Grove City College welcomes new 13 professors to the faculty ranks this fall. The new faculty will augment the College’s roster of Christian scholars in the departments of Modern Languages, Communication and Visual Arts, English, Education, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Exercise Science, Accounting, Nursing and Biblical and Religious Studies.
The new faculty are.
- Dr. Chris Ansberry, Associate Professor of Biblical and Religious Studies
As well as teaching Biblical and Religious Studies, Ansberry will also serve as Director of the Accelerated Pastoral Degree Program being offered in conjunction with Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. His specialization is Old Testament studies in general and wisdom literature in particular. He holds a Ph.D. in Biblical Theology, Old Testament from Wheaton College, where he taught previously. He comes to Grove City College from Oak Hill College in London.
- Shannon Barrios, Instructor of Communication & Visual Arts
Barrios specializes in intercultural and corporate communication and her research interests include the examination of the relationship between language and culture, exploration of agency and identity and the translation of kingdom principles into the marketplace. Currently finishing a Ph.D. in Rhetoric at Duquesne University, she also has a Master of Public Administration degree concentrating in International Business and Affairs from Columbia University and a B.A. in music and English from Bucknell University.
- Dr. Jeffrey Bilbro, Associate Professor of English
Bilbro will teach courses in the Writing Program, English, and the Humanities Core. His writing covers theological themes in American environmental literature, the author Wendell Berry and questions related to the digital media ecosystem and its parallels to antebellum American print culture. His most recent book is “Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News.” Bilbro earned his B.A. at George Fox University and his Ph.D. at Baylor University. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Front Porch Republic, a website dedicated to localist ideas and practices.
- Dr. Hayden D. Gerhart, Associate Professor of Exercise Science
Gerhart will teach and conduct research in exercise physiology. He specializes in working with both tactical and traditional athletes in performance and research settings. He earned his doctorate from Kent State University. He is currently the Pennsylvania State Director of the National Strength and Conditioning Association and holds two certifications through the association: Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Tactical Strength and Conditioning Facilitator. He is also a Certified Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine.
- Dr. Paul J. Jackanich, Visiting Assistant Professor of French
Jackanich joins the Modern Languages Department to teach French and courses on the French Enlightenment. He completed his doctorate in philosophy at the Université de Montréal. He earned his B.A. at Duquesne University, and his M.A. at Concordia University. A translator and avid reader of French philosophy and literature, Jackanich looks forward to helping students explore their religious and intellectual interests.
- Dr. Jason Killam, Associate Professor of Spanish
Killam joins the Department of Modern Languages to teach Spanish and Spanish Linguistics. He completed his doctorate in Hispanic Linguistics at Indiana University and taught for a decade at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. with majors in International Business and Spanish from North Park University (Chicago, IL) and completed his teaching certification in 1996 and first M.A. in 2005 at the University of Texas at Arlington.
- Dr. April Knupp, Associate Professor of Spanish
Knupp joins the Department of Modern Languages to teach Spanish language and Hispanic literatures and cultures. Her specialization is contemporary Hispanic women writers and feminist disability studies. She completed her doctorate in Spanish at Arizona State University and held teaching positions at Goucher College and Jacksonville State University before coming to Grove City College. She earned her B.A. in Spanish from Shippensburg University and her M.A. in Spanish language, literatures, and cultures from the Madrid Campus of St. Louis University.
- Dr. Qiuyan Li, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Li’s specialty is additive manufacturing and ultrasonic non-destructive testing. She is also interested in material mechanical property characterization, wave propagating theory in solid, electro-mechanical systems, MEMS and sensor development. She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering at University of Pittsburgh, where she developed a passion for teaching students and helping them to become independent and innovative engineers in the future.
- Dr. Michael Rawl, Assistant Professor of English
Rawl will teach 20th-century and contemporary British literature. He specializes in 20th-century Anglo-Irish poetry and focuses particularly on the work of W.B. Yeats and Geoffrey Hill. Among his research interests are questions of prosody, poetic form, British Romanticism and its modernist legacies, and literary critical method. Rawl completed his Ph.D. in English at Baylor University, where he also earned his M.A. and taught. He earned B.A. from Midwestern State University.
- Dr. Rick Sabousky ,Professor of Education
Sabousky will teach special education practices and interventions. He has been a consultant with a variety of school districts in Pennsylvania and has over 28 years of experience in higher education preparing educational professionals. He holds a doctorate from Kent State University. He is active in state level matters relating to special education teacher preparation.
- Dr. Tricia Shultz ’01, ’14, Assistant Professor of Accounting
Shultz will be teaching Principles of Accounting and Taxation. She brings experience as a lawyer and CPA to her study of accounting. She earned a B.S. from the College with a double major in biology and psychology before graduating from South Texas College of Law. After a few years of practice, primarily as a prosecutor, she returned to Grove City College to get a degree in accounting. She’s worked in regional and Big Four accounting firms.
- Dr. Janet Skees, Associate Professor of Nursing
Skees joined the Nursing department in February and teaches Introduction to Professional Nursing. She has been a nurse educator for 18 years and has extensive experience as a critical care nurse. Skees completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at La Roche University. She also completed a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Degree from Waynesburg University. Skees has published articles on mentoring and cardiovascular research and was an advanced educator for 10 years at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Schools of Nursing.
- Dr. He (David) Zhang, Assistant Professor of Computer Science
Zhang will teach computer architecture and operating systems. His specialization is the development of intelligent systems to assist people in tasks such as navigation, rehabilitation and object manipulation. He completed his doctorate in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and earned his B.S. in Computer Science and Technology from the Chinese University of Mining and Technology in Beijing. He comes to Grove City College from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Computer Science department, where he was a researcher.