E-Colleague

Candy Schlott (Bookstore) retired from the university at the end of October. She had been the textbook coordinator at George Fox for nearly 10 years.

Chris Steele (Tilikum) left the university at the end of October, saying he is “eagerly anticipating where the Lord is leading him next.”

Joel Perez (Student Life) served on a panel for “The Dream Act Research Practice,” presented as a webinar through the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA) in September.

Keith Dempsey and Lori DeKruyf (Graduate Counseling) made a presentation, “Cross-Cultural Mentorship: Mission Impossible?,” at the 2010 Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference, held in Sacramento, Calif., Nov. 4-7. Also present at the conference was masters in counseling student Amber Nelson, who led a roundtable on “Working with Bi-Racial Clients.”

Previously, Lori gave a daylong training seminar for school counseling site supervisors in the Salem-Keizer School District on Oct. 15.

Robin Ashford (Library/Portland Center) published an article, “QR Codes and Academic Libraries: Reaching Mobile Users,” in College & Research Libraries News, a publication of the Association of College & Research Libraries.

Ed Higgins (English) published a poem, “coyote,” in the fall 2010 issue of Haiku Reality, a Serbian online haiku journal.

Abigail Rine’s (English) short story “The Woman in the Garden” won first place in the 2010 Caper Literary Journal Maravillosa Contest, a prize that includes online and print publication. In addition, her stories “Ordinary Frog” and “The Bear Pit” are to be published by the literary journals zaum and Melusine, respectively. Rine also has a critical essay, entitled “Jeanette Winterson’s Love Intervention: Rethinking the Future,” that will be published by Palgrave in a forthcoming edited collection.

Cindy Howard (Registrar) and Kristin Bontrager (Engineering) were named the university’s October and November employees of the month, respectively.

Nov. 16     Carol Jaquith
Nov. 17     Sue O’Donnell
Nov. 18     Kathleen Jones, Shary Wortman
Nov. 19     Bob Hamilton
Nov. 21     Ryan Tafflinger
Nov. 22     Vern Choin, Dwight Kimberly
Nov. 23     Laura Simmons
Nov. 24     Waneen White, Tamara Jones, Mark Sundquist
Nov. 26     Larry Weber
Nov. 28     Clella Jaffe
Nov. 29     Arden Butler, Michelle Conrad, Kristina Findley, Barbara Lybarger

Ed Higgins (English) published two poems, “Writer’s Block” and “from inside out,” in recent issues of Danse Macabre, an online literary magazine.

The Oregon Counseling Association recently presented Angela J. Doty (Career Services) with the 2010 Distinguished Service Award for her substantial contributions to the association and the counseling profession.

Nov. 4     Tom Head, John Stewart, Melissa Thomas
Nov. 5     Jared Ocker
Nov. 6     Marie Balance
Nov. 7     Doug Campbell
Nov. 9     Jack Lyda
Nov. 11   Denise DeCicco, Sean Patterson
Nov. 12   Kelly Borror
Nov. 14   Colleen Huffman, Jan Lefebvre

The doctor of psychology program welcomes Heidi Cuddeford as an administrative assistant II. For the past seven years, she’s worked as a church bookkeeper for Newberg Foursquare Church. Also, for the past five years, she has worked with her husband in their family-owned business, Impact Printing, as the payroll administrator. Her previous work experience includes a seven-year tenure with Nike, for which she was a product developer from 1989 to 1996. Heidi is also involved in the local community as the executive director of the Willamette Valley Volleyball Club. She earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Portland State University in 1987. She lives in Newberg with her husband Tyler, director of the university’s physical therapy program, and three daughters: Abbey, Ally and Carly. They attend Newberg Foursquare Church.

Ronecca Dockter (Advancement) left the university earlier this month to work as the director of annual giving at St. Mary’s Academy in Portland. She had worked at the university the past five and a half years.

Paul Anderson spoke seven times in Canton, Ohio, Sept. 25-28, including a Saturday seminar at Canton Friends Church on “The Purpose of the Fourth Gospel,” presenting a theory of gospel relations at Jackson Friends Church and “Was the Fourth Evangelist a Quaker?” for chapel at Malone University. His essay, “Acts 4:19-20 – An Overlooked First-Century Clue to Johannine Authorship and Luke’s Dependence upon the Johannine Tradition,” was published recently on the Bible and Interpretation website. Also, Paul is representing Evangelical Friends at the Faith and Order meetings of the NCCC at Santa Clara University this month.

In addition, Paul has been asked to contribute an update on the John, Jesus, and History Project for the newsletter of the Society of Biblical Literature, as it will be holding a major joint session with the Historical Jesus Section in November. This event and Anderson’s contributions to a paradigm shift in Jesus studies were recently featured on the “Matters of Faith” website edited by Bill Tammeus, columnist for the National Catholic Reporter.

Kyle Wattenbarger (Plant Services) and his wife, Kari, welcomed their first child, Bryson James, on Oct. 6. The baby was 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 19.5 inches long. He was born at Salem Hospital.

