WORKING OUT OF THIS WORLD

Johnny Berry

WORKING OUT OF THIS WORLD

JOHNNY BERRY ’08 had been teaching high school math and science for five and a half years after graduating from Southeastern. What he never could have guessed is that the next step in his career would be a position as a NASA flight controller for the International Space Station (ISS).

With a growing history of four years at NASA, Johnny has worked his way from a timeline-change officer in the planning and analysis branch, where he created daily schedules for the astronauts, to his current position on the operations side as a specialist operations controller.

“The job I do now is so different from anything I thought I would ever do,” said Johnny.

Stationed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., Johnny is one of 6,000 workers employed at what is one of NASA’s largest field centers. With a budget of approximately $2.8 billion, it has been home to some of the most significant quests in history, such as the Apollo moon missions of the 1960s and ’70s.

Johnny works hands on with scientists and payload developers, helping them get their experiments ready to be executed on the space station. This includes determining the proper hardware and resources required, training crews and being present to troubleshoot once the experiment is in motion.

“There are times when the crew needs to be trained on how to operate a payload, so I typically help out on whichever payload I’m currently working with,” said Johnny.

“As we get into execution and the crew is actually conducting the experiment, I’m there to work with them and help finetune the details.”

Johnny Berry '08 and his wife, Amanda

Seeing as the ISS works off the Greenwich Mean Time zone (GMT), which is six hours ahead of the East Coast, Johnny’s position is never the typical nine to five. Rather, it is an around-the-clock operation, depending on what mission he’s currently assigned to.

“With flight control, we are 24/7, 365,” said Johnny. “All of the people working flight control positions gave up a lot to do so.”

Although he started out on a rotating schedule as a timeline-change officer, Johnny’s new role requires him to be on console while his experiment is running on the space station. When that’s not the case, he works on developing products in his office for the next payload.

“What I do every day is so different, but on the whole, it’s really working with people. Southeastern taught me how to talk with people, how to be approachable and how to show God’s grace to people,”

Main Control Room at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville

Johnny said. “Showing that grace to those around me has just been wonderful because of the amount of doors and conversations it can open.”

Although Johnny graduated from Southeastern with a bachelor’s degree in biology and pre-medicine, he had a rough start to his college career.

“I didn’t start out so well. After my first semester, I was academically suspended and removed from the university,” said Johnny.

After making an appeal to return for the rest of the year, Johnny worked with a team of academic advisors throughout his remaining three and a half years who helped him refocus and excel in his studies.

Some of his favorite memories on campus come from his time working for the facilities department. He was the first second-shift maintenance worker hired by Southeastern.

“I remember one specific incident where I accidentally tripped the electricity inside of Bolin Hall, and every single classroom and office lost power in the middle of the school day,” Johnny recalled. “Students were coming out and thanking me for cancelling their classes.”

After graduation, Johnny began teaching high school students in Huntsville, Ala., and stayed there for three years before moving to Charlotte, N.C., where he taught AP physics, earth and environmental science.

“Teaching was kind of a natural progression of where I wanted to go and where I saw myself going. I thought it was where I’d spend the rest of my life,” said Johnny. “I really enjoyed being around the students and speaking into their lives, and a lot of that passion came from mentors who spoke into my life throughout my time at Southeastern.”

It was during his time in Charlotte that Johnny noticed a post on LinkedIn by an old friend from high school who recently transferred from the Johnson Space Center in Houston to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. She was searching for trustworthy recommendations for possible professional connections, and Johnny reached out with advice as he knew the area well.

“As a side note, I sort of joked that if there were ever any positions open at NASA to let me know. She replied that there was a job available that she thought I’d be great for and told me to send my resume. I thought it was a joke,” said Johnny.

It wasn’t until three weeks later that Johnny’s friend reached out to him again asking for his resume. At this point, he realized she was completely serious, so he

Neutral Buoyancy Lab where astronauts train for spacewalks

sent it and secured an interview two and a half months later.

“It was the worst interview of my life,” Johnny said. “It eventually became a running joke with the supervisor that hired me.”

Johnny truly thought he lost the opportunity, as it wasn’t until another two and a half months later that he heard back from NASA with the news that he got the job.

