Learning Academy

Kregg Fehr serves as Professor of History in the Humanities Department and the Honors College. During his twenty years at Lubbock Christian University, he has taught courses in U.S. history, African history, and the history of science. Dr. Fehr received both his B.S. in Paleontology/Stratigraphy and his M.A. in History from Midwestern State University, and earned his Ph.D. In History at Texas Tech. His research interests include the history of wind power, the Atomic Age, science in Texas, and pedagogical advance. He enjoys fostering student growth through classroom instruction and club sponsorship. With the Honors dean, he leads an annual trip to Philadelphia, Gettysburg, and Washington, D.C. for incoming freshmen interested in the forging of the United States’ nationhood. A member of the Organization of American Historians, Dr. Fehr is a contributing referee for the Journal of American History.

David Fraze (D.Min., Fuller Theological seminary) is an Assistant Professor and the James A. Buddy Davidson Endowed Chair of Youth and Family Ministry Program at LCU. David has been working in student ministry for over 30 years and is a popular speaker at Youth Events, Public/Private School Events, Ministry Trainings and Seminars. He authored Practical Wisdom for Youth Ministry: Not-So-Simple Truths That Matter and is currently working on a soon-to-be-released book for youth group adults. He also contributed a chapter to Owning Faith. David works with Youth Specialties as the leader of Ministry Coaching and seminar speaker at the National Youth Workers Convention and is the Co-Editor of the Youth Specialties Blog. He is a speaker and partner with the Fuller Youth Institute (FYI) speaking on the topics of Sticky Faith, Growing Young, and Right Click (a seminar of technology). He is currently finishing up a research project with FYI which will provide a meta-analysis of churches of Christ and their success and/or failure in instituting the Growing Young Competencies. David also works with athletic teams on Character initiatives and writes and provides the talent for a weekly news segment called That’s Good Stuff on NBC affiliate KCBD 11. He has been married to Lisa for 30 years and they have two children, Braeden and Shelbee.

Chris Huggins is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Exercise and Sport Sciences Department. The courses taught over his five-year span at Lubbock Christian University include human movement, biomechanics, and various other exercise and sport science classes. Dr. Huggins received his B.A. in Biology from Lubbock Christian University and both his Doctor of Physical Therapy and Doctor of Science in Physical Therapy from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. His research has included investigations into the effect of core muscle activation on upper extremity balance in healthy collegiate athletes. He is currently collaborating on a project involving the effect of stretching and foam rolling on the IT band. Chris enjoys mentoring undergraduate physical therapy and occupational therapy students and assisting students applying for these professional schools. He also attends an annual medical mission trip to Peru for LCU undergraduate students who want to serve in the health professions field after graduation. Dr. Huggins continues to practice physical therapy with UMC Team Rehab.

Jessica Rogers, M.S. is an Assistant Professor in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at Lubbock Christian University. She completed her B.S. in Secondary Education from LCU and taught high school chemistry and physics for 4 years. She then earned her master’s degree in chemistry from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania while working at LCU as the chemistry lab supervisor. She now teaches General and Introductory Chemistry as well as the labs associated with those courses. Jessica has been flipping her courses and writing inquiry-based lab manuals for the last 15 years at LCU. She has presented her work on inquiry labs and other active learning techniques at the local, regional and national level at college and high school level chemistry conferences.

Dr. Doug Darby is an Assistant Professor and serves as the program coordinator for the Information Systems and Technology and Management Information Systems degrees in the School of Business. He received his B.S. in Psychology and his M.S. in Digital Media from Abilene Christian University, and his Ph.D. in Learning Technologies from the University of North Texas. Dr. Darby has over 30 years of profession experience working with technology, and over a decade of higher education teaching experience, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as an instructional designer for online learning. He previously served on multiple editions of the New Media Consortium’s (NMC) Higher Education edition of the Horizon Report (2009-2013, 2016) as an advisory board member. His experience also includes research and grant work with the University of North Texas' Institute for the Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning (IITTL). Dr. Darby’s areas of consultation, expertise, and research include instructional design, emerging technologies, disruptive business technologies, gamification and immersive environments, and online learning environments and learner types. His recent work involves the development of a new theoretical model for classifying and defining online learners within the higher education context. He enjoys mentoring and collaborating with students, and serves as the faculty advisor for the Chap Gaming Club.

