Lee Welcomes 10 New Faculty To Its College Of Arts & Sciences

Lee University welcomes 20 new faculty members to its campus this fall, 10 of which join the College of Arts and Sciences. 

Dr. Brandon Rodgers joins Lee’s Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences as an assistant professor of marriage and family therapy. Prior to Lee, he served as the director of Behavioral Health Services at Siskin Children’s Institute and as a faculty member at the University of Tennessee (UT) in its College of Medicine. He has over seven years’ experience teaching pediatric residents and medical students.

Dr. Rodgers received his Doctorate of Philosophy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and his Master of Arts and Bachelor of Science from Appalachian State University. 

Dr. Jennifer Thomas joins Lee’s Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences as an assistant professor of school counseling. She is returning to her alma mater from the Christian Academy school system, where she was a middle and high school counselor. While there, she developed a comprehensive counseling program for students in grades 6-12. She also served as coordinator of advanced placement courses and testing and designed and delivered career curriculum for grades 9-12.  

Dr. Thomas received her PhD from Regent University and her Master of Science and Bachelor of Arts from Lee.  

Dr. Ruth Wienk joins Lee’s Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences as an assistant professor of sociology. She was previously an instructor and graduate teaching assistant at South Dakota State University, where she taught introduction to sociology, introduction to sociology honors, courtship and marriage, and teaching sociology. Dr. Wienk was also an adjunct at Black Hills State University College of Education teaching linguistics and language assessments as hybrid courses. 

Dr. Wienk received her PhD from South Dakota State University, her MS from Shenandoah University, and her BS from Southeastern University.

John Bland joins Lee’s Department of Communication Arts as a visiting lecturer in public relations. He most recently served as director of public relations/university communications at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. While there, he was responsible for coordinating communications outreach with colleagues in seven colleges, several multidisciplinary centers and institutes, and he served as the university spokesperson. He has taught topics in public relations, public speaking, and created the UNCC’s first media relations course. 

Mr. Bland received his Master of Business Administration from Queens University of Charlotte and his BS from the University of Tennessee. 

Kimberly Lyon joins Lee’s Department of Communication Arts as a visiting lecturer in journalism. She comes into this role from Lee’s College of Arts & Sciences, where she served an administrative role in overseeing the daily activities and providing support for the five departments within the college. Prior to Lee, she served as a reporter and columnist for the Bradley News Weekly for three years, where she covered local news and school systems with a weekly publication servicing 40,000 readers.

Ms. Lyon received her BA from Lee and is scheduled to receive her MA this fall. 

Beecher Reuning joins the Department of Communication Arts as an assistant professor of Cinema. He comes into this role from teaching part time at Lee as a digital media studies instructor.  While in this role, he taught students the basic principles and terminology associated with video production in the modern digital environment. 

Prior to this, Mr. Reuning served as an adjunct professor for Regent University teaching single camera directing. He also served as a freelance videographer and producer for BeecherFeature Productions where he marketed, produced, wrote, and edited video content for online, television, radio, and broadcast all over the United States.

Mr. Reuning received his Master of Fine Arts from Regent University and his BS from Lee. 

Dr. Mark Scully joins Lee’s Department of History, Political Science and Humanities as an assistant professor of political science. He comes to Lee from University of the Ozarks where he served as assistant professor of political science, teaching classes such as American national government, American presidency, congress and the legislative process, and political parties. 

He also served as the NCAA faculty athletic representative, faculty advisor to Model United Nations, on the Professional Development and Student Enrichment Committee, and as a member of the Assessment Committee.  He received the Bagwell Outstanding Faculty Award in 2016 and was listed in “40 Under 40: Professors Who Inspire” in 2015. 

Dr. Scully received his PhD and MA from Baylor University, and his BA from St. Johns College.  

Jennifer Minutolo joins Lee’s Department of Natural Science and Mathematics as a senior lecturer in mathematics. She has most recently served as an associate professor of mathematics for Cleveland State Community College. Prior to this, she was the coordinator of learning support at Cleveland State. In this role, she coordinated the coursework in reading, writing, and mathematics.

Ms. Minutolo received her Master of Arts in Teacher from University of Florida and her BS from Lee.

Dr. Richard Moy joins Lee’s Department of Natural Science and Mathematics as an assistant professor of mathematics. He comes to Lee from Willamette University, where he served as a visiting assistant professor in the mathematics department.  Prior to this, he was a graduate teaching assistant in the mathematics department for Northwestern University. He was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award from Northwestern 2014.

Dr. Moy received his PhD from Northwestern University and his MS and BS from University of Illinois.

Dr. Herman Odens joins the Department of Natural Science and Mathematics as an associate professor of organic chemistry. He has most recently served as an adjunct professor of chemistry at UTC.  Prior to this, he was a professor of chemistry at Southern Adventist University, where he taught for six years. While at UTC, he lectured and instructed chemistry courses and laboratories for undergraduate students.

He was awarded the Adviser of the Year for 2016-2017 at Southern Adventist University.

Dr. Odens received his PhD from University of Florida, his MS from West Virginia University, and his BS from University of South Alabama.