PROFESSORS EMERITI

DR. GARY LEBLANC

Dr. Gary Leblanc was appointed Professor Emeritus February 22, 2013. He started teaching at Atlantic Baptist College in 1972 and was a full time professor until 2003. He then taught part time for another decade. During Gary’s career, he was primarily Professor of Sociology, but also for some years, served as Dean of Campus Life, a member of the President's Council, a member of the Committee which established the new campus on Gorge Road, and was the faculty representative on the Board of Governors. Today he is an elder at the Cherryfield Baptist Church, which helps to keep him busy. He also meets each week with friends for coffee and prayer and enjoys hosting children and grandchildren.

DR. STEPHEN DEMPSTER

Dr. Stephen Dempster was named Professor Emeritus in 2021. He taught for 37 years in the Religious Studies department. In the early days he taught four courses each semester, led student ministry teams once a month, coached sports teams, and was involved in intramural sports. Presently, he is involved in his church as an elder, attends a weekly prayer group, occasionally preaches, teaches as an adjunct in various schools, edits a commentary series, participates on a steering committee for biblical theology at the Evangelical Theological Society, and continues to write on theological topics. Stephen keeps his mind active in retirement by reading and writing, memorizing Scripture, exercising, and listening to podcasts.

DR. DOUGLAS MANTZ

Dr. Douglas Mantz was appointed Professor Emeritus in 2013. 48 years ago, Dr. Douglas Mantz became Atlantic Baptist College’s first English Professor. Over the next almost 40 years he designed and led the university’s English program, founded the world-class Oxford Study program, led the annual fall foliage walk, and as public relations officer designed the university coat of arms. His students may remember that he began classes with a prayer inviting them to “make a leap into the unknown” and indicating why this part of entertaining social history would be worthwhile, in addition to picking up better English skills from best models by osmosis. For local TV, he directed Pilgrim’s Progress, the Musical and the comedy of the Curl, starring student actors and musicians. He published The First 50 Years, an illustrated anecdotal day-to-day history diary of the university—one of his SIX books of humour, most written since he became a professor emeritus.

DR. CAROL THORNE ('64)

Dr. Carol Thorne was named Professor Emerita in February 2013. Her connection with the University began in 1962 when she became a student at United Baptist Bible Training School (UBBTS). In 1967, she returned to Moncton after finishing her BA at Gordon College in Wenham, MA and taught French at UBBTS during the final two years of that institution before it became Atlantic Baptist College. After spending 14 years in Cameroon doing linguistic research, translation, and literacy work among the Tikar people, Carol returned home permanently in 1988 and began teaching mainly French, Linguistics, and Cultural Anthropology at Atlantic Baptist College and then at Atlantic Baptist University. Carol taught several courses at Crandall University until she retired in December 2018, meaning that she has taught at all “phases” of the institution.

After retiring, in addition to continuing to be an active member of her home church, Hillside Baptist, she also served two 3-year terms on the Board of Canadian Baptist Ministries.

Working on a variety of projects has helped keep her mind active in this retirement phase of her life. Those projects include creating an online version of the French Placement Test; preparing a trilingual dictionary (Tikar-French-English) so that it could be made into an app that is now on the Google PlayStore; and helping to translate into French CBM’s Vennture curriculum that is being used to train church leaders in East Africa. Carol also continues to organize annual reunions for UBBTS alumni, which is her way of giving back to the institution which has been such a big part of her life over the years.

DR. DANNIE BROWN

Dr. Dannie Brown was named Associate Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus in November 2023. He taught for 26 years in total and was the head of the Business program from 1982-2003. He was also the Dean of International Academic Programs (IAP), later named "Graduate Studies" from 2018-2022, and officially retired in 2023.

Dannie chooses to serve his Lord and church community by being a regular member of the worship team, leader, and musician at The Drive Baptist Church in Fredericton. He also regularly helps with the weekly food bank at the church.

To keep his mind active during retirement, Dannie continues to serve as an adjunct professor at Crandall University and he and Dr. Hack-Polay have a journal article that is currently in the review process for publication.