Academics

The One Foundation Lunch and Learns, which began Friday, offer a perfect opportunity for faculty members to learn more about teaching from a Christian perspective. “It sustains a conversation that is necessary,” said Dr. Jason Hiles, Dean of the College of Theology. Five more one-hour sessions are scheduled during the academic year, and the first 100 people to sign up get a free lunch.

Jerry Perkins emerged from a challenging childhood to become a foremost authority on radiation exposure as it relates to X-ray machines, medical lasers, etc. His students benefit greatly from that knowledge, but equally impressive is his hard work in battling a major community issue. And besides all that, he also is a triathlete.

Andre Mooney, a member of the Online Full-Time Faculty in the College of Theology, plays a mean game of pickleball — he’s even an instructor in the sport. But when it comes to teaching, he’s anything but mean. He talks about “doing life with my students” and works hard to help his students to “see the world through a Christian lens,” as he puts it. But most and impressive of all is a responsibility he and his wife have taken on.

Brian Gerber, Assistant Professor of Digital Film, teaches College of Fine Arts and Production students about both filmmaking and digital design, which makes him an authority on more than just how to put a film together successfully — he also can speak to where films fit in today’s media. He’s all about helping filmmakers do a better job with the hundreds of decisions they have to make.

Melissa Davis has overcome an abusive childhood and young adulthood marked by drug abuse and crime to become a scholar and a model for her children. She works overnight jobs in Fresno, Calif., so that during the day she can home-school three of her eight children and study online for her master’s degree in English at GCU.

The College of Fine Arts and Production gives students many opportunities to connect with industry professionals. Students from multiple programs in the college have a chance to engage with guest dance artists and directors, scene designers and a professional drone cinematographer, to name a few. “I think it has to do with our push and our goal of helping our students succeed once they leave here,” said Claude Pensis, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Production. “It’s a matter of really trying to use every tool that we could possibly get to help them make contacts, to help them get to know industry professionals in the Valley and hopefully to be interviewed by them and find jobs.”

The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions is always looking for ways to help students improve their skills. One way is by introducing actors, called standardized patients, to the college’s simulation lab. The inclusion of real, live actors — six of them this semester, including some GCU students — will help the college’s future nurses and health care professionals critically think through patient scenarios that replicate real-world situations so that they’re better prepared for their professional careers.

Dr. Chin-Hun Yi, also known as James, likes teaching his online classes so much, he often checks in on them when he’s off. He talks with great passion about what it truly means to lend a helping hand to students without being too much of a crutch, and he feeds another passion through an activity that almost became his career path.

The younger generation has led a growth in enrollment in Social Work studies at GCU, from 40 students on campus to more than 275 this year. Generation Z has a desire to help others and be fulfilled with a purpose, not just to count their worth by material riches, senior students say. “I think our growth speaks to this generation wanting to connect with people in the community and to give back,” said Dr. Kathleen Downey, Director of Social Work in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, the subject of our continuing series on each GCU college.

Dr. Janet Brelin-Fornari began her career at General Motors, serving as an expert witness in product liability lawsuits against the company. It was then that she discovered her passion for improving safety for children in vehicles. Dr. Richard Mulski spent two decades in the aerospace/aeronautics industry, working for such companies as Boeing, where here he was involved in the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey program. Both changed direction in their careers, moving into academia and now to GCU as the new leaders in the University’s Engineering Department. Both are ready to take on new challenges in a new engineering program as they anticipate continued growth.