Brian Fisher is an Associate Professor of Mathematics. He received his Ph. D. in mathematics with an emphasis in mathematics education from Oklahoma State University in 2008. After graduation Dr. Fisher spent six years teaching mathematics at Pepperdine University before joining the LCU faculty in 2014. His research interests focus on student learning in undergraduate mathematics, with particular interest in calculus, multivariable functions, and sequence convergence where his recent paper was honored as an editor’s pick for 2019 in the journal PRIMUS. Early in his career Dr. Fisher earned fellowships with Project NExT, the STaR program in mathematics education, both development programs for early career mathematicians. More recently he has served as a fellow on NSF sponsored grants exploring approximation in calculus (CLEAR), inquiry-oriented instruction in abstract algebra (IOAA), and creativity in calculus (REACT). In 2013 Dr. Fisher and several of his collaborator were awarded an NSF grant to study multivariable calculus as part of the Raising Calculus to the Surface project.

Doug Swartz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Natural Sciences. He also serves as the current Director of the Rhodes Family Institute for Undergraduate Research. Dr. Swartz earned dual B.S. degrees in Biochemistry and Microbiology from Oklahoma State University. He completed is Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from Texas Tech University Health Sciences, where his research focused on studying the mechanism of ABC transporters. He then continued this research through a postdoctoral fellowship funded by an American Heart Association grant. During this time, he began teaching at Lubbock Christian University as an adjunct professor and became a full-time faculty member five years ago. Dr. Swartz now teaches a variety of challenging upper level biology courses including Cell Biology, Biotechnology, and Immunology. He also regularly mentors undergraduate researchers pursuing a diverse set of research projects.

Ronna Privett has been teaching English at LCU for twenty years and is currently serving as Professor of English and Chair of the Department of Humanities, a position she has held since 2008. She specializes in 19th-21st century American and British literature, teaching classes on Victorian literature, the American novel, and detective fiction. One of her most popular classes is the special topics course “Reading Harry Potter.” Despite her focus on upper-division majors’ courses, she continues teaching freshman composition and technical writing on a regular basis. Ronna earned her bachelor’s degree in Art along with teaching certification in Art and English from LCU, then went on to receive her MA in English – British and American Literature and her PhD in English - American and Comparative Literature, both from Texas Tech University. A Comprehensive Study of American Writer Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, 1844-1911: Art for Truth’s Sake, based on the work she did for her dissertation, was published in 2003. She has also published journal articles on Willa Cather’s The Song of the Lark, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, and American captivity narratives in Midwest Quarterly, CCTE Studies, and The Journal of Contemporary Thought. She is currently working on an article on the intersections between the poetry of Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and contemporary poet Alison Adelle Hedge Coke.

Byron Rogers has been a professor at LCU since 1986, teaching chemistry for 33 years. In 2014, he began to split his teaching duties between chemistry and music.  His bachelor’s degree in chemistry is from LCU (1981).  He earned his doctorate in Physical Chemistry from Texas A&M University in 1986. After both of his children were married and left home, he returned to graduate school, earning a Master of Music degree from Texas Tech (2014) in the field of composition. In the thirty-three plus years he has been at LCU, Dr. Rogers has written for virtually every music group on campus, including Best Friends, the Praise Choir, Chamber Singers, Forte, the Symphonic Band, the Master Follies Hosts and Hostesses and band, and will have his first premiere with the LCU Jazz Ensemble in December of 2019. When not writing music, Dr. Rogers has also mentored two undergraduate chemistry research projects utilizing supercritical CO₂ as an extraction solvent.

A tenured Associate Professor of English, Dr. Carroll is in her twentieth year teaching at LCU. Her specializations include medieval British Literature, world literature, and classical Latin. Dr. Carroll earned her undergraduate degree in general studies with emphases in English, education, and humanities, and her M.A. and PH.D. degrees in English with a minor in Latin from Texas Tech University. Her dissertation focused on the expression of cultural anxieties in Anglo-Saxon Biblical poetic paraphrase and included her own translation of Anglo-Saxon texts. Dr. Carroll presents often at conferences ranging in focus from pedagogy to medieval and Latin studies. She has served as a respondent, presenter, and moderator for panels at various conferences including Southwest Popular/American Culture Association, South Central Modern Language Association, the Christian Scholars’ Conference, and the Teaching and Learning Conference hosted by Texas Tech among others. In addition, Dr. Carroll has had the privilege to serve as a student mentor for the National Conference for Undergraduate Research. She enjoys teaching literature from all eras and cultures but especially Shakespeare, the epic, works from the ancient world and Latin.

