Comings and Goings
Marie Ballance joins the School of Education as a half-time assistant professor of education. She will serve a one-year contract and work with Gary Kilburg and Scot Headley in implementing the Murdock grant the university received for funding professional development and mentoring services at Christian schools in the region. She has worked on the program as a steering committee member the past two years. She also will work on the Literacy Across the Secondary Curriculum grant, a two-year grant that that works with five Oregon school districts to bring literacy skills into secondary content area classrooms. Previously, she served for a year and a half as the lead teacher at Early College High School in Salem, Ore., where she merged three distinct alternative programs, staffs and student bodies into one school. She also taught social science, English and online classes at the Salem school, which she helped open in 2006, for two years. Marie taught previously at Oregon City and Gresham high schools. She is currently enrolled in George Fox’s doctorate program in educational leadership. She also holds a master of arts in teaching degree from Concordia University in Portland. She lives in Milwaukie with husband Matthew.
The Department of Communication Arts hired Charles Choi as an assistant professor of communication arts. He has spent the last four years as a teaching assistant at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he taught a wide range of communications courses. He also worked as an adjunct professor in the 2000s at Santa Barbara City College, Brooks Institute of Photography and Biola University, and did teaching assistant work at Louisiana State University. He earned a doctorate in communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara, this year. Previously, he earned a master’s degree in communication studies from Louisiana State University and a bachelor’s degree in communication/public relations from Biola in 2000. He lives in Sherwood with his wife, Elisia, and attends Solid Rock Church.
Debby Espinor joins the School of Education as an assistant professor of education and as director of the elementary education degree-completion program. She has taught the past nine years at Seattle Pacific, specializing in education classes that included educational psychology, standards-based assessment, learning theories, foundations of American education, and models of teaching, among other subjects. She also directed the school’s field experiences and partnerships program and served as elementary chair in the Undergraduate School of Education. Before SPU, she taught for 20 years at Heritage Private School in Bothell, Wash., ending her tenure as principal (seven years). Debby earned a doctorate in education (2004), principals certificate (1995), a master’s degree in Christian ministries (1985) and a bachelor’s degree in music education (1978), all from Seattle Pacific. She lives in Lake Oswego with husband Roger. She has five children: Judas (Portland), Blair and his wife Katie (Bellevue, Wash.), Van and his wife Luan (China), David (Portland) and Tina (Seattle). She and Roger attend Compass Church in Vancouver, Wash., where they are involved in music ministry.
Sarita Gallagher joins the Department of Religious Studies this fall as an assistant professor of religion after spending the last four years as a global studies adjunct professor at Azusa Pacific University. During that time, she also assisted in teaching graduate masters and doctoral courses in the School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary. She has traveled extensively, teaching at the World Missions Faith Training School in Papua New Guinea in the mid-2000s and serving as an English as a Second Language teacher at Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, in 2003 and 2005. She also taught at Tabor College in Australia in 2003. Sarita is a doctoral candidate in Fuller’s School of Intercultural Studies program and earned a master’s degree in intercultural studies from Wheaton Graduate School in 2002. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and Spanish literature and language from Wheaton College. She lives in Newberg.
David Ming Liu brings nearly 20 years of international professional management, entrepreneurial and teaching experience to his position as an assistant professor of management in the School of Business’ MBA and DBA programs. He’s worked in senior managerial positions for two publicly listed companies in Hong Kong and Paris and traveled to more than 30 countries for business. He was the owner of a successful computer hardware distribution business for nine years and taught English and business courses in China. David recently earned a doctorate of business administration with a concentration in strategic management from City University of Hong Kong and has an MBA in international management from Willamette University. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from Western Oregon University. He is married to Sharrina and has four daughters: Christina (14), Gloria (10), Rebecca (8) and Betty (6). The family lives in Newberg and attends Northside Community Church.
