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.
Establishing personal relationships with your professors can change your college experience. Learn more about forming connections with faculty!Connecting With Your Professors
Faculty Search
Meet the Faculty
- Meet the Faculty: Kathryn Ecklund, PhDKathryn Ecklund, PhD, is chair and professor for the Department of Psychology at Azusa Pacific University. She has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Biola University. Ecklund’s research areas include racial/ethnic identity development of Euro-Americans, racial and cultural identity development in children, and best practices in culturally competent clinical service provision to diverse children and families.
- Meet the Faculty: Lishelle Grant, MA, MFTLishelle Grant, MA, MFT, has been a licensed marriage and family therapist since 2003, and is passionate about walking alongside students on their journey to becoming psychotherapists. As the director of clinical training for the MA in Clinical Psychology program at the Orange County Regional Campus, she supports students in their transition to practicum work. She also enjoys teaching at APU and supervising trainees and interns in individual and group settings. Her clinical work focuses on helping women, teens, and couples work through barriers to emotional, relational, and spiritual wholeness. She is experienced in the areas of depression, anxiety, parenting, marital distress, grief/loss, and trauma/abuse.
- Meet the Faculty: B.J. Oropeza, PhDB.J. Oropeza, PhD, is a professor of biblical studies in the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies at Azusa Pacific University. He has a PhD in New Testament Theology from Durham University and has served as an author or editor on numerous books and publications, including Apostasy in the New Testament Communities, Jesus and Paul: Global Perspective in Honor of James D.G. Dunn, and The Gospel According to Superheroes: Religion and Popular Culture.
- Meet The Faculty: Elizabeth Lopez, PhD, RN, FNP-CElizabeth Lopez, PhD, RN, FNP-C, is an assistant professor in the undergraduate nursing program at Azusa Pacific University. She brings extensive experience in the acute, home health, psychiatric mental health, community health, and school health settings. Lopez views her teaching role as an opportunity to prepare the next generation of nurses to care for and serve God's people.
- Meet the Faculty: Todd Pheifer, EdDTodd Pheifer, EdD, finds excitement in the endless possibilities and applications that exist within the business world. As an assistant professor in Azusa Pacific University’s School of Business and Management, he challenges students to think critically about what we can learn from past leaders and thinkers while seeking to bring change for the future. Pheifer teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of business ethics, organizational behavior, and leadership development. He is the author of Business Ethics: The Search for an Elusive Idea.
- Meet the Faculty: Louise Huang, PhDLouise Huang, PhD, 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 PhD 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.
- Meet the Faculty: Diana Lynn Woods, PhD, APRN-BC, FGSADiana 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.
- Meet the Faculty: Brian Collisson, PhDBrian Collisson, PhD, is a social psychologist and assistant professor in Azusa Pacific University’s Department of Psychology. He and his team of graduate and undergraduate students conduct research at the interface of social perception (people’s impressions of others), prejudice, and close relationships. His team’s work has been published in scholarly journals—Psychological Science, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, and Social Psychological & Personality Science—and has garnered popular media attention.