Dr. Julie Marshall holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry and serves a dual role as Professor and Chair in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at LCU and Co-Director of BRL Analytical Services, an independent research facility.  She grew up in Lubbock, Texas and cultivated her love for teaching and science education while pursuing a B.S. ed. from LCU.  After teaching science in a local school district, Julie entered graduate school at Texas Tech University where she received a M.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry.  In 2001, Dr. Marshall was hired as a full-time faculty member and since that time has raised funds to purchase equipment, support student researchers, and fund travel to scholarly meetings.  Since Dr. Marshall’s arrival at LCU, her body of academic work demonstrates impeccable growth in scholarship including approximately 20 publications (peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers).  She has presented research on multiple occasions both nationally and internationally and has mentored student presentations of original research locally and nationally.  Students who work with Dr. Marshall actively participate in answering questions for industry by designing experiments and conducting original research. Dr. Marshall is a strong campus leader in efforts of raising funds to support undergraduate research and the promotion of scholarship in the Sciences.

David Joyner has been teaching at Lubbock Christian University since 1984. He has experience outside of LCU at teaching at the high school level and also five years as a Systems Administrator in the business world. He has graduate degrees in Mathematics and Religion, as well as 24 graduate hours in ISQS/Computer Science. He has taught both Math and ISQS in his years at LCU. He and his wife, Janet, are active members of the Monterey Church of Christ where David regularly teaches Bible classes. He and his wife have kids and grandkids living in England and have enjoyed the opportunity to explore Europe over the last few years. David's research interests involve numeric programming and languages serving numeric applications.

In 30 years as an employee of Lubbock Christian University, Donna Harman has served in several positions.  Currently an associate professor in the department of Natural Science, Mrs. Harman earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Lubbock Christian University and her master’s degree from Texas Tech University.  Beginning as a part-time instructor in 1996, she has taught full-time since 1999. In addition to teaching Anatomy & Physiology lecture and labs, Mrs. Harman teaches General Microbiology.  She has experience teaching Human Biology, Cell Biology, Toxicology and Immunology. She serves as Chair of the Academic Appeals committee and as a member on the Health Professions Committee evaluating, encouraging and recommending students interested in pursuing a career in healthcare. Until recently she served as Pre-Nursing advisor for LCU.

Andy Laughlin is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Natural Sciences.  His courses over his nineteen-year span at Lubbock Christian University include human anatomy and physiology, reproductive physiology, and animal science classes.  Dr. Laughlin received his B.S. in Animal Science from Texas A&M University, his M.S. in Animal Science from Angelo State, and his Ph.D. in Animal Science from Texas A&M University.  His research has included investigations into stallion subfertility and he is currently collaborating on projects involving water reuse in Texas and testing proximity in the classroom.  Andy enjoys mentoring undergraduate animal science students and teaching students who want to apply for veterinary school.  He also leads an annual medical mission trip to Peru for LCU undergraduate students who want to serve in the health professions field after graduation.  Dr. Laughlin formerly served as the assistant sheep and goat specialist for the state of Texas and continues to judge sheep and goat livestock shows across the nation.

K-Dee Anderson has been the Electronic Resources Librarian at Lubbock Christian University since August of 2018.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from LCU in 2004 and a Masters in Library Science from the University of North Texas in 2008. She worked at South Plains College Library for 10 years, helping students learn how to use libraries for research and personal growth.  Now as the electronic resources librarian, K-Dee works with students and faculty to make accessing the library materials easier through online access and personal interactions.  Her interests include learning how technology is changing and what that means to the student experience as well as how it integrates into student’s research and study habits.

Dr. Kenneth Hawley is a Professor of English in the Department of Humanities and for the Honors College, the Director of The Rhodes Family Institute for Undergraduate Research, and the Director of the Brian S. Donaghey Center for Boethian Studies. He received his M.A. in English from Texas Tech University and his Ph.D. in English from the University of Kentucky, and he has been teaching here at LCU since 2004. He teaches Honors English each fall and spring, Technical Writing each spring and summer, and other Rhetoric, Literature, and Film courses each year. As Director of Undergraduate Research, Dr. Hawley helps organize LCU’s annual Scholars Colloquium and leads a group of students and faculty mentors to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each spring. His most recent scholarly work has been in collaboration with colleagues from the International Boethius Society. In 2015, Dr. Hawley was named Co-Editor of the Society’s journal, Carmina Philosophiae, and he has recently published critical editions of two 17^th-century English translations of Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy. He also served as an assistant editor for Remaking Boethius: The English Language Translation Tradition of The Consolation of Philosophy (Brepols, 2019). Kenneth presents regularly at scholarly conferences, especially on Boethius, medieval literature, and Christianity and literature. As Director of the Boethius Center, he curates a collection of old and rare Latin editions and English, French, German, and Italian translations, many of which are from the 16^th, 17^th, and 18^th centuries. A number of those early books are being digitized over the course of this next year, so that scholars and students can access the rare items online and use them for study and research.