Michael Meek was introduced as the new women’s basketball coach and as an assistant professor of health and human performance in July. Meek has spent the past 10 years teaching and coaching at Southridge High School in Beaverton, Ore., where his teams won five of the last six large-school (Class 6A) state championships. Overall, he has posted a career record of 264-79 (.770) in 13 seasons coaching girls basketball at La Grande, Ore., (1997-2000) and Southridge high schools. He has won six statewide coach of the year awards and was named the MaxPrep National Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year in 2005-06. He earned a master of arts in teaching degree from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix in 2004 and a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health from Eastern Oregon University in 1999. He and his wife Lisa and children McKelle (8) and Audrey (5) live in Beaverton and attend Beaverton Foursquare Church.
Nanita Sammons joins the university this month as the associate vice president for strategic finance, a new part-time position. For the past three years, she worked as a management consultant for AKT, LLP in Lake Oswego. While there, she conducted a strategic finance project for George Fox – a project that precipitated her hiring by the university to conduct strategic financial analysis on an ongoing basis. Previously, she founded and served as president of Interim Executives Inc. of Hillsboro, a management consultation firm. She also worked for Intel in Hillsboro and Dublin, Ireland, in the finance staff for 14 years. Nanita earned a master’s degree in management from Purdue University and a bachelor’s degree in music education from St. Olaf College. In her first work life, she was a band director. She lives in Oregon City with her husband, Chip, and her family is local and spread throughout the West. She is a member of First Presbyterian Church in Portland.
A teacher and administrator with 30 years of educational experience, Gary Sehorn, joins the School of Education as an assistant professor of education in the graduate education programs. He’s worked in the Beaverton School District since 1997, most recently as the K-12 administrator for curriculum, instruction and assessment. Before that, he was an associate principal in the Tigard-Tualatin School District (1995-97), a principal at Seven Oak Middle School in Lebanon, Ore., (1993-95), and vice principal and principal at Fowler Junior High School in Tigard, Ore. (1987-93). He also taught and served as a vice principal in the Hillsboro School District in the early to mid-1980s. Gary has taught courses at George Fox on an adjunct basis. He is a doctoral candidate in Bethel University’s doctor of education program and earned a master’s degree in teaching from Lewis and Clark College in 1985. He and his wife Gail have been married for 31 years and have four grown children – John, Jennica, Brianna and Will. His church home is The Table, a multi-campus community in Portland.
The School of Business welcomes Paul Shelton as an assistant professor of management. For the past two years, he’s taught graduate and undergraduate business courses as an assistant professor in the University of Central Oklahoma’s College of Business. Also, since 2007, he has taught online graduate business courses and undergraduate criminal justice programs for Indiana Wesleyan University. Previously, he was an international student and scholar advisor at Colorado State University (2006-08), and he held several positions during his 10-year federal service career, including manager, congressional liaison, officer and agent (1996-2005). Additionally, Paul has consulted with domestic and international companies in the areas of human resources, compensation, strategy and organizational development. Paul earned a doctor of philosophy degree from Colorado State University in 2008. He also holds an MBA from Azusa Pacific University. He lives in Newberg with his wife Michelle and their three boys – Connor, Tyler and Austin – and attends Newberg Friends Church.
Steve Song is joining the School of Education this fall as an assistant professor. For the past year, he taught middle- and high school-aged children at the Amerasian Christian Academy in South Korea. Prior to that, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University College Dublin. His research interests include immigration, race, ethnicity and international education policy. He earned MEd (2002) and EdD (2007) degrees from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, as well as a bachelor’s degree in education (1995) and a Master of Arts in Teaching English as a Second Language (1997) degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He lives in Portland with two former students from the Amerasian Christian Academy and attends Southwest Bible Church in Beaverton.