Oct. 19     Rita Boggs
Oct. 20     Paul Becker, Cathi Comish
Oct. 21     Teresa Arnold, Helen Morse
Oct. 22     Dwayne Hood, Randy Pitts
Oct. 23     Andy Baker
Oct. 24     Ryan Dougherty, Dixie Downey
Oct. 26     Linda Sartwell
Oct. 27     Bruce Arnold
Oct. 29     Roger Nam, Steve Song, Rusty St. Cyr
Oct. 30     Ken McChesney, Janis Sanford
Nov. 1      David Johnstone

Sidney Tafflinger was hired for the coordinator III position in the Office of Career Services last week, replacing Christee Wise, now an administrative assistant in the School of Education. Sidney worked previously at Linfield College, where she was an administrative assistant for the school’s facilities services department over the past year. Before that, she worked for two and a half years as a student assistant for the career development center at Anderson University in Anderson, Ind. Sidney earned a bachelor’s degree in family science from Anderson in 2009. She and her husband Ryan, a computer specialist in the IT department, live in McMinnville and attend McMinnville Covenant Church.

Angela J. Doty (Career Services) hosted the Oregon Career Development Association board meeting on Sept. 24. OCDA actively promotes quality career development in Oregon by offering professional development opportunities for career counselors, practitioners and educators. Angela is in her second year as president of OCDA.

Tim Goodfellow (Student Life) was selected as the university’s Employee of the Month for September.

Oct. 5       Larry Osborn, Vangie Pattison
Oct. 6       Stephen Gilday, Judy Keeney, Lyn Lumley
Oct. 7       Cindy Howard
Oct. 9       Sheila Abercrombie, Ben Kulpa, Alan Timmins
Oct. 10     Rob Felton, Jim Smart, Lisa Venable
Oct. 12     Becky Greenwood
Oct. 13     Andrea Heath, Jason Schwanz, Kathy Weiss
Oct. 14     Travis Morgan
Oct. 15     Debra Espinor, Gina Worley
Oct. 16     Clint Baldwin, David Collett, Richard Shaw

Custodial services welcomes Paul Becker as a halftime employee at the Portland Center. He worked for seven years as a senior programmer analyst for Fred Meyer/Kroger, and before that, supported sales data collection as a senior consultant for the company in the early 2000s. He has more than 23 years of experience in the information systems industry. Paul is currently earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Washington State University and holds AA degrees in data processing and general studies from Bellevue Community College.

Brent Weaver (Performing Arts) is traveling to the Phoenix area Sept. 24-26 for the premiere performances of his commissioned work Imaginary Scenes for saxophone quartet and electronic sounds. The work was commissioned by the Joseph Wytko Saxophone Quartet, who also will perform the work at Chapman University Sept. 28, on a North American tour this fall and winter, then in Paris, Brussels and Warsaw in the spring of 2011. The group also plans to include the new work on its next CD, being recorded next summer.

Sept. 21     Claudia Hirsch
Sept. 22     Josh Nauman
Sept. 25     Debbie Berho, Eric Mortinson, Darla Norgren, Marc Shelton, Elizabeth Todd, Michelle Webber
Sept. 29     Robert Bredemeier
Sept. 30     Karon Bell, Terry Huffman, Laurie Lorenzen
Oct. 1         Anna Berardi, Paul Chamberlain
Oct. 3         Sarita Gallagher

The PsyD program welcomes Marie-Christine Goodworth as an assistant professor of clinical psychology this fall. She’s worked the past two years as a health psychology post-doctoral fellow at the Medical College of Georgia, where she performed clinical and research activities with adult medical populations (multiple sclerosis and HIV) in a primary care setting. Previously, she served her APA-approved clinical psychology internship with the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, conducting pain assessments, co-teaching psycho-educational groups for pain management, and co-leading therapy groups for women with personality disorders and men with depression, among other duties. She also served advanced doctoral clinical research placements at Banner Health Good Samaritan Hospital in Phoenix in the mid-2000s, working primarily in oncology, and completed her dissertation on caregivers of bone marrow transplant patients. Marie-Christine earned a doctorate in counseling psychology from Arizona State University in 2008 and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in the psychology field from Wheaton College. She and her husband Craig plan to live in Newberg.

The School of Education welcomes Carla Anderson as an assistant professor of undergraduate teacher education. Previously, she served as an adjunct professor in the MAT and undergraduate teacher education programs. She also taught elementary school in the Molalla and Lake Oswego school districts from 1981 to 1996. She earned a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Portland State in 1991 and was enrolled in George Fox’s basic administrative licensure program in the early 2000s. Carla is a longtime volunteer with the Newberg School District, where her children attended school. She lives in Newberg, where she and her husband, Paul, have raised their three daughters: Olivia, Della and Sarah. Carla and her family attend North Valley Friends Church in Newberg.