“I’ve met a dozen astronauts, been to their training facilities and traveled to Houston several times to do training inside of the space station mock-ups. This job has opened up so many crazy opportunities that I just never thought would be there,” said Johnny. “I’m definitely proud of where I’ve come from and where I’ve gone.”

Currently, Johnny is working on a jetpropulsion lab payload where scientists are taking atoms down to near absolute zeroes, the point where all motion stops. The objective is to study the atoms at extremely cold temperatures in order to get a better picture of what occurred at the universe’s formation.

It is well known that NASA’s area of expertise is in space exploration, but a lot of people don’t realize NASA has their hand in a number of other projects and studies pertaining to world issues such as diseases and disorders, clean water and food growth. “Right now they’re running about 450 different experiments on station at any one time,” said Johnny.

The microgravity of the space station’s environment allows scientists to do things they couldn’t possibly do on earth. For instance, fire burns and crystals form differently, and liquids do not flow unless pressurized.

Luckily for Johnny, scientists and payload developers are able to conduct operations on the space station from the ground through the use of robotics. “I would never go to space. I don’t even fly well so the thought of a rocket is a hundred times worse,” said Johnny.

Not only are there studies on things like climate change and meteorology, but there is also research being done on human factors. This can range from efforts to figure out a form of treatment or therapy to halt the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease to growing synthetic heart cells for patients needing cardiac stem cells to regrow their heart tissue.

“We’re growing lettuce and flowers on the space station. We’ve created water reclamation systems using recycled urine,” said Johnny. “It’s not about hoarding new technologies. These are huge advancements that NASA wants to use in underdeveloped countries.”

Johnny loves that his job allows him to explore and make discoveries, but he also acknowledges that there can be some “I work for an agency that’s always trying to answer the questions as to how it all began. I don’t let it change the faith that I have. Rather than be shaken by the results of their experiments or what they say they can prove, I look at the science and it only reaffirms that God knew everything He was doing from square one,” said Johnny.

Instead of letting the challenges discourage him, Johnny uses his surroundings as a strength in witnessing to those around him.

Johnny with astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fisher

“Now I’m not perfect, but can they tell that I’m not the same as everyone else that walks in here? That’s what matters most to me,” Johnny said. “Your faith will be tested and people will push you to try and see where your breaking point is. Remain grounded in what you know.”

For Johnny, one of the keys to staying rooted in his faith has been surrounding himself with a strong community of other Christians. Through this, he has noticed a biblical backbone in the beliefs of the people in Huntsville.

On the occasions that Johnny is not in the office, he loves to spend time outdoors. He can be found participating in anything from hiking trails, kayaking or even white-water rafting. However, on the days he needs a brain break, he opts for binge-watching TV shows like “This Is Us” or “Mars” on Netflix.

LUCAS ’05 and JENELLE (VAQUE) ’06 FERRER

ALAN ’16 and VICTORIA (BARDEGA) ’17 SHEPPARD

IN THE LIVES OF SEU ALUMNI

CHRISTINA SARA ’12

RON ROBBINS ’74

1960 ___________________________

DAWN (VOELKER) MOORE taught elementary school for 28 years before retiring. She lives in an independent living facility and is an ambassador helping other residents transition into the facility.

1971 ___________________________ PAUL HARRUP served as a pastor from 1971 until 2016 when he retired.

1972 ___________________________

CAROLYN (MORGAN) GRIFFIN is a retired church bookkeeper. She and her family now live in Ocala, Fla.

1974 ___________________________ CHARLES HILL does ministry alongside his son, co-pastoring together in Ocala, Fla.

RON ROBBINS received an academic scholarship to attend the University of South Carolina School of Law after graduating from Southeastern. He practiced law for more than 30 years. He has a law office in Landrum, S.C., and owns The Millstone Gallery, a gallery

TERRY BROOKS ’86

specializing in fine arts, fine crafts and woodwork.

1976 ___________________________

ALBERT and REBECCA (CROSS) ’78 VEALEY are retired from church ministry and now live in Quincy, Fla. They enjoy spending time with their three grandchildren.

