Huntington College welcomes four new faculty members
FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Huntington, Ind. " Huntington College welcomed four new members to its faculty at the start of the school year. Ms. Susan J. Burson joined the Education Department, Dr. Herbert Jack Heller joined the English Department, Mr. Kevin D. Miller joined the Communication Department and Mr. John K. Thompson joined the Music Department. Prof. Susie Burson accepted appointment as Instructor of Education. She holds a BS degree in Early Childhood Education at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., and a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky. Burson has also taken related coursework at Asbury Theological Seminary. Before coming to HC, she taught Kindergarten as Jessamine Early Learning Village in Wilmore, Ky. Burson and her husband, Scott, are the parents of three children.
I'm excited to begin a new chapter in my life as an adult educator at Huntington College, said Burson, whose teaching career has spanned twenty years and four states in a variety of teaching experiences. I am thrilled with the opportunity to take my years of experience as an educator to help prepare the next generation of teachers to impact the world. I hope to share not only subject content, methods, and strategies, but to challenge my students to make a difference in the lives of their students and the communities in which they will find themselves planted.
Dr. Jack Heller accepted appointment as Assistant Professor of English. He holds a MA degree in English from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, and received his Doctorate in English from LSU. He also received his BA in English from Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn., and a Diploma in Written Communications from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Ill. Heller's specializations include Renaissance Drama, Seventeenth Century British Literature, Shakespeare, African-American Literature and Religious Studies. Prior to coming to HC, Heller was Assistant Professor of English at Voorhees College in South Carolina. He also taught at Campbellsville University, Tulane University and Southeastern Louisiana University. Heller is the author of Penitent Brothellers: Grace, Sexuality, and Genre in Thomas Middleton's City Comedies.
Like the Greeks, the Hebrews, and many of the authors I study, I have a sense of divinely-appointed destiny, and I feel very much that Huntington College is the kind of place where I would like to teach, said Heller. I am especially interested in helping students appreciate all kinds of literature, including the literature of the Christian tradition which dominates the medieval, Renaissance, and Enlightenment eras.
Prof. Kevin Miller accepted appointment as Assistant Professor of Communication. Miller holds a BA degree in English from Eastern Mennonite University and a Masters degree in Journalism from The Ohio State University. He is a Masters candidate in the History of Christian Thought at Trinity Evangelical Divinity (all but thesis) and is a doctoral candidate in Communication at the University of Kentucky. Miller has taught courses at Wheaton College and the University of Kentucky. He has also served as associate editor for Christianity Today magazine and as assistant editor for Christian Reader and Your Church magazines. Along with many published articles in Christianity Today, Miller served as assistant editor and writer for Christian History magazine's study guides, Early Church and Middle Ages, Reformation to the Present, The Early Church, and How We Got Our Bible. He was associate editor and copy editor for Leadership Handbooks of Practical Theology: Outreach and Care and Leadership and Administration and was a contributing editor the The Quest Study Bible. Kevin and his wife, Lidiya, have one daughter.
After just a few days of teaching, it's obvious that Huntington students are smart, dedicated students. It will be a joy to work with them, said Miller.
Prof. John Thompson accepted the position of Instructor in Music. Thompson holds a Bachelor of Music Education (voice emphasis) from New Mexico State University, Master of Music in Voice Performance from New Mexico State University, and is a doctoral candidate at the University of Memphis (ABD). He has held positions as Voice Graduate Assistant, Music Director, and has performed extensively around the United States and abroad. He has been married to his wife, Anca, for just over one year.
Huntington College is a comprehensive Christian college of the liberal arts offering graduate and undergraduate programs in more than 60 academic concentrations. Founded in 1897 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, Huntington College is located on a contemporary, lakeside campus in Huntington, Indiana.
