APU is committed to fostering an atmosphere wherein academics are not simply taught, but lived.

Professors, experts in their respective fields and passionate about the subjects they teach, challenge and stretch their students to reach their goals. Students are impelled to think critically and analyze thoroughly what they learn in the classroom.

Meet the Faculty

  • Watch Now
    Meet the Faculty: Roxanne Helm-Stevens, DBA
    Roxanne Helm-Stevens, DBA, serves as chair and professor for the Department of Management and Graduate Programs in Azusa Pacific University’s School of Business and Management. She has a DBA in Strategic Management from Alliant International University. Prior to joining APU, Helm-Stevens worked in public and private industry for 20 years, holding management positions in various industries. Throughout her corporate career, she received recognition and numerous awards for her work in performance improvement, benchmarking, and best practices.
    November 1, 2016
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    Meet the Faculty: Louise Huang, Ph.D.
    Louise Huang, Ph.D., is the director of APU’s Center for Research in Science, which promotes research exploring the inseparable relationships between science, faith, and culture. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry. She earned her Ph.D. in Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry from the University of California, Davis. Her areas of expertise include chemical education, environmental sustainability and stewardship, and polymer chemistry.
    November 29, 2016
  • Watch Now
    Meet the Faculty: Nery Gabriel Lemus, MFA
    Nery Gabriel Lemus is a Los Angeles-based artist and director of Azusa Pacific’s Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art. The subjects in his work range from issues of division, stereotype, and immigration to problems in society that can lead to the failure of families. Lemus received his BFA at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and his MFA at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Lemus also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout Southern California, as well as national and international galleries.
    February 11, 2019
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    Meet the Faculty: Paul Saville, Ph.D., CSCS
    Paul Saville, Ph.D., CSCS, serves the students of Azusa Pacific as an associate professor, mentor, and mental performance coach. His passion for sport, fitness, and psychology led him to pursue a doctoral degree in health and exercise psychology at McMaster University where he engaged in a wide range of scholarly projects. Saville was a key contributor on several published works including two book chapters, six peer-reviewed journal articles, and several scholarly presentations. His most recent research involves exploring the connections between athletic identity, religious orientation, and student-athlete well-being.
    March 25, 2019
  • Watch Now
    Meet the Faculty: Timothy Samoff, MFA
    Tim Samoff, MFA, is a professor and the program director for the B.A. in Games and Interactive Media in APU’s College of the Arts. For more than 30 years, he has worked as a game, UX, interactive, and web designer, having designed and produced more than 40 game titles and many other digital media projects. He holds a BFA in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of the Arts and an MFA in Interactive Design and Game Development from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
    January 24, 2019
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    Meet the Faculty: David Dyer, Ph.D.
    David Dyer, Ph.D., is executive director of the Master of Science in Biotechnology program at Azusa Pacific University. Dyer received his B.S. in Genetics from the University of California at Davis, and his Ph.D. degree in biology with an emphasis in molecular mechanisms of central nervous system repair from the University of California at Irvine. He established the research and development division of Woodward Laboratories, Inc., focused on transdermal drug delivery system development, and holds several U.S. and international patents for his work in this area. Dyer has also guided Phase IV clinical research and development in the area of central nervous system anti-epileptic drug product development for UCB, Inc., and has served as an industry consultant for drug product development and clinical testing.
    January 10, 2017
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    Meet the Faculty: Diana Lynn Woods, PhD, APRN-BC, FGSA
    Diana Lynn Woods, PhD, is an associate professor in Azusa Pacific University’s School of Nursing, as well as a nurse practitioner, and researcher. Her focus centers on developing and disseminating new knowledge to strengthen humanistic care for persons with dementia. She brings 25 years of experience researching Alzheimer’s Disease, specifically behavioral symptoms of dementia and sleep disturbances, nonpharmacological and interventions, and understanding the biobehavioral factors, genetic, neuroendocrine, and behavioral indices of stress that contribute to BSD.
    February 21, 2018
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    Meet the Faculty: John Burdett, Ed.D.
    John Burdett, Ed.D, facilitates the Instrumental Studies program in Azusa Pacific’s School of Music, leads the band division, and teaches undergraduate and graduate students. His research interests includes the experiences of students with hearing loss in instrumental music, the performance practice of symphonic compositions with Spanish and Latin American stylistic influences, the psycho-social components of conducting, the democratization of decision making in large concert ensembles, and increasing accessibility to music education for marginalized student populations. Burdett has conducted honor ensembles in Texas and California, adjudicated performance competitions, and was the founding music director and conductor of the Southern California Philharmonic from 2001-05.
    September 27, 2016
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Faculty Notes

  • Huang, L. K. (2020, October). 2020 STEM workforce development at APU [$10,000 grant award]. California Space Grant Consortium.