1978 ___________________________

JEFFREY and TERESA (COOK) ULMER served as lead pastors of New Life Family Church for 20 years in Biloxi, Miss., before stepping down. Their son, Jeremy, and his wife, Kasie, assumed the lead pastor roles, and their daughter, Holly, is the ministry coordinator. They have five grandchildren.

1980 ___________________________

MARILYN (RETTIG) HANDY and her husband, Clarence, attend First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks, Fla.

1982 ___________________________ DEAN ELLIOTT has served as a missionary to southern Asia for the past 28 years. He and his wife, BRENDA, and their two children, Nathan and Lauren, live in Grand Rapids, Mich. Dean spends a lot of his time in India preaching in churches and across the U.S. speaking at missions conventions.

1984 ___________________________

EMMANUEL (ANAYO) ENUJIOKE completed marathons in all 50 states and six world marathons. After running the Antarctica Marathon in March of 2020, he earned a medal for completing a marathon in all seven continents. He currently works as an academic librarian at West Georgia Technical College.

1985 ___________________________

MADALINE (ALEXANDER) BRANUM and her husband, Gerald, serve in Europe with the Assemblies of God World Missions. 1986 ___________________________

TERRY (TEZ) BROOKS and his wife, Christine, live in Colorado Springs, Colo., with their children. Terry served as a youth pastor and then as a creative arts director at a Florida church before pursuing a career in law enforcement. In 2002, he became a missionary with Cru and lived overseas. He is now an author, screenwriter and international speaker.

ALBERT SKINNER ’86

He and his wife serve as missionaries with JesusFilm.org using film as a tool to share the gospel with unreached people.

ALBERT SKINNER and his wife, Marie, are Assemblies of God missionaries to Native American Indians. They also serve as the national directors for the Christmas Stocking Project for the Native American Indian children. The Skinners are working on building the first Native American Indian Church in Alabama.

1987 ___________________________

DR. MARISOL PELTZER wrote the book “Honoring God with Our Lips and Not Our Hearts.” She is working with the Los Angeles Educational Partnership in Los Angeles, Calif.

1989 ___________________________

JEFFREY BROOKS ’19 (MS) is a retired Army chaplain, ordained minister and the author of “Resting in God’s Shadow: Encouragement for Military Boot Camp”. He completed his undergraduate studies at Southeastern in 1989, completed his graduate degree from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998, and completed Southeastern’s master of science in professional counseling degree this past

ALLEN GRIFFIN ’94, ’14

December. Jeffrey is now a registered mental health counselor intern in Winter Haven, Fla.

1990 ___________________________ ROGER MYERS currently pastors Bayou Harvest Assembly of God in Plaquemine, La. After 28 years of foreign missions service in Belgium and France, he served as the president of the Southern Arizona Business Coalition (SABC) in Arizona and upon returning to the U.S., served at the American Indian College (AIC) in Phoenix, Ariz., for two years. After retiring from missionary service, he served as one of the founders and the academic dean of the Louisiana School of Ministry for seven years.

1991 ___________________________

JOHNNY PHILLIPS, JR., works alongside two other pastors to pastor six United Methodist churches in the upper Sandusky, Ohio, area.

1992 ___________________________

KIMBERLY (SCOTT) HEGLUND has been married to Jeff for 27 years and she assists him in ministry as a youth and associate pastor. She also teaches high

JEREMY STEFFENS ’95

school English at their church. They have two daughters, Hailey and Hope, who are both married and are elementary school teachers.

1994 ___________________________

ALLEN GRIFFIN ’14 (MA) is an itinerant evangelist and motivational speaker. Allen founded Excellerate, a national foster youth development program that empowers foster teens to live in victory through education, discipleship, mentoring and the gift of a free car.

TRACY LEWIS is a world history professor at Tulsa Community College in Oklahoma. She also teaches high school English and U.S. history at the secondlargest Christian school in Oklahoma. Tracy recently finished her fourth book, “Into the Wilderness: A Journey of Faith.”

STACY TEEL is working towards a master’s degree in higher education with an emphasis in student affairs at Tarleton State University.

