA DII National Administrator of the Year in 2010 by the organization.

Prior to joining GVSU, she served at Tri-State University in Angola, Indiana, starting in 1995 as athletics facilities director. During her five-year stint at Tri-State, she served in various capacities of increasing responsibility, including assistant basketball coach, head coach of softball and associate athletics director, a position she was named to in March 1995.

Sweany is a member of the Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly NACWAA), the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), the Division II Athletics Directors Association (D2ADA) and also serves on the Jenkins Athletic Club Board of Directors in Savannah. She is also the current chair of the NCAA Championships Committee and has previously served as the president of the Collegiate Event and Facility Management Association (CEFMA).

She holds a master’s degree in physical education with a concentration in sports management from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and a bachelor’s degree with honors in business administration with a concentration in accounting from Tri-State University in Angola, Indiana.

Kelly J. Crosby is currently the chief audit officer in Armstrong State University’s Office of Internal Audit, overseeing risk assessment, audit activities and compliance with state guidelines. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and a Certified Law Enforcement Auditor (CLEA) with a B.B.A. in Public Accounting from Georgia Southern University.

With more than 15 years of audit experience in various areas, from manufacturing to education, Crosby worked for the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) from 2009 to 2016, serving as Interim Chief Financial Officer and administering the school system’s budget. Previously, she served as the school system’s Senior Director of Internal Audit, managing the Internal Audit Department and staff, completing enterprise-wide risk analysis and developing audit plans based on identified risks. As the Senior Internal Auditor, she focused on ESPLOST project audits, field audits in schools and verification of compliance with local, state and federal regulations.

She is the former Vice President of Finance for Georgia Heritage Federal Credit Union, managing accounting and IT departments, as well as the institution’s investment portfolio. As an internal auditor, she established the audit department and programs to ensure compliance with Credit Union policies and procedures, in addition to federal regulations. Over the years, Crosby also served in various audit and accounting roles at Union Camp Corporation/International Paper and Hancock, Askew & Co. in Savannah.

E. Lee Davis, Esq. is currently University Counsel at Armstrong State University, and is the former Associate Vice President for Legal Affairs at Georgia Southern University. He earned his J.D. cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1991 after graduating summa cum laude from Georgia Southern in 1987.

After several years of private practice focusing on litigation and public school law, Davis joined the staff of Georgia Southern University in 1995. He co-founded and directed Georgia Southern’s Office of Legal Affairs and served as the university’s Associate Vice President for Legal Affairs from 2006 to 2011.

An accomplished attorney, Davis is a Member of State Bar of Georgia and is admitted to bars of all courts of the State of Georgia, including the Georgia Court of Appeals and Georgia Supreme Court. He is also admitted to the bar of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

Tim Moody, an information technology leader with 23 years of industry experience, serves as the Chief Information Officer at Armstrong State University. He is responsible for strategy and implementation of all technology at the main campus in Savannah and the Armstrong Liberty Center in Hinesville and serves as a key advisor on the President’s Cabinet at Armstrong.

Moody has excelled at Fortune 500 companies and in higher education and is recognized as a strategic technical innovator and accomplished IT executive. He has significant experience with the ITIL Service Management Framework and earned a Six Sigma Black Belt in process improvement.

Moody joined Armstrong as the university’s Associate Chief Information Officer in 2014 and was subsequently promoted to interim chief information officer. During his tenure, he aligned the university’s Information Technology Services department with Armstrong’s strategic plan, managed the launch of Armstrong’s new website and optimized the university’s technology capabilities.

As CIO at Armstrong, Moody was responsible for strategy and implementation of all technology at the main campus in Savannah and the Armstrong Liberty Center in Hinesville and served as a key advisor on the President’s Cabinet.

Before joining Armstrong, he served as the Chief Information Officer at College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick, Ga. and as the Director of Enterprise IT Services at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Ga. He also has extensive experience in the private sector, excelling as a consultant and technology architect as well as a manager for firms in the retail and publishing sectors.

Moody earned an M.B.A. from Kennesaw State University and a B.A. in History from the University of Georgia. He recently completed the University System of Georgia’s Executive Leadership Institute, an elite program offering leadership training, cross-mentoring, assessment, job shadowing and other opportunities, and serves as a member of the Technology Association of Georgia, EDUCAUSE, Oceans Exchange and The Creative Coast. Moody also works with the board of directors for Abilities Unlimited of Savannah.

William (Bill) Kelso was appointed Interim Vice President for Advancement at Armstrong State University in July 2012, and was officially appointed to the role of Vice President for Advancement in July 2013. In this role, Kelso oversees all operations of the University’s advancement office, including annual giving, major and planned gifts, advancement services, alumni development and marketing and communications. As Vice President for Advancement, he also directs the Armstrong Foundation Board and Armstrong Alumni Board. Kelso is an Armstrong alumnus (’88) whose first campus job was university police officer.

Kelso has more than 26 years of professional experience working at Armstrong. Since 1990, he has served the University as assistant vice president for student affairs, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, and dean of students. He has also mentored students, led leadership seminars and taught The University Experience and Success Strategies courses at Armstrong. Kelso has worked closely with the Nick Mamalakis Emerging Leaders program and served as co-chair for the University’s Strategic Planning council.

In addition to his deep experience with Armstrong, Kelso has long been involved with many community and service organizations. He has served for many years as a volunteer for the United Way of the Coastal Empire Annual Campaign, a past-president of Oglethorpe Charter School in Savannah and a graduate of Leadership Savannah.

Kelso earned his B.A. from Armstrong and his M.Ed. from the University of South Carolina. He has been honored with the Joe A. Buck Award for Outstanding Service from the Southern Association of College Student Affairs and Armstrong’s Outstanding Staff Member Award in both 1994 and 2007.