Shenai Alonge-Moore has been teaching at Lubbock Christian University for seven years and is an Assistant Professor of English specializing in composition studies, African American and post-colonial literatures, and Hebrew narrative. Her other academic interests include studies of race and ethnicity, rap music, and dystopian literature. Shenai earned both her BA in Missions and MA in Biblical Interpretation from LCU, and her MA in Comparative Literature from Texas Tech University. Her current research project, “From Tupac to Kendrick: Gangsta Rap as Self-Care, Healing, Protest, and Revolution,” explores the roots of gangsta rap, its evolution over time, its echoes of social movements both past and present, and the uses of the music by and its effects on the intended audience and communities of the artists.

Jana Anderson is a tenured Assistant Professor of English, where she has been teaching for thirteen years. She specializes in freshman composition and rhetoric and literary analysis, young adult literature, and grant writing. She is also the director of the University Writing Center, an interdisciplinary and collaborative writing resource for LCU's undergraduate and graduate students. Jana has a bachelor's degree in English and Secondary Education and a Master's degree in English Literature from Abilene Christian University, where her areas of interest included Victorian and American literature. Her thesis explored the role of women in William Faulkner's novels.

She is currently serving as the Vice-President of the Texas College Educator's Association (TCEA) and recently finished a tenure as Councilor for the Conference of College Teacher's of English (CCTE), a regional organization from which she has received both the Popken award for Best Paper and Presentation and the Composition and Pedagogy award for Best Paper. She also received the L.R. Wilson Teacher of the Year award, voted on by faculty colleagues, at LCU and was named Educator of Year from the College of Arts and Sciences at Abilene Christian University. She also serves as a board member of Literacy Lubbock, a local non-profit that promotes literacy in the South Plains and recently completed her tenure as a board member of Christian Homes of Abilene, a non-profit foster and adoption organization.

She presents regularly at conferences, and most recently co-presented research on Latino young adult and children's literature at the Texas Association of Bilingual Educators (TABE) conference. She is also a regular attendee and conference presenter at CCTE and at the Christian Scholar's Conference (CSC), where she most recently served as a respondent on a panel focused on the roles of memory and tradition in literature. She gives writing presentations on campus each semester to various constituents, including UNI 1170 courses, the Chap Connection annual continuing education program in the School of Education, and writing workshops for Center for Student Success (CSS).

Dr. Matt Byars is an Associate Professor of English and has been at LCU since the Fall of 2008. In addition to his course load, he is also co-editor of The Chap Book, LCU’s student literary and arts journal. Dr. Byars earned a B.A. in Humanities (History) from LCU, an M.A. in Medieval and Renaissance Drama from Texas Tech University, and a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Georgia State University. Dr. Byars’ poetry has been published in various small literary journals and was a featured poet in the Langdon Review of the Arts in Texas. While helping to raise his four children, Dr. Byars continues to write and to submit his work for publication as well as presenting his work at regional-, state-, and national conferences. He is currently preparing a book-length collection of poetry.

Ashley Cherry is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Lubbock Christian University who became a faculty member in 2016. Her research field is applied mathematics with an emphasis on nonlinear programming. Dr. Cherry received her B.A. in Mathematics from Lubbock Christian University in 2010, her M.S. in Mathematics from Texas Tech University in 2012, and her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Texas Tech University in 2016. Her publications include “A Representation of Chaocipher” in 2012 (Master’s Thesis) and “Piecewise Linear Approximation for Nonlinear Programming Problems” in 2016 (Doctoral Dissertation). Dr. Cherry is currently continuing her research in nonlinear programming in collaboration with graduate students and faculty members at Texas Tech University. In addition, she is a Texas Section Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) Fellow and attends workshops on innovative teaching techniques and undergraduate research in mathematics.

Micah Heatwole is in his fifth year as a Lecturer of English. He primarily teaches Freshman Composition, but his specialization is in creative writing. In addition to teaching, Micah is a consultant for the University Writing Center. He received his AA from York College, BA in English from Western Illinois University, and MA in English (emphasis in creative writing) from Texas Tech University. Micah currently serves as the Co-Editor of LCU’s literary journal, The Chapbook, and previously served as an Associate Editor for the Iron Horse Literary Review. His poems have been published in Elements and The Literary Review. Among other writing projects, Micah is working on a book of poems entitled, Hallelujah.