1995 ___________________________ JEREMY STEFFENS has been serving as the global vice president (COO) of global brand and communications at

RODHAM RUST ’97

the International Justice Mission (IJM) in Washington D.C., since 2017. Jeremy leads the marketing and corporate communications teams in IJM’s 29 offices around the world.

1997 ___________________________ RODHAM RUST teaches adaptive behavior at Tomball Memorial High School in Tomball, Texas, and is a theology graduate student at Colorado Christian University. He is engaged to Inessa.

1999 ___________________________

JAMES CENCEBAUGH pastored four different churches over the past 15 years and planted a new church in Bradenton, Fla., in September of 2019.

2001 ___________________________

ANDREA EVANS ’11 (ME) is living in Dothan, Ala., where she serves as the program coordinator for the Special Programming for Achievement Network (SPAN) of Houston County, a GED rep program for juvenile offenders and atrisk youth. Her program was recently honored as the 2019 Agency of the Year by the Houston County Association of Service Agencies.

JAMES CENCEBAUGH ’99

2005 ___________________________

LUCAS and JENELLE (VAQUE) ’06 FERRER had their daughter Eliana Joy in September of 2019.

JAY and STEPHANIE (KARALUNAS) ’06 WORTH served as youth pastors in the Pennsylvania-Delaware District of the Assemblies of God for 10 years and then became missionary associates with Assemblies of God World Missions. They will be working with young adults and university students in Padova, Italy.

2007 ___________________________

ELIZABETH LANE won “Public Citizen of the Year” from the National Association of Social Workers Florida chapter in 2019. This award recognizes an individual, who is not a social worker, who exemplifies the values and ethics of the social work profession and demonstrates leadership. She currently serves as the coordinator of student services for the School District of Osceola County, Fla.

2009 ___________________________

JEFF SAGER (MBA) married Jacqueline in June of 2018. He works as a bookkeeper at The Air Doctor in

ANDREA EVANS ’01, ’11

Greenville, N.C. They attend Goldsboro Worship Center in Goldsboro, N.C.

2011 ___________________________

ULYSSES KING, JR., is the pastor of Memorial Tabernacle Church in Oakland, Calif. He is married to Tiffany and has authored a memoir.

TIM MAUTZ serves as the deputy emergency preparedness coordinator for Wayne County, Mich., in the Public Health Division. He played a key role in the COVID-19 outbreak response efforts for Michigan’s largest county. He is also an active member of Brightmoor Christian Church in Novi, Mich.

2012 ___________________________

MATTHEW and KASSANDRA (O’CONNOR) HOAG became the Assemblies of God South Carolina District youth directors in February. Previously, they pastored Lake Wylie Christian in Lake Wylie, S.C., for the past seven years. They have a two-yearold son, Luke, and are expecting a second child in August.

CHRISTINA SARA works in the audiovisual industry as a staff instructor at the Audiovisual and Integrated

ULYSSES KING, JR. ’11

MATTHEW and KASSANDRA (O’CONNOR) HOAG ’12

BRIGIDA WALKIN ’13, ’15

PETER ’14 and KATHERINE (CHILDS) ’13 BIGELOW

Experience Association (AVIXA). AVIXA hosts several yearly trade show conferences, including InfoComm, where attendees can receive specialized training in all types of fields within the AV industry. Chrissy travels the world teaching industry types on AVIXA’s certification program, the Certified Technology Specialist. She has maintained her hobby of horseback riding and regularly finds time to enjoy the outdoor life.

CHRIS THORNHILL works for Thrivent in St. Petersburg, Fla., as a financial advisor. He helps people make wise financial decisions and live generously combining faith and finances for good.

2013 ___________________________

BRIGIDA WALKIN ’15 (MS) was accepted to continue her research on adolescent and young adult mental health as a graduate student at King’s College London.

2014 ___________________________

PETER and KATHERINE (CHILDS) ’13 BIGELOW live in the Newark, N.J., area. Peter is currently clerking for a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the third Circuit and is an adjunct professor for Southeastern’s College of Unrestricted Education teaching essentials of business law. Katherine, a CPA, is currently staying at home with their one-year-old daughter, Caroline. The Bigelows plan to move back to Florida in the fall after Peter’s clerkship is completed.

