How do you define retirement? What is the first thing you are planning to do when you retire?

I have been enormously blessed by God. I have enjoyed a life of service that began with my first Sunday school teaching assignment at age 11. I was encouraged as a child to volunteer, to help at church and in the community. As a result, I developed a lifestyle that will not change as I leave my position as dean. There is still much to do. I truly believe that much is required of me. I can’t retire from my life’s work. My life will be filled with family, home, church, and community activities. Hopefully, it will also include Azusa Pacific.

What's the most significant leadership challenge you have faced as dean of a multifaceted school that features so many areas of study?

During my first 10 months as dean, I wanted to challenge my faculty and staff to build a new community in our school. We needed to become one school, united to achieve a single mission appropriate to the needs of faculty in both behavioral studies and education. As we began to achieve that objective, we freed ourselves to pursue new goals and dreams. In the process, the School of Education and Behavioral Studies became an exciting, high-energy community where a group of productive and creative Christian educators continue to redefine who they are and how they will honor God.

Another challenge I faced was the need to increase the ethnic and gender diversity of our school. How to do that without offending Anglo men that had led and developed the programs in our school was an issue that I attempted to address during the first 90 days as dean. Our faculty understood, shared, and supported the vision of an open, multifaceted school that welcomed Christian educators representing the world community. Thankfully, the profile of the school has changed significantly. Just compare 1995 to 2001: In 1995, there were 2 faculty of color and 10 female faculty members; in 2001, there are 18 faculty of color and 31 female faculty.

What does national accreditation mean to APU students training to be teachers?

National accreditation is professional affirmation of the quality of the faculty, the academic programs offered, and the student population recruited. The School of Education and Behavioral Studies has completed national accreditation in education (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education); graduate psychology (American Psychological Association); and athletic training (Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs).

What three words describe your career as an administrator and educator?

I’ve been blessed!

Do you have a life verse?

My life verses are Isaiah 40:31 (. . . but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wing like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint) and Philippians 4:8 (Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things).

What advice would you give someone considering a career in education, specifically teaching? What are the rewards and challenges?

Teaching provides an opportunity to touch the very soul of America. Everyday you have a chance to influence a child or young adult sitting in your classroom. And a classroom has the potential of becoming the most powerful environment for stimulating new ideas, dreams, and visions for what the world can become. With each new class you get to start over again. There isn’t any other profession — not law, medicine, science, or engineering — that enables you to mold and shape the life of a growing and developing child. An effective teacher with a passion for teaching and learning can, and will, impact lives and nations.

Do you have a mentor? If so, how has that person been instrumental in your life

My first mentor was an eighth grade history teacher who taught me how to conduct research and work as an independent learner. We traveled together to universities, libraries, and museums on weekends. She taught me how to discover the world through books.

In high school, my principal and two English teachers taught me to go beyond the requirements. They taught me to ask good questions and find the answers, even if it meant reading three or four extra books. I actually took advanced courses as independent studies in the 1940s!

In college, I had mentors in undergraduate and graduate school. They helped me develop the discipline that I needed to harness and control my rage. They also loved me enough to tolerate my protests as I sought to make sense of racial and political injustice. As I struggled to refine who I was, my mentors forced me to work harder as a student — always demanding more of me.