Dr. Matthew B. Robinson is a Professor in the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University. He specializes in issues of social justice, criminological theory, and injustices of the criminal justice system, and he is an expert on capital punishment and US drug control policy. Robinson is the author of 18 books and 100 other publications including articles and book chapters. He is Past President of the North Carolina Criminal Justice Association and Past President of the Southern Criminal Justice Association as was a counterterrorism fellow with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Robinson also regularly teaches classes on academic writing.
Dr. Xiaorong Shao is a Professor and Information Literacy Librarian at Appalachian State University. Dr. Shao is a co-director of the American Cultural Center between Appalachian State University and Northeastern University, Shenyang, China. She has been involved in many international activities and research projects on campus and beyond. Dr. Shao was a reviewer for three international journals. She has published more than 20 articles in several major academic journals during recent years. Dr. Shao earned four degrees from three countries in the fields of soil science, chemistry, curriculum and instruction, information and library science.
Prof. Allan Scherlen is a Professor and Social Sciences Librarian at Appalachian State University. He has co-managed the American Cultural Center grants with Dr. Shao for the last four years and has been active in other international exchange programs. He currently serves as an editorial board member for the journals, Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services and North Carolina Libraries. For five years he was the co-editor of the Balance Point section of the international journal Serials Review. Allan has published over thirty articles in major academic journals on topics related to libraries, scholarly publishing, and international issues.