RACHAEL (NEAL) POTGIETER married Myles in December of 2019. They will be moving to New Zealand where Myles will pursue mining and Rachael will take an administrative position with Overland Missions.

HANK TAYLOR ’16 (MBA) works with Orlando City as a sports announcer for the Orlando Pride women’s professional soccer team. He is going on his third season of announcing for the Lakeland Magic basketball team. Hank also serves as the connections minister at Foundry Church in Winter Springs, Fla.

PHILIP and JANAE (MUCKLE) TULL live in Virginia Beach, Va., and work as bivocational campus pastors at Lifehouse Virginia Beach. Janae teaches math at Old Dominion University and Phil works for his family’s financial firm, Tull Financial Group. 2015 ___________________________

RYLAN CICCARELLO was accepted as a psychiatry resident at North Florida Regional Medical Center in Gainesville, Fla., and will be working for the University of Central Florida.

2016 ___________________________

ELIZABETH (EARLEY) FROST currently teaches choir, speech, theatre and English at Gateway Christian Academy in Lake Magdalene, Fla. She has been a member of the Tampa Oratorio Singers for four years and a member of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay for three years. She was also accepted into the chorus for Andrea Bocelli.

JESSICA KURBATOV ’18 (MBA) works as the administrative operations coordinator for 6AM City in Lakeland, Fla.

JOSE QUILES MARTIN graduated this past summer from Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University with his master’s in business administration with a specialization in marketing.

BRETT RUPP is a branch manager at MidFlorida Credit Union in Lakeland, Fla.

RACHAEL (NEAL) POTGIETER ’14

ELIZABETH (EARLEY) FROST ’16

JESSICA KURBATOV ’16, ’18

JOSE QUILES MARTIN ’16

MATTHEW ’17 AND STEPHANIE (SISK) ’15 CUMMISKEY

CHRISTOPHER INTOPPA ’17, ’19

SYMANTHA (DUNCAN) ANDERSON ’18

MEGHAN (REIBLING) HUFF ’18, ’20

JEREMY ’18 and ISABELLA (FRAZIER) ’19 REYES

SEND US YOUR CLASS NOTES All submissions due by November 16, 2020, for the next issue. | Email: alumni@seu.edu | Submit online at SEU.edu/alumni Mail to: University Advancement | Southeastern University | 1000 Longfellow Blvd., Lakeland, FL 33801

CHARITY BELL ’19

ALAN and VICTORIA (BARDEGA) ’17 SHEPPARD got married in December of 2019. Victoria currently works at Southeastern as the social media strategist and Alan serves as the youth and young adults pastor at Life Church in Auburndale, Fla.

2017 ___________________________

MATTHEW and STEPHANIE (SISK) ’15 CUMMISKEY got married in December of 2019. They both work at Southeastern. Matthew is an extension site enrollment counselor and Stephanie is the associate director of admission.

CHRISTOPHER INTOPPA ’19 (MBA) is the sports information director for the Montreat College Cavaliers in Montreat, N.C.

BRITTANY (BIRDSALL) LEWIS teaches sixth- and seventh-grade math at Heron Creek Middle School in North Port, Fla. In December, she graduated with her master’s degree in administration from the University of Florida and is currently pursuing a doctorate in higher education. She married Joshua in 2019.

2018 ___________________________

SYMANTHA (DUNCAN) ANDERSON married Jordan in March of 2020 and she currently teaches voluntary prekindergarten.

BENJAMIN PEACOCK ’19

MEGHAN (REIBLING) HUFF ’20 (MS) married her husband, Alex, in December of 2019. She recently graduated from Southeastern with a master’s in professional counseling with a concentration in marriage and family counseling.

JEREMY and ISABELLA (FRAZIER) ’19 REYES got married in January of 2020. Isabella is the graduate assistant for the Office of University Advancement at Southeastern and Jeremy is the founder of Brandspark Creative and Brandspark Leads, two local marketing companies.

BRITNEY WILLIAMS works for a nonprofit as a therapist for at-risk adolescent girls. She recently passed her license exam to become a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) and will be applying to Ph.D. programs in the fall.

