School of Business
Evan Curry, dean, was the keynote speaker at a Hope in the Marketplace breakfast, and he spoke at various churches about integrating faith, work, and business.
University Administration
Paul Neal, senior vice president for marketing and enrollment, presented on “The Uniqueness of Christian Higher Education in Developing Future Leaders for the Changing World” at Lumina College in Hong Kong on September 28, 2018. He also presented on “Implications for Strategy Using Research to Lead Your School” and “The Charter Oak Research National Survey and Trends in Christian Education” at the Best Practices Conference for the Christian School in June 2018. He also gave these two presentations, along with “Mission and Marketing: Using Data to Make Decisions and Avoid Mistakes,” at the 2018 MACSA professional development conference.
Russ Nixon, senior vice president for advancement, gave a presentation at the Philadelphia Association of Christian Schools (PACS) 18th annual convocation: “Strategic Planning and Implementation of Plans to Provide Additional Academic Resources to Improve Student Achievement.”
School of Divinity
Dr. Jonathan Master, dean, coedited On Reformed Worship with David Hall.
Dr. Keith Plummer, professor of theology, is now a regular contributor to the Stand to Reason blog. He also taught apologetics to Cru staff members at their Institute of Biblical Studies in Orlando, FL, from June 2–July 3, 2018.
Dr. Gary Schnittjer, professor of the Old Testament, presented on Genesis 49 to the Pentateuch Study Section and on Deuteronomy 1 to the OT Narrative Study Section at the annual meeting of Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) in Denver, CO, in November 2018. He also published an article in Credo Magazine on “Idolatry in Isaiah” in June 2018.
Dr. Coz Crosscombe, director of the Urban Ministry First Year Program, guest lectured on understanding complex urban communities at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.
Dr. Jared Bryant, assistant professor, presented his paper, “The Divinity of the Holy Spirit according to Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil of Caesarea,” at
the annual meeting of ETS in November 2018.
Mark Jalovick, professor, was the speaker at the Haycock camp men’s retreat from October 19–21. He conducted a series entitled, “Lessons from a Night Lost in the Woods.” He also served at Moose River Outpost during staff training week.
School of Education
Dr. Joey Beeson, dean, presented “Using the Danielson Framework to Guide Teacher Evaluation” at the PACS 18th annual convocation. At the 2018 MACSA professional development conference, he led four workshops: “Curriculum Guide Development: “Where Are We Going?” (Part 1 and Part 2), “Developing Performance Tasks: Assessing Understanding within the UbD Framework,” and “Instructional Variety and the Flipped Classroom Model.”
Dr. Laura McCollum, chair of graduate education programs, led two workshops at the 2018 MACSA professional development conference: “Thinking Like an Assessor” and “Homework 101.”
Dr. Stephanie Chung, chair of special education, led three workshops at the 2018 MACSA professional development conference: “Embracing God’s Heart: Special Education in Christian Schools,” “A Scientific Understanding of ADHD: Characteristics and Effects,” and “A Scientific Understanding of ADHD: Practical Implications.”
Dr. Sheryl Vasso, program advisor for the MS in Education program, presented “Integrating Children’s Literature in the K-8 Classroom” at the PACS 18th annual convocation. At the 2018 MACSA professional development conference, she led four workshops on integrating historical and contemporary fiction, picture books, graphic novels, and poetry into the K-12 classroom.
Dr. Dianne Alexander, program advisor for elementary/early childhood education, gave two presentations at the PACS 18th annual convocation: “The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language” and “Creative Ways to Differentiate Math Instruction.”
Barbara Cooper, part-time faculty, led two workshops at the 2018 MACSA professional development conference: “Autism Spectrum Disorder” and “Strategies to Support Diverse Learners in the Classroom.” At the PACS 18th annual convocation, she presented on how teachers can support ADHD students in the classroom.
Rebecca Cella, director of student teaching and field placement, presented “Resiliency and Burnout Prevention for Educators” at the PACS 18th annual convocation.
Marika Ravin, TESOL program advisor, presented on “Teaching Academic Writing: Using Scaffolding Techniques to Improve Student Essay Writing” at the PACS 18th annual convocation.
