Meet An Online Instructor

ETSU Online

A collage of four instuctors with blue and gold overlays.ETSU Online courses are designed and delivered by the same award-winning educators who teach our on-ground courses. Our expert faculty are dedicated to empowering you with the skills and insights needed to succeed in today's workplace. Click on the videos below to learn more about them and how they want to help you reach your goals!

Expert Faculty, Focused on Your Future

Dr. Julie Fox-Horton, Associate Professor

Dr. Fox-Horton is an Associate Professor in the Division of Cross-Disciplinary Studies where she teaches undergraduate courses for the division. She also coordinates and teaches in the Archival Studies Graduate Certificate program.

Dr. Fox-Horton helps students customize their own education throughout their time in the program. Dr. Fox-Horton’s educational background focuses on late medieval and early modern history alongside Archival Studies. Some of her favorite courses to teach revolve around witchcraft trials and pre-modern concepts of magic and the supernatural.

Online Programs that feature classes with Dr. Fox-Horton: 

Erica O'Quinn, Assistant Professor

Erica O'Quinn is the program director of ETSU's Radiologic Science program and an alumnus of the online Radiologic Science B.S. degree completion program.

As a first-generation college student who raised children and worked full-time while studying, O'Quinn is eager to offer the same kind of flexibility she needed to further her education. Whether she's teaching students in the classroom, lab, or engaging in discussion online, O'Quinn said she's always happy to help.

Brandi Townsley, Assistant Professor

Brandi Townsley is an Assistant Professor and program coordinator for ETSU's online Dental Hygiene degree completion program. As an experienced educator and alum of the program, Brandi wants to help students tackle the same challenges she did.

 

Dr. Eileen Ernenwein standing in the plaza. Her quote: "I love it when students take the class, and it really causes them to learn and grow. If I can make any kind of a difference to students, where it helps them in moving forward and choosing their career, building their skills, or making them competitive for a job, then of course I feel amazing. That's my whole goal!"
Dr. Chris Rush stands in front of an academic building on campus. Her quote: "I want students to be able to know the informaiton so well that they can continue on with their education, build upon what they've learned, and retain what they've learned so that once they're in the field, it's almost second nature. The great part about this program is the flexibility that students have here. Just relax and enjoy the process of learning!"

Dr. Ernenwein is an Assistant Professor in ETSU’s Department of Geosciences and coordinator of the online Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Graduate Certificate. She specializes GIS and geophysics, using advanced tools to locate buried archaeological and geological features and help us understand how human societies were spatially organized.

Her fieldwork spans continents, with projects in Jordan, Portugal, Bolivia, China, Botswana, Europe, Africa, South America, and North America. She brings real-world experience straight into the classroom. Her genuine enthusiasm for seeing students grow, both academically and professionally, is central to her teaching philosophy.

Dr. Rush is an Associate Professor in ETSU’s Criminal Justice & Criminology Department and serves as the coordinator for the online M.A. program. She’s also a proud ETSU alum, bringing her journey full circle by teaching in the field where her academic path began.

Dr. Rush brings a strong blend of leadership, mentorship, and academic innovation to the department. Her research and expertise have contributed to important conversations in the field, with publications in journals like Deviant Behavior, Gender & Violence, and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, as well as chapters in scholarly books. Whether leading in online education or working alongside federal, state, and local agencies, she plays a vital role in shaping the future of the criminal justice program at ETSU.

 

  • Our online presence is vibrant; you can really get a personalized experience online here in our college. And you will have access to the faculty. We stay engaged with students in all kinds of ways. I have students reporting at the end of the semester all the time that they felt like they were heard and that they were prioritized.

    Dr. Billy Brooks

  • Online learning has really opened up the entire world. And so, it's as if the world is at your fingertips. One of my missions as an instructor, and in particular as an online instructor, is to always try to meet my students where they're at instead of them having to come to me, so to speak, to figure out how this process works. So it's very important to me that I connect to them on a personal level so that they're comfortable enough to come to me with any questions they might have.

    Dr. Julie Fox-Horton

  • As an online educator, you learn from your students and with your students, you're not just teaching them, you learn from them.

    Brandi Townsley, RDH, Ed.D.

  • The online delivery is what makes it possible for a lot of the students to even be in school. They’re able to interact with each other and go back and forth. If it’s in an online discussion board environment, they’re able to share their experiences, ask questions, or follow up with something. They’re using each other as sounding boards and to get feedback from each other.

    Dr. Susan Epps

  • Teaching is actually what really pushes me to learn what the latest, new developments are in the classes that I'm teaching. I really love teaching for that. I love always interacting with new students. I love it when they take the class and it really causes them to learn and grow. If it helps them in moving forward and choosing their career, if it helps them to build their skills, to make them competitive for a job...basically, if I can make any kind of a difference to students, then of course I feel amazing.

    Dr. Eileen Ernenwein