  • Musa, B. A. (2020, November). Glocalizing communication epistemologies in the age of global crises: The role of prosocial entertainment [Paper presentation]. 106th National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention.

    Musa, B. A. (2020, November). Glocal communication and development alternatives for sub-Saharan Africa: Perspectives on MDGs, post-colonial policy-making and culture-change [Paper presentation]. 106th National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Convention.

  • Dunaetz, D. R. (2020, October). Church-based research: Challenges and opportunities. Great Commission Research Journal, 12(1), 1-17.

    Dunaetz, D. R. (2020). [Review of the book A life that is good: The message of Proverbs in a world waiting for wisdom, by G. Pemberton]. Religious Studies Review, 46(3), 387.

  • Hanson, J. L. (2020, November). Testing the relationship between teachers’ epistemological beliefs (EB) and a faculty’s school growth mindset: Inter-cultural comparison of EB between east and west. Journal of Organizational Psychology, 20(4), 30-54.

    Hanson, J. L. & Yu, C. H. (2020, December). Using data visualization and data science to explore self-efficacy in the classroom and academic mindset by grouping demographic variables. Journal of Education and Practice, 11(22), 1-12.

  • Hanson, J. L. & Yu, C. H. (2020, December). Using data visualization and data science to explore self-efficacy in the classroom and academic mindset by grouping demographic variables. Journal of Education and Practice, 11(22), 1-12.

  • Lopez Medel, I. (2020, December). Comunicação e liderança em contexto de pandemia: estudo de caso de Andrew Cuomo como governador de Nova Iorque [Communication and Leadership in the context of a pandemic: A case study of Andrew Cuomo as Governor of New York]. In F. R. Cádima & I. Ferreira (Eds.), Perspectivas multidisciplinares da comunicação em contexto de pandemia [Multidisciplinary perspectives of Communication on pandemic context] (pp. 198-211). Facultade de Ciencias Sociales e Humanas [Social and Human Sciences Faculty], Universidade Nova de Lisboa [NOVA University Lisbon].

  • Martin, L. A., Hsu, F. W., Herd, B., Gregg, M., Sample, H., & Kaplan, J. (2020, December). Executive functions in agenesis of the corpus callosum: Working memory and sustained attention in the BTBR inbred mouse strain. Brain and Behavior. Advance online publication.

  • Yafeh-Deigh, A. (2020, November). Children, motherhood, and the social death of childless women: The social and theological construction of infertility in the Hebrew Bible and in Cameroon. Biblical Interpretation, 28(5), 608-634.

    Yafeh-Deigh, A. (2020). A re-evaluation of Jesus and his family’s migration story through the framework of inter-dependent hospitality. In M. W. Dube & P. L. Leshota (Eds.), Breaking the master’s S.H.I.T. holes: Doing theology in the context of global migration (pp. 25-37). Evangelische Verlagsanstalt.

    Yafeh-Deigh, A. (2020). African feminist theology. In E. K. Bongmba (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of African theology (pp. 85-104). Routledge.

  • Hanson, J. L. (2020, November). Promoting leaders’ sense of belonging on the job and desire to stay [Video presentation and group session]. UCEA 2020 Annual Asynchronous Sessions.

    Hanson, J. L. (2021, January). New model of elements supporting leaders' self-efficacy on the job and desire to stay [Asynchronous session presentation]. American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting.

    Hanson, J. L. (2021, January). Testing the relationship between growth mind-set, collective efficacy, and academic outcomes [Asynchronous session presentation]. American Educational Research Association (AERA) 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting.

  • Wong, M. S. (2020, September 17 - December 31). [Program participant] English Language Specialist Program to Vietnam, U.S. Department of State.

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