Shannon Rains joined the LCU faculty in 2016 as the Assistant Professor Children’s Ministry. Previously, Shannon served in congregational ministry. She holds a BA in Range and Agronomy from Abilene Christian University, Master’s degree in Christian education, and is a Doctor of Ministry candidate at ACU with an emphasis in spiritual formation. In addition, Shannon studied Early Childhood Education at Concordia University – River Forest as a student in the Ed.D. program. Shannon teaches children’s ministry and church ministry courses. Each semester, she also teaches several sections of Introduction to Old Testament and Introduction to New Testament, courses required of all first-year students at LCU.

In 2016, Shannon received the Tina Lillig Best-Practices Scholarship at the Children’s Spirituality Conference – Christian Perspectives and in 2015 the Lynn and Carolyn Anderson Scholarship for Church Leadership, Abilene Christian University. Shannon regularly speaks at congregations, workshops, and conferences, on topics of children’s spirituality, spiritual formation, and children’s ministry leadership. In 2015, she published the chapter “Children Serving and Proclaiming Christ: Joining the Mission of the Church” in Along the Way: Conversations about Children and Faith, co-edited by Ron Bruner and Dana Pemberton. In addition, Shannon frequently publishes practical blog articles that equip individuals and churches for issues in children’s ministry, church leadership, and women leading in churches. Currently, Shannon is in the final stages of writing her project-thesis, The Practice of Children’s Ministry: Developing a Cohesive Vision of Practice for Church Leaders, which explores the role of the children’s minister in the discipleship of children.

Keith Rogers has been teaching mathematics at LCU since 1993. He is currently an associate professor of mathematics and chair of the mathematics department. His bachelor’s degree in mathematics is from LCU (1989). His master’s degree in mathematics is from the University of North Texas (1991). He earned his doctorate in instructional technology from Texas Tech (2007). He has presentations at the LCU Scholar’s Colloquium (2017 and 2008). He created a music video for Lubbock Christian High School’s band (2016). Along with Dr. J.D. Wallace, had a paper published in Journal of Literacy and Technology V12, 2: July 2011. “Predictors of Technology Integration in Education: A Study of Anxiety and Innovativeness in Teacher Preparation.” He is currently looking at transforming his college algebra classes into a “flipped” classroom model.

An Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Ann Sims has been teaching at LCU full time since 2001. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education from Abilene Christian University and her Master’s degree in Mathematics from Texas Tech University. She has experience teaching at both the high school and university level. Her experience teaching at the high school level helps in her work to prepare LCU’s future mathematics teachers to pass the TExES certification exam. During her career, Mrs. Sims has been named a Tandy Technology Scholar (an award given by Tandy Corp to 100 outstanding math, science, and computer teachers across the nation) and was also recognized by James Watkins, former Secretary of Energy, for contributions to the national education goals of AMERICA 2000. Currently, along with participating in LCU’s Learning Scholar’s initiative, she serves on the Student Life Leadership Team and various other university committees.

Barbara Slate has been employed by Lubbock Christian University in a full-time role since January, 1998. Although her job title is Technical Services Librarian, as a member of a small library team, Barbara is active in nearly all aspects of the library. Barbara earned her Bachelors degree in English from LCU in 2000. This degree was followed by Masters degrees in Elementary Education (2001) and in Secondary Education (2002), also granted by LCU. After earning a Masters degree in Library Science from the University of North Texas, Barbara became a full-time member of LCU’s faculty in 2002. Barbara attended Texas Tech University from 2003 until 2008, where she completed coursework for a doctoral degree in Higher Education, not completed. Barbara has returned to UNT several times for additional coursework in specific areas, including collection development (2002), automation systems management (2002),information seeking skills (2003) and certification in library services for youth and young adults (2004). Earning a certificate in digital instruction from LCU’s graduate education department (2001) assisted Barbara in planning and creating online library courses.

Barbara has researched in the area of undergraduate library instruction, specifically related to student attitudes and participation. In addition, Barbara has worked with Karlee Vineyard, another of LCU’s librarians, and Kristi Starr, a librarian from the Lubbock Independent School District, on the student high school to college transition. The librarians have presented locally on this topic at a Texas Library Association district meeting, and at an LISD event.

Karlee Vineyard has served as the Public Services Librarian at LCU for the past three years. She earned her BA in History from Texas Tech University in 2001 and a Masters in Library Science from Texas Woman’s University in 2013. She taught high school social studies at Roosevelt High School for 14 years before coming to LCU as a librarian. Currently, Karlee is working to bridge the gap from high school to college by collaborating with school librarians and creating a course in information literacy to present to high school juniors and seniors. She has presented her work at various Texas Library Association meetings and at the Region 17 Education Service Center in Lubbock, TX.