Alan Timmins joins the School of Business as an instructor of accounting after volunteering at the university as a guest lecturer during the past two years, and teaching strategic thinking on an adjunct basis this summer. He brings nearly 30 years of business management experience, serving 16 years (1992 to 2008) in various capacities, most recently as president and chief operating officer of AVI BioPharma, Inc. of Portland and Corvallis, a publicly traded biotechnology company. In partnership with the company CEO, he helped raise approximately $250 million in various stock offerings. In 2004, he led an effort to partner AVI with the U.S. Government to apply the company’s proprietary technology to certain bioterrorism threats, resulting in research contracts totaling more than $45 million and future government commitments in excess of $300 million. Alan also worked as a senior manager, audit manager and director of recruiting for Price Waterhouse of Portland in the 1980s and early 1990s. He earned an MBA from Stanford in 1990, a BBA in accounting and management from the University of Portland in 1981, and was named one of the Pamplin School of Business’ Significant Seventy-Five alumni in 2009. Alan is a certified public accountant in the state of Oregon (inactive) and an enthusiastic community volunteer. He and his wife, Annette, live in Sherwood with their daughter and golden retriever.
After serving as an adjunct instructor of English to international students for the past three years, Lisa Venable joins the university three-quarters time this year as a visiting assistant professor in the English Language Institute. Prior to teaching at George Fox, she was a K-12 substitute teacher for five years in Yamhill County. From 1998 to 2000, she was a middle school Language Arts teacher, K-8 Title I Reading teacher, and special education coordinator at St. Paul Elementary. Lisa spent two summers teaching at Pyeongtaek Summer Institute teaching English to Korean students, and volunteered in Hong Kong in 2004 as an administrative assistant with Crossroads International. She earned a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in ESL from Portland State in 2010 and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from George Fox in 1997. She lives in Newberg and attends GodSong Community Church.
An adjunct faculty member at George Fox Evangelical Seminary the past two years, Randy Woodley joins the seminary three-quarter time this fall as a Distinguished Associate Professor of Faith and Culture. He will serve as a liaison between the seminary and the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies (NAIITS), in his capacity as director of intercultural and indigenous studies. NAIITS will partner with the seminary to offer a new Master of Arts in Intercultural Studies program tentatively in the spring of 2011. Randy taught previously at Asbury Seminary, where he was a post-graduate adjunct faculty member, and at Sioux Falls Seminary, where he was a visiting professor in 2008. He is also president of Eagle’s Wings Ministry (eagleswingsministry.com), which serves as a mission outreach among Native American populations and others. He earned a doctorate in intercultural studies from the Asbury Theological Seminary E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission in 2010 and a Master of Divinity degree from Palmer Seminary in Philadelphia in 1989. He lives in Newberg with his wife Edith and the children still at home. The Woodleys have four children – Leanna, Skye, Young and Redbird – and they attend North Valley Friends Church, along with their own Native American Fellowship meetings. More about Randy is available on his blog: ethnicspace.wordpress.com.
A former adjunct at George Fox, Leslie Wuest, joins the social work department as an assistant professor of social work. For the past eight years, she has taught on an adjunct basis at Portland State (2009), Warner Pacific College (2003-09) and George Fox (2002). Before that, she gained practice experience at the Center for Family Development in Eugene as a family, individual and child play therapist from 1993 to 1999. Leslie also worked as a therapist at Christian Family Services in Eugene in the early 1990s, and in the 1980s she was an individual, group and family therapist in Riverside, Calif. She completed her PhD in social work and social research from Portland State University in 2009. She also holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Georgia (1980). She lives in Portland and attends River West Church in Lake Oswego.
Chengping Zhang joins the School of Business as an assistant professor of finance. He recently completed his PhD in finance at Washington State University, where he taught financial management, advanced financial modeling and introduction to financial management the past three years. He enjoys teaching and doing research in asset pricing, mutual fund performance, international finance and financial econometrics. In addition to his doctorate, he earned a master’s degree in physics from Washington State in 2004. Chengping also holds a master’s degree in optics from the Beijing Institute of Technology in Beijing, China. He is moving to the area and is married to Huifang, who is currently still working in Texas. The couple has a 6-year-old daughter, Cindy.
Editor’s Note: More new faculty members will be featured in the Sept. 6 edition of e-Colleague.