Baylor welcomed new faculty members to the campus and announced new roles for returning members.
Elizabeth (Lizzie) Aviv is the inaugural upper school Baylor Teaching Fellow. She graduated from Dartmouth with a B.A. in English and this past year served as an assistant crew coach at Cranbrook Kingswood in Michigan. She will be teaching upper school English, coaching crew and residing on campus.
Billy Berry joins the Baylor faculty-staff as head varsity baseball coach in 2015. Mr. Berry comes to Baylor from Tennessee Wesleyan College where, in 10 seasons, he led the Bulldogs to a record of 433-166, and a conference record of 189-41 including nine conference championships. A native of Richmond, Va., Mr. Berry earned a B.S. degree in physical education from Bluefield College where he was a three-time first team All-Conference selection and was inducted into the Bluefield College Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Jackie, are the parents of three children: Brady, Brooks, and Brynlee.
Vince Betro will be returning to Chattanooga from Oak Ridge where he held a joint appointment with UTK and the Oak Ridge National Labs. He has a B.S. in Mathematics and Secondary Education from UTC as well as an M.S. and Ph.D in Computational Engineering from UTC. He will be teaching upper school math and working with the new afternoon program for engineering and design.
Justin Burner will be moving to Chattanooga with his wife, Lisa, who has accepted an assistant professor position in the Spanish Department at Sewanee. He has several years of teaching experience in Villa Grove, Illinois, Washington D.C. and China (he is fluent in Chinese). He has his B.A. in Mathematics from Colby College and an M.S. in Teaching Mathematics from the University of Illinois. He will be teaching middle school math and providing academic support.
Fritsl Butler is a 2007 Baylor alum and is returning to Chattanooga. She has been a member of the faculty at Saint Andrew’s-Sewanee School and most recently Harpeth Hall School. She has her B.A. from the University of the South, Sewanee. She will be teaching upper school Spanish and working with the Walkabout program.
A 2007 graduate of Baylor, Jen Clemmer combines much of what she loved about the school - academics, athletics, and student life - into the roles she assumes in 2015. Ms. Clemmer will serve as the assistant director of Student Activities, staff the Baylor Learning Center in the evenings, coach soccer, work with Walkabout, and live on the campus as a dorm parent. While earning a B.S. in biology from Denison University, Ms. Clemmer was an All-American soccer player on a nationally ranked team. She is currently working toward a master's degree in education.
Trey Joyner will join the Baylor community with his wife Laura and four children Olivia (12), Grady (10), Jax (4), and Bryce (3). He has many years of teaching experience and most recently served as the lead science teacher at Normal Park Museum Magnet School. He has a B.S. and M.S. in Middle Grades Education/ Science both from Georgia Southern University. He will be teaching middle school science and coaching football and baseball.
Jake Kennedy is the inaugural middle school Baylor Teaching Fellow. He recently graduated from the University of the South, Sewanee and is a 2011 Baylor alum. He will be teaching middle school civics and geography, working with the Walkabout program and residing on campus.
Julie King joins the Baylor community with her husband, Doug Harter, and her sons, Trey, Cam '17, and Chris. She has many years of experience as a library media specialist and virtual collaboration coach and most recently served as the director of technology at the Episcopal School of Knoxville. She has a B.A. from SUNY Potsdam, an M.I.S. from SUNY Albany and an Ed.S in instructional technology from UTK. She is the director of the Hedges Library and teaches Literacy Strategies.
Mike Kinney will join son, Cooper, a sixth grader, and wife, Lori, administrative assistant in Admissions, on campus. Mr. and Mrs. Kinney live in Dayton and have two younger daughters. Mr. Kinney is a veteran math teacher of 20 years and is coming to Baylor after serving as head of the math department at Rhea County High School. He has a B.S. in Secondary Education/Math and an M.S. in Educational Leadership both from Tennessee Technical University. He will be teaching middle school math and coaching football and baseball.
Averil Liebendorfer is an experienced educator who taught at the Saint James School where she also served as a dorm parent and coach, and was most recently a teacher at the Boys Latin School of Maryland. She has her B.A. in Spanish History from Furman University. She will teach middle school Spanish and coach basketball and lacrosse.
Mary Loveless has returned to Chattanooga with her husband, who is an assistant professor at UTC. She has taught Engineering Programming at UTC as an adjunct professor and has served as an instructor for many years with the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt University. She has her B.S. in Computer Science from UTC and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University. She will be teaching upper school science.
Doug MacMillan will be director of Institutional Advancement. He is a founding partner of Collins/MacMillan consulting firm and has served as vice president of Institutional Advancement at Wesleyan College, associate vice president of Advancement at Union Presbyterian Seminary, and director of Development at Columbia Theological Seminary. Prior to his career in development, Mr. MacMillan was a pastor and new church developer for the Presbyterian Church (USA) for nearly a decade. He received a bachelor's degree in religion from the University of Georgia and an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary. Mr. MacMillan and his wife, Nikki, have two sons at Baylor: Will '18 and Sam '20.
New Roles for Returning Faculty
Bett Adams, an 11-year veteran and member of the Baylor Class of 2002, will become the new director of Camp Walkabout. In his new capacity, he will be responsible for both the marketing and operations of Camp Walkabout, and he will have a hand in the boarding recruitment efforts. Mr. Adams graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in English Literature and minors in Spanish and business. He has previously worked in a variety of roles in Baylor's Walkabout program and has served as a dorm parent.
Eli Anderson-Barrera will be the next chair of the World Languages Department. He has been at Baylor since 2004 as a teacher and coach. He has a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, an M.A. from La Universidad de Interamericana Puerto Rico and a second masters from La Universidad de Salamanca (funded in part by a Barks-Guerry Global Study Grant). He lives downtown with his daughter Rosa, Class of 2021, and wife Vivian.
Eighteen-year veteran faculty member Heather Biebel is stepping into the role of college counselor during the first semester while Ann Katherine Taylor, associate director of College Counseling, is on maternity leave.
Allison Lamb will be expanding her teaching role by taking on all of the middle school theater arts courses. She has her B.F.A. from Baylor University.
Elizabeth Roemer, in addition to her work in College Counseling, will be taking on the role of testing coordinator. In this role she will coordinate the planning and execution of all standardized testing at Baylor. She will also participate in the analysis of testing data and in the annual review of the standardized testing program.