New Grove City College faculty members, from left: David Valentine, Jonathan Hutchins, Richard Snyder, Gregory Bandy, Kelsey Madsen, Christie Crute, Jennifer Hollenberger, Andrew Erb, Donald Shepson, Yvonne English, Carl Trueman and Jeff Buxton. Not pictured: David "Duffy" Robbins.
Thirteen new professors, with expertise ranging from French literature to machine learning to the Reformation and more, join the Grove City College faculty ranks this fall.
These new scholars will bolster some of the more than 60 major programs available at the College through the Hopeman School of Science, Engineering and Mathematics and the Calderwood School of Arts and Letters:
- Gregory Bandy, associate professor of Communications – Bandy will teach courses in journalism, filmmaking, documentary storytelling and media studies. Bandy earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Narrative Media Writing and a master’s degree in Journalism from University of Georgia, Athens, and a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education/Speech from Asbury College, where he taught previous to Grove City College.
- Jeff Buxton, assistant professor of Exercise Science – Buxton joins the faculty after five years in the Physical Education Department serving as the Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach at Grove City College. He is completing his doctorate in Human and Sport Performance from the Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions and earned a master’s degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from Penn State University, where he also holds a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Movement Science.
- Christy Crute, professor of Management and Marketing – Crute specializes in operations research and management information systems. She completed a doctorate in Operations Research at Kent State University, was a tenured faculty in the Computer Science Department at Ashland University, spent several years in the private sector and, most recently taught at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania developing graduate-level data analytics programs and undergraduate-level industrial and systems engineering coursework.
- Yvonne English ’97, assistant professor of Entrepreneurship – English transitions from guest lecturer to assistant professor in the Department of Entrepreneurship while continuing to serve as executive director of the College’s Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation. Her specialization is in startups and technology, and her current focus is on redemptive entrepreneurship. She earned a master’s degree in Technology Entrepreneurship from the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland and an undergraduate degree in International Business and French from Grove City College.
- Andrew Erb, associate professor of Music – Erb will teach music education and ensemble performance. He is completing is doctorate in Music Education from Boston University, studying the effects of socioeconomics on instrumental music participation in public schools. A professional trumpet player, he holds a master’s degree in trumpet performance from Youngstown State University and a bachelor’s degree in music education from Westminster College. He also serves as the director of the marching and concert bands and wind ensemble conductor.
- Jennifer Hollenberger, assistant professor of Social Work – Hollenberger joins the Department of Psychology and Social Work to teach in the new Social Work program supervising the field component of the major. She earned a master’s degree in Social Work, with a concentration in Direct Practice, from the University of Pittsburgh, is a licensed clinical social worker and previously served as a Christian mental health practitioner in private practice.
- Jonathan Hutchins, assistant professor of Computer Science – Hutchins has an extensive background in private enterprise and earned a doctorate in Computer Science from the University of California-Irvine and earned a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia. He worked in the textile and explosives industries before joining Google, where he worked as a software engineer on machine learning projects and production work in site reliability engineering roles.
- Kelsey Madsen, assistant professor of French – Madsen joins the Department of Modern Languages specializing in 20th- and 21st-century French literature and culture. Her research interests include issues related to cultural memory, including how the past is represented in literature, monuments and political discourse. Madsen earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in French at the University of Oklahoma and previously taught there and at Kent State University.
- David “Duffy” Robbins, professor of Christian Ministries – Robbins, a respected national youth ministry expert will teach in the youth and pastoral ministry areas. He earned a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Mass., and a Doctor of Ministry in Youth and Family Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif. Robbins is a prolific author and in-demand speaker.
- Donald R. Shepson III, professor of Christian Ministries – Shepson, an Anglican priest, will teach Christian Ministry in the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies and Philosophy. He specializes in Christian education and spiritual formation. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Studies and Spiritual Formation at Biola University, a Master of Divinity from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Wheaton College.
- Richard Snyder, assistant Professor of Management and Marketing – Snyder joins the faculty after serving as a guest lecturer in the Accounting and Finance for three years. In addition to retaining his tax classes, he will teach international business and negotiations coursework. He is an attorney and CPA who earned degrees from Duquesne University, New York University School of Law and Carnegie Mellon University Graduate School of Business. Snyder has extensive experience as a tax lawyer, corporate counsel, accountant and educator.
- Carl Trueman, professor of Biblical and Religious Studies – Trueman will teach courses and lecture on the history of religious thought, having worked extensively in the field of Reformation and Post-Reformation studies. He earned a master’s degree in Classics from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in Church History from the University of Aberdeen. He has served on the faculty at the Universities of Nottingham, Aberdeen and most recently, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, a noted scholar and author who writes regularly on spiritual and cultural issues and co-hosts a highly influential podcast.
- David Valentine, professor of Computer Science – Valentine, whose current research interest is in parallel and high performance computing, earned a Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a doctorate from the University of Buffalo. He joins Grove City College from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, where he served as the interim dean of the College of Business and chair of the Computer Science department.