Joining the faculty in fall 2013, she teaches courses in comparative politics, international relations and African politics. Sappleton was born on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of the West Indies in Mona, Kingston, Jamaica, and holds a Ph.D. in comparative politics from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla. Her dissertation research examined and compared the West African countries of Senegal and the Cote d’Ivoire.