School of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Chris Palladino, chair of the history department, delivered a presentation on “An Integrated Look at the Great War” and led a conversation on the Dadaist Manifesto with the students of the Master of Arts in Teaching program at Templeton Honors College, Eastern University. He also cohosted the Second Annual Philadelphia Symposium on Learning and Teaching, which brings together educators and administrators from K–12 and higher education to discuss what it means to learn and teach. At the PACS 18th annual convocation, he spoke on “Adventures in Interdisciplinary and Trans-disciplinary Studies” and “Inquiring Minds, Enduring Questions: An Inquiry-Based Curriculum.”
Sarah Ensslen, assistant professor and director of counseling practicums and internships, attended a two-day conference entitled, “Certified Clinical Trauma Professional: Two-Day Trauma Competency Conference.” She, along with Dr. Jeff Black, Dr. Jim Meyer, and Ashlyn Jones, received the certification offered through the training.
Ashlyn Jones, instructor and coordinator of Oasis Counseling Center, obtained her LPC licence in February 2018 and her NCC (Nationally Certified Counselor) certificate in July 2018. She spoke, in conjunction with Sarah Ensslen, at the PACS 18th annual convocation on “Trauma in the Classroom” in August 2018.
Matt Stemler, instructor, led three workshops at the MACSA professional development conference in October 2018: “Developing Art Portfolios,” “Critiques in the Art Room,” and “Encouraging Originality in the Art Room.” He also created an art piece for the Veritas Academy Artist Invitational in August.
School of Music
Dr. Benjamin Harding, dean co-led two presentations at Sing! Getty Music Worship Conference 2018: “Children’s Leadership Track—Firing the Imagination to Transform the Heart: Children and the Future of Musical & Creative Arts” and “Interpretations of the Psalms Through the Ages”
David Kim, professor of violin studies, performed at Sing! Getty Music Worship Conference on September 10–12 in Nashville, TN.
Dr. Debbie Wolf, chair of music education, presented on “Creating the Mozart Effect in Early Childhood Classes: What You Can Do to Foster Musical Ability!” at the PACS 18th annual convocation.
Graeme Burgan, piano and worship faculty, joined Piano4, a grand piano quartet group. The core of their repertoire is the library of 400 transcriptions of the First Piano Quartet (FPQ), of early NBC Radio fame, after whom Piano4 is modeled.
Dr. Scott Watson, faculty, wrote two articles for the Alfred Music Blog: “Developing Discerning Ears: Why Playing Well Is Only Half the Job” (May, 2018) and “Perfecting Your Concert Program: Tips for Selecting Repertoire” (July, 2018). He taught “Producing Music in the Cloud” at the Central Connecticut State University Summer Music Institute from July 2–6 and “Rehearsal Strategies and Repertoire for Young Band” at the University of the Arts from July 16–20. On September 22, 2018, Dr. Watson presented a half-day workshop for music education majors at Moravian College (Bethlehem, PA), entitled, “10 Smart Technologies for Ensemble Programs,” and on October 4, 2018, he presented an evening session, “Integrating Technology Into the Music Curriculum,” via Skype, to the Messiah College NAfME Collegiate Chapter.
School of Social Work
Dr. Lloyd Gestoso, dean, is heavily involved in the Bucks County Faith Summits that are fighting the opioid crisis in the area. On October 13, 2018, he led an event entitled, “The Faith Community and Addiction—What You Can Do.” He also spoke at First Baptist of Perkasie on technology and children on August 5, 2018.
Dr. Lawrence Ressler, professor, led a forgiveness workshop at Bucks County Peace Center on August 16, 2018. He has been serving on the CCCU initiative team to develop a national accreditation advisory committee in social work since 2017.
Dr. Juliet Campbell-Farrell, professor, took her social policy class to Recovery Advocacy Day in Harrisburg, PA, on September 25, 2018. The students met with representative Tommy Tomlinson and were able to sit in the Senate Gallery to observe legislative proceedings. She also attended two professional development conferences: Princeton University’s “Be the Healing Conference on Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome” on June 22–24, 2018 and Rutgers University’s Second Annual “Challenging Racial Disparities Conference: A Call to Action” on June 6, 2018