Honors Faculty

Dr. Miller earned a Ph.D. in communication in 2008 from the University of Tennessee, where he was named the Dr. Herbert H. Howard Fellow and taught in the School of Journalism and Electronic Media. He has published and presented research at dozens of conferences across the country and received multiple awards for his scholarly work in media effects and communication law and ethics. He was a keynote speaker on crisis communication at Harvard in 2016.

Dr. Miller served as chair of the Department of Communication at Harding from 2014 to 2019. During his tenure as chair, the department successfully completed a $100,000 fundraising campaign, grew enrollment by 35%, and developed two new interdisciplinary majors. Dr. Miller received the university’s Distinguished Service Award in 2000, the Teacher Achievement Award in 2012, and the Enrollment Services Award for Recruiting in 2023.

He is a member of Kappa Tau Alpha, the national honors society for recognition of scholarship in mass communication. He has worked as a writer, reporter and consultant for multiple new media outlets, including the Knoxville News Sentinel, Knoxville Business Journal, and Christian Chronicle. 

Tessa Davidson is an assistant professor in the department of Art and Design. Her work is a blend of contemporary and traditional — combining performance, video, sound, and representational oil painting. Professor Davidson uses the language of humor and absurdity on her pilgrimage for the sacred and profound. Her work provides poetic soil to contemplate matters of spiritual faith while also navigating the tensions of religion, theology, and contemporary culture. Professor Davidson's work has been exhibited internationally, and she received her M.F.A. from the New Hampshire Institute of Art in 2018. Tessa holds a B.A. in Art Education and a M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Harding University, as well as a M.A. in Art History from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.

After graduating from Harding in 1999 with degrees in print journalism and Spanish, Mrs. Fatula joined the University as director of news services, a role she served for nine years. On behalf of two public relations and marketing agencies in Little Rock, she coordinated national and regional public relations and media relations efforts for a wide variety of Arkansas-based clients for 10 years. Her work has been recognized with multiple Prism Awards, presented by the Arkansas Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. She is a contributing writer to regional magazines and blogs on a regular basis, and is a past contributor to The Christian Chronicle. She assists as advisor of the award-winning Bison newspaper and Petit Jean yearbook and teaches courses in public relations. She serves as a member of the board of directors for Midnight Oil: A Kibo Outpost and Mission Machine. She and her husband, Aleks, have three children.

Dr. Keck is an Associate Professor of English and an Honors College Faculty Fellow, specializing in the literatures and cultures of the early modern world (c. 1400-1800). His scholarly interests center on the English Renaissance, Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama, Arthurian Literature, the Golden Age of Piracy, and the History of the Book. He regularly teaches first and second-year composition along with a wide array of literature courses, including World Literature, British Literature, Early Modern Literature, and Shakespeare. He also teaches two courses with an industry focus: Introduction to Publishing and Writing Game Narrative. Since 2018, he has directed the internship for Shapes and Names, Harding's annual literary journal. For the Honors College, Dr. Keck teaches Honors 2010: Communication and Critical Thinking, chairs the Harding Undergraduate Research Conference Committee, and serves as the National and International Fellowships Advisor.

Dr. Murphy has a diverse background in education, industry, and service. After completing her bachelor’s degree in chemistry at the University of South Carolina – Aiken, Dr. Murphy worked as a process control scientist at the Savannah River Site in the Aiken, South Carolina area.

Dr. Murphy’s education career began during her family’s time in American Samoa. She taught high school science and math at Pacific Horizons School in Tafuna, AS. When her family returned stateside, she continued her teaching career in Greenville, SC. She completed her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry in 2018 from Clemson University. Dr. Murphy has been at Harding University since then, teaching a wide range of classes including Inorganic Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, College Chemistry, and HNRS The Physical World.

Dr. Murphy’s research has focused on the synthesis and characterization of inorganic metal complexes with biological implications. She has recently begun a collaborative water quality project, analyzing local water systems for water contaminants including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and PFAS. She has worked with Honors students on Honors Thesis projects related to her research and is now serving as an Honors Faculty Fellow.

Dr. Mac Sandlin is an associate professor of theology and ethics and director of the Theological Studies program for Harding’s College of Bible and Ministry. He has worked closely with the Honors College He holds a BA from Harding where he majored in history and ministry, an MDiv from Harding School of Theology, and a PhD from the university of Dayton. Dr. Sandlin’s academic work is broadly interdisciplinary with special focuses on the Pneumatology (the doctrine of the Holy Spirit), theological ethics, and virtue theory. He serves as a deacon and minister at the Beebe Church of Christ.

Candice Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of North Texas, an MBA and MS in marketing from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a graduate certificate in academic advising from Angelo State University. She taught English for two years in Costa Rica, where she discovered a passion for helping students achieve their goals. Before joining the Honors College in 2024, Candice worked in Harding’s financial aid department for three years.