Christy Austin was hired as an assistant professor of education this fall. For the past nine years, she has taught third-, fourth- and fifth-graders at Pringle Elementary School in Salem. She also taught fourth grade at Kennedy Elementary School from 1999 to 2001 and was a special instructional assistant for schools in the Salem and Keizer areas in the mid-1990s. She was also an ESL teacher at George Fox and Linfield College in the early 1990s. Christine earned a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Willamette University in 1999 and a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and ESL certificate from Portland State in 1989. She lives in Salem with her husband, Ed, and attends Salem Alliance Church, where she has been a lead teacher for a teaching team that has served in China the past seven summers. In the 1980s, she and her family lived in China for two years while teaching engineering students English. She has three adult children and five grandchildren.

Becky Weber joined George Fox in July to work as an area coordinator in on-campus apartments. For the past year she was the residence life supervisor at Simpson University, where she managed more than 35 paraprofessional staff members. The three years prior, she was a residence life coordinator and resident director at Simpson. She’s also gained counseling experience with Cornerstone Psychological Affiliates and the Smetzer Counseling Center at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ohio. Becky earned a master’s degree in clinical pastoral counseling from Ashland Theological Seminary in 2004 and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Simpson University in 2001. She lives on campus in Newberg.

The Boise Center welcomes Cathi Comish to serve as the administrative assistant for admissions. She comes to the university from Unishippers, for which she worked as an inside shipping advisor over the summer. Previously, she worked for two years at Express Transport of Boise as an account manager. All told, she has 14 years of customer service and sales experience working in the shipping and freight industry. Cathi earned an associate’s degree in Christian education from Boise Bible College in 1992. She lives in Boise with her husband, Steve Comish, an adjunct professor at George Fox, and their daughter, Faith, and attends Eagle Christian Church.

Hannah Dorr has begun work at the Portland Center as an administrative assistant for admissions, replacing Christa Hill. This marks a return to George Fox for Hannah, who worked in the university’s human resources and graduate admissions offices while a student and temporary employee. She graduated from George Fox with a bachelor’s degree in sociology last December. She lives in southeast Portland with friends and attends Evergreen Community in Portland.

Joel Gregor joins the PsyD department as director of the university’s Behavioral Health Clinic and as an assistant professor of psychology. For the past three years, he’s worked as a clinical psychologist at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, where he was assigned to a forensic ward to provide therapy, supervision, intellectual and personality assessment as well as neuropsychological screenings. He also conducted forensic evaluations for determining if patients were able to aid and assist in their defense. He worked part time this past year and a half directing George Fox’s Behavioral Health Clinic. Previously, he worked for two years as a behavioral health specialist for Providence Newberg Hospital in the mid-2000s. Before attending George Fox’s PsyD program he earned his master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from Fuller Theological seminary (2001). Joel earned both his master’s degree in psychology (2005) and his doctor of psychology degree (2007) from George Fox. He lives in Dundee with his wife Connie and their two children. He attends Dundee Covenant Church.

Gene Dykema is rejoining the university as professor of economics, coming out of retirement for a year to replace John Gorlorwulu while he serves internationally with USAID. In 2004, Gene retired from his position as a professor of business and economics in the university’s School of Business. He played a key role in the development of the MBA program at George Fox in the early 1990s. Prior to his arrival at the university in 1991, he served as chairman of the economics and business department at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Gene holds a PhD in economics from the University of Notre Dame.

Lionel Johnson (School of Education) has retired from George Fox. Also departing is Alison Noble, who had served as a half-time visiting professor of chemistry.

Ed Higgins (English) published two poems, “He Drank” and “So One Day,” in the autumn quarterly issue of Haibun Today, an online journal dedicated to the publication and preservation of haibun in English.

Jim Steele (School of Business) has been accepted into membership in the professional group Portland Strategic HR. The invitational-only group includes several key HR leaders representing a wide range of industries.

Sept. 7   Tony Longstroth, Jennifer Macnab
Sept. 8   Jen Overstreet, Mark Pothoff
Sept. 9   Julia Brown, Trey Doty, Tim Timmerman
Sept. 11   Jeff Duerr, Sarah Jobson, Angela Wilson
Sept. 12   Kelly Chang
Sept. 15   Sarah Gibson, Ron Shaw, Lauri Smith
Sept. 16   Jan Amerson
Sept. 17   MaryKate Morse, Christee Wise
Sept. 18   Darryl Brown
Sept. 20   Robert Melendy

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.

Rick Muthiah (Academic Resource Center) presented a session, “Serving Students With Disabilities: Legal Obligations, Moral Imperatives, And Diversity Opportunities,” at the Association of Christians in Student Development conference at Messiah College in June. The session provided an overview of our legal and moral obligations to provide services to students with disabilities; considered students with disabilities within the framework of diversity; and discussed practical steps to provide accessible environments for students with disabilities.

Ed Higgins’ (English) poem, “Epistemology,” was selected to be part of the Vietnamese Children’s Art Exhibit, titled “Speak Peace – American Voices Respond to Vietnamese Children’s Paintings.” The exhibit opens in Ohio in September and will tour nationally for three years. It will feature American voices ranging from children as young as second grade to established adult poets.

Kandie Comfort (IT) and Mandria Montplasir (Advancement) were named the July and August employees of the month, respectively.