Reg Murphy Center

Director:

Don Mathews

Dr. Don Mathews is Professor of Economics at the College of Coastal Georgia and Director of the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies at the College. Don received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois, his M.A. in Economics from DePaul University, and his Ph.D. in Economics from Georgia State University. He has been teaching economics at the College of Coastal Georgia since the tail end of the dark ages.

What Don likes most about economics is it gets more fascinating with each passing day. He has published articles in academic journals and general audience outlets, more than 300 newspaper columns on topics ranging from shifts in U.S. labor force growth since 1950 to the socialism of George Orwell. He has also written a set of Murphy Center studies, including The Glynn Economy Since 2000: Labor Force and Industrial Structure and Labor Market Challenges in the Leisure and Hospitality Industry.

Research Associates:

Skip Mounts

Dr. William S. Mounts, Jr. is the Dean of the School of Business and Public Management at Coastal Georgia, as well as a Professor of Economics. Skip came to the College in 2011 after 33 years at Mercer University in Macon, GA. While at the College, he has provided leadership in the creation of new degrees, focused centers, The Brown Family Executive in Residence, the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies, and the Art and Lindee Lucas Center for Entrepreneurship.

Skip received his Ph.D., M.A., and BBA degrees in economics from the University of Georgia. He has over 50 academic articles, books, and presentations. His presentations have been at national and international conferences, including the Southern Economics Association, the Western Economics Conference, and the central bank of Switzerland. Journals in which he has published include the “Economics of Governance,” “Journal of Macroeconomics,” “Southern Economic Review,” “Public Choice,” “Journal of Sports Economics,” “Journal of Money, Banking, and Credit,” and the “Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics.”

Melissa Trussell

Dr. Melissa Trussell has been at the College of Coastal Georgia and working with the Murphy Center since August of 2016. Prior to that, Melissa received her Ph.D. in Economics from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (AYSPS) at Georgia State University in 2015. She also holds an MPA from the AYSPS and a Bachelor’s in Discrete Mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Melissa has spent time in Liberia, West Africa, studying the impacts of child soldiering experiences on education and employment, the relationship of peace and trust, and local economic development in Liberia. She enjoys engaging in applied research and scholarly discourse that are accessible and that make a difference for people outside academia. She is a foster and adoptive parent and loves finding the intersection of her passions for economics and child welfare.

Heather Farley

Dr. Heather Farley is Chair of the Department of Business and Public Administration and an Associate Professor of Public Management at the College of Coastal Georgia. Heather earned her B.S. in Biology from the College of Charleston (SC) and her M.A. in Public Policy, Ph.D. in Political Science (Environmental Policy), and graduate certificate in Public Management from Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ). She has been teaching at the College for more than 10 years in the areas of policy, public management, and sustainability.

Prior to teaching, Heather served as the Sustainability Coordinator at the Sea Island Company, has held roles in advising and admissions at the College of Coastal Georgia, and was the Sustainability Coordinator at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ. She is active in applied research in the areas of policy and the environment, particularly through the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies. In addition to her professional positions, Heather is active in her community. She is a member of the Green Scene of Coastal Georgia, she serves on the Advisory Board for A Better Glynn, and is a Girl Scout Troop Leader here in Glynn County.

Roscoe Scarborough

Dr. Roscoe Scarborough is Chair of the Department of Social Sciences and Associate Professor of Sociology at the College of Coastal Georgia in Brunswick, GA. He earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice and Sociology at Old Dominion University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Virginia.

Roscoe’s favorite part of working in higher education is training people to think sociologically about their lives and our world. He has taught courses on social problems, culture, inequality, the self, media, and deviance. He has published in both peer-reviewed journals and in popular press publications, including regularly contributing to the Reg Murphy Center for Economic and Policy Studies’ column in The Brunswick News.

Drew Cagle

Dr. Drew Cagle joined the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences at the College of Coastal Georgia in Fall 2023 as Assistant Professor of Political Science. He specializes in American Political Psychology and Survey Methodology. Drew holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science and law from the University of Tennessee, as well as an M.A. in political science from the University of Alabama. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Alabama in May, 2023, under the supervision of Dr. Nick Davis.

Before joining the College, Drew worked in association management for the Midwest Political Science Association from 2020-2023. His scholarly work has been featured in Social Sciences Quarterly and at several major conferences. He is also a frequent contributor to The Brunswick News as well as an Associate Scholar of the Reg Murphy Center for Economic Policy Studies and the Coordinator of the Social Sciences Speaker Series.

Dr. Don Mathews