Lee University welcomes 11 new professors
Photo courtesy of Jason Moore, Office of Publications.
This fall, Lee welcomed 11 new full-time faculty to the university. From various backgrounds, each new professor specializes in a different area of study and has chosen to commit themselves to an institution of Christ-centered teaching.
“We don’t just hire people who are excellent in their discipline; we hire people who have a heart for students,” said Lee University Provost Dr. Debbie Murray. “We believe that serving on the faculty at Lee is a high calling. It’s a ministry, not just teaching.”
When applying to become a faculty member at Lee, candidates must first complete a faith statement, describe their faith journey and write a description of faith and learning integration.
The College of Arts and Sciences welcomed Lindsay Adams to the Language and Literature department and Dr. Brian Mattson to the Communication Arts department.
Adams is an internationally produced playwright and published essayist. Mattson, a former lead pastor and freelance editor, comes to Lee from Grace Christian University. Mattson’s self-proclaimed passion of helping “students discover their voice so that they can speak Christianity in a chaotic world” excellently fits in with Lee’s mission, according to Dr. Murray.
Dr. Roy Chan and Dr. Lynda Bowers join the Helen DeVos College of Education. After previously serving as Lee’s Director of LEAP in Student Services, Chan became a full-time faculty member. Bowers comes to Lee as an assistant professor of sports management from Shaw University, where she also taught in the field of exercise science and pre-athletic training.
“Serving as a faculty member in Sport Management at Lee is a huge honor,” said Bowers. “I always thought that I would love to be here, but I didn’t see the pathway. God did! As I look back on my prior career and experiences, I can clearly see that God was setting me up for this position.”
Bowers is already impacting students by sharing her experiences and being open on how she has applied what she has learned within her life.
“I can tell Dr. Bowers is very knowledgeable,” said junior exercise science major Jaylee Giffin. “It’s cool to have a new professor who has so much experience.”
The School of Business welcomes Michaelia Black and Melissa Satta. Black, an assistant professor of accounting, and Satta, a lecturer in marketing, are coming on full-time after teaching business courses as adjunct professors at Lee.
Jodie Augustine, lecturer in Greek and Latin, and New Testament professor Daniel Glover join the full-time faculty in the School of Religion. Augustine and Glover both received their undergraduate degrees from Lee and are pursuing higher degrees in their specialties.
The School of Music welcomed trumpet professor Brian Reichenbach, piano professor Muen Vanessa Wei and choral music professor Cameron Weatherford. All three are talented musicians with previous collegiate teaching experiences, according to Murray.
“It’s a great group,” said Murray, addressing the entire new group of incoming faculty. “They can all use their past teaching experiences, or experiences in general, to the classroom to benefit our students.”
