Meet the Faculty and Staff
Eileen Hulme, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Phone: (626) 387-5716
Email: ehulme@apu.edu
Eileen Hulme, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education, associate professor of educational leadership, and teaches in the Department of Doctoral Higher Education as well as the College Counseling and Student Development master’s program at APU. Prior to joining APU in 2005, Hulme served as vice president for student life at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she was responsible for creating the strengths programming on campus while managing a staff of more than 200. A member of The Gallup Organization’s national research team for strengths-based programs, Hulme’s research focuses on calling and purpose. She is also a former Fulbright Scholar and member of the exemplary programs committee of the National Association for Student Personnel Administrators. Hulme’s signature strengths are Strategic, Learner, Futuristic, Achiever, and Adaptability.
Robin Radford
Assistant to the Executive Director
Phone: (626) 387-5745
Email: rradford@apu.edu
Paul Kaak, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
Phone: (626) 387-5745
Email: pkaak@apu.edu
Paul Kaak, Ph.D. is assistant director of the Noel Academy, assistant professor in APU’s Master’s of Organizational Leadership, and program coordinator for APU’s undergraduate Leadership Minor, in which he also is a mentor-teacher. Before coming to APU in 2006, Paul worked with the Leadership Institute as an independent consultant and educator, mentoring students and leaders nationally and internationally. He has had his hand in developing multiple leadership development programs and strategies in both academic and corporate environments. In terms of scholarship, Paul’s interdisciplinary interests link him to topics such as personal and social flourishing, virtues and values, organizational health, good leadership and good learning. Paul’s signature strengths are Input, Learner, Intellection, Strategic, and Adaptability.
Laurie A. Schreiner, Ph.D.
Scholar-in-Residence
Phone: (626) 815-5349
Email: lschreiner@apu.edu
Laurie Schreiner, Ph.D., is professor and chair of APU’s Department of Doctoral Higher Education, as well as scholar-in-residence of the Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education. Prior to joining the faculty at Azusa Pacific in 2002, Schreiner served as associate academic dean at Eastern University in the Philadelphia area. Since receiving her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Tennessee in 1982, she has taught psychology, chaired psychology departments, and participated in retention committees, curriculum committees, student life committees, and outcomes assessment efforts. She is co-author of the Student Satisfaction Inventory, which is used on more than 1,600 college and university campuses in the U.S. and Canada. She is co-editor of the monograph Visible Solutions for Invisible Students: Helping Sophomores Succeed and author of numerous grants, articles, and validity studies. Schreiner also serves as a senior fellow at the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, where she co-directs the Comprehensive Assessment Project involving 65 colleges and universities. She has been project director for two FIPSE grants on first-year students and on affirming students’ strengths as a way of increasing retention. A former associate with Noel-Levitz and a current senior research associate with The Gallup Organization, Schreiner has consulted with more than 100 colleges and universities on issues of retention, academic advising, student satisfaction, and effective teaching strategies. Her signature strengths are Ideation, Strategic, Learner, Achiever, and Futuristic.
Shawna L. Lafreniere, Ph.D. (Candidate)
Strategic Development Coordinator
Phone: (626) 387-5707
Email: slafreniere@apu.edu
Shawna Lafreniere, Ph.D. (Candidate), is the strategic development coordinator of the Noel Academy for Strengths-Based Leadership and Education. Prior to joining APU in 2004, Lafreniere served as the founder and executive director of the Canadian Christian College Tour and CHEEA Canada. She is presently an International Leadership Scholar in APU’s Ph.D. Higher Education Program and is focusing her dissertation research on analyzing perceptions of characteristics that make leaders successful in Christian higher education. In 2001, she was awarded the NACCAP Regional Service Award for Canada and has been nominated twice as one of Canada’s “Top 40, Under 40” leaders. Her signature strengths are Maximizer, Learner, Strategic, Intellection, and Self-Assurance.
Anita Fitzgerald Henck, Ph.D.
Phone: (626) 387-5723
Email: ahenck@apu.edu
Anita Henck, Ph.D., is associate professor in APU’s doctoral programs in higher education. Prior to joining APU’s faculty in 2006, she served as vice president for student development & retention and professor at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA. There, she helped develop and was the lead professor in a master’s program in higher education administration. During those years, Henck was also part of a multi-campus research team studying the faith development of college students through the Templeton-funded Faithful Change research project. Prior to her eight years at ENC, she spent 19 years at American University in Washington, DC where she served in a variety of administrative roles, including assistant to the provost. She was a Greenberg Scholar and Doctoral Fellow in American’s School of Education where she taught in undergraduate and graduate programs in education, leadership, and higher education administration. Henck’s research interests include leadership transitions in higher education, organizational culture and change, and collaborative engagement.
Karen Longman, Ph.D.
Phone: (626) 387-5706
Email: klongman@apu.edu
Karen A. Longman, Ph.D. joined the faculty at Azusa Pacific University as professor of higher education at Azusa Pacific University in 2006. She previously had served for six years as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Greenville College (IL) and for 19 years as vice president for professional development and research at the Washington, D.C.-based Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. While at Greenville, she co-directed a $464,000 project supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) that led to the implementation of a comprehensive strengths-based approach to higher education at Greenville College and Eastern University (PA). Work on that model project led to recognition in 2004 as “Greatest Contribution: Strengths Architect Award” by The Gallup Organization. Dr. Longman has spoken on numerous campuses about strengths and leadership development and is authoring a chapter entitled: “Maximizing the College Experience: Drawing Out the Best in Students” in a forthcoming book Doing Good, Departing from Evil: Research Findings for the 21st Century. She serves as a senior fellow with the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, is on the steering committee of the CCCU Initiative Grants project, and has directed numerous Leadership Development Institutes for emerging leaders within the CCCU. Dr. Longman earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan; her signature strengths are Maximizer, Achiever, Learner, Relator, and Connectedness.
