Four Join OBU Faculty for Fall

July 13, 2004

Oklahoma Baptist University recently announced the hiring of four new faculty members for the 2004-05 academic year, adding to the three announced earlier.

Dr. John Farris returns as associate professor of education after two years away, Grady Timothy Tew will serve as associate professor of Bible/Old Testament, Michelle Coletta will serve as assistant professor of music, and Keely Robertson will serve as director and instructor of English as a second language.

Farris comes back to OBU from Cumberland College in Kentucky where he was chair of the Education Department, director of the graduate program and associate professor of education. He had been at OBU for three years and also has served at Fresno Pacific University, Western Baptist College and Christian Heritage College. He also has taught in several secondary schools. He received a bachelor of arts and a master of arts degree from California State University in Fresno and his doctor of education degree from the University of the Pacific.

Tew has served as a missionary to the Philippines since 1996, including work as a professor at the Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary and at the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary. He received an associate's degree from Wallace Junior College and a bachelor's degree in religion and English from the University of Mobile. He earned his master's and Ph.D. degrees from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the latter in 1993.

Coletta comes to OBU from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she was an adjunct professor. She also has taught at Cameron University, the University of Minnesota, and as a private instructor.

She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Hartford, and earned her doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Minnesota.

Robertson comes to OBU from the University of Mississippi, where she served as a graduate instructor. She also served as an adjunct professor at Northwest Community College. She earned her bachelor's degree from Mississippi College in 1991 and completed her master's degree from the University of Mississippi in 2004.

Those four join as new faculty members Brian D. Camp, who will serve as associate professor of sociology, John Powell, who was hired as associate professor of history, and C. Shawn Smith, who was named assistant professor of English.

Dr. Camp comes to OBU from Louisiana Tech University, where he was associate professor of family and child studies and director of the university's Center for Children and Families. He was a Huckaby Endowed Professor and had been at LTU since 1993.

Camp earned his bachelor of science degree in family relations and child development, with a second major in consumer economics, from Oklahoma State University in 1984. He earned his master's degree in marriage and family therapy from Kansas State University in 1989 and his Ph.D. degree in family studies from Texas Tech University in 1995.

Dr. Powell comes to Shawnee from Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Ky., where he had been associate professor of history since 1999. He also has served as associate professor of history Pennsylvania State University (Erie, Penn.) and Hannibal-LaGrange College in Hannibal, Mo. He was a visiting professor for the University of Evansville and Harlaxton College, England, as well as teacher from 1978-82, sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention at Morrison Academy in Hsinchu, Taiwan.

Powell received his bachelor's degree in journalism (1976), master's degree in modern East Asia (1981) and Ph.D. degree in modern Britain (1986) all from Texas Tech.

Dr. Smith from 2002-04 was visiting professor of English at the University of Southern Indiana. He previously had served as adjunct assistant professor of English at the University of Dallas and was with UD from 1999-2002. He also was instructor of English at Southeastern Illinois College from 1995-96.

Smith received his bachelor's degree in English composition, summa cum laude, from the University of Evansville in 1993. He earned his first master's degree in 1995 in English and American literature from Washington University in St. Louis, and a second in English in 1998 from the University of Dallas.

He completed his Ph.D. degree with honors in literature from the University of Dallas in 2001.