2019 ___________________________ CHARITY BELL started a position as a multimedia journalist at WGEM in Quincy, Ill., in February of 2020. In her free time, Charity loves making YouTube videos on “Chit Chats with Charity,” where she offers encouragement and makes videos with her family.

BENOIT DUHAMEL (MS) works as a marriage and family therapist at Family Life Counseling Center in Clermont, Fla.

ELYSE (SERRANO) WITTLINGER ’19

KATHERINE GRAY is a program manager for traditional foster care at Youthnet, a non-profit care organization in Mount Vernon, Wash.

ERIN LEHR is a residential direct care worker with Teen Challenge, Lakeland Girls Academy in Lakeland, Fla. She works with teenage girls and sees them transform into young women for God.

BENJAMIN PEACOCK is a full-time associate youth pastor at Victory Church in Lakeland, Fla. He assists the senior youth pastor, leads worship, preaches, writes curriculum, facilitates the Fine Arts ministry and performs administrative duties. He has plans to pursue his Master of Divinity at Southeastern in 2021. He will also be competing on the Hulbert Homes triathlon team.

ELYSE (SERRANO) WITTLINGER works as an assurance associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. She married her high school sweetheart, Luke, in November of 2019, and they live in Buffalo, N.Y.

2020 ___________________________

KIRSTEN SUTHERLAND was accepted into Palmer Chiropractic School in Port Orange, Fla., and will begin her program in October 2020.

CARRY TH E TORC H TE A M S

ALABAMA Gloria (Parker) Stephens ’75

CALIFORNIA Samuel Gonzales ’19

FLORIDA Nicole Bradham ’17 Sandy (AuCoin) Dennis ’88 Heather Gleason ’13, ’16 (MBA), Luis Murillo ’20, Sabrina Tu ’91,

GEORGIA Christian Baylis ’17

ILLINOIS Christina (Sara) Spurlock ’12

INDIANA Keaton Squires ’08

MICHIGAN Monica Moore-Deer ’93

NEW JERSEY Chelsea Arena ’16

NEW YORK Adam Gosser ’89

NORTH CAROLINA Carla (Harrell) Pesce ’00

OHIO Trent Thompson ’92

TENNESSEE

Todd Nelson ’93 With the goal of connecting alumni with one another and with Southeastern University, the Alumni Association has launched local Carry the Torch teams. They are currently seeking applicants to lead each team. Teams will consist of five to eight team leaders who will be responsible for promoting alumni engagement and communication in their state.

“We want our teams to have a diverse set of leaders from all class years and majors,” said JOEL K. JOHNSON ’92, director of alumni relations.

Team members will partner with Alumni Relations to create monthly newsletters, host events where alumni can reconnect, share social media posts and receive a free membership to the Alumni Association.

“These Carry the Torch Teams are going to be a great way to help bring alumni together. In my two years as the director of alumni relations at SEU, some of the most common questions I have been asked are ‘Who is in my state?’ and ‘How do I connect with alumni in my area?’” said Joel. Having alumni take on a leadership role in their state will help to keep alumni connected after their time at Southeastern ends.

“I am so excited to begin working with these alumni leaders in developing a growing, thriving and vibrant community of alumni who are fans of Southeastern,” said Joel.

The first set of Carry the Torch teams will be developed in the southeast region of the United States, including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia.

In the spring of 2021, Carry the Torch teams will expand to more states where there is interest.

If you want to be a continued part of the mission of Southeastern and help grow the ministry of the Alumni Association, visit SEU.edu/alumni/carry-the-torch for more details on how to be a part of a team.

The Alumni Association has recently launched an alumni networking group for recent graduates — Spark — which meets regularly in Lakeland and neighboring areas. Alumni are able to stop in for a cup of coffee and chat with friends from 5 to 7 p.m. Through Spark, alumni meet to share resources, form partnerships and encourage each other.

If you would like to start a Spark group in your area, please let us know. We can help you coordinate a young alumni group or even a networking group for all local alumni in your area. Contact alumni@seu.edu for more information.

A L UMNI A S SOCIATION

If you love SEU, you will love being a member of the SEU Alumni Association.

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

10% Discount at the SEU Bookstore (online or on campus)

Discount off athletic tickets

10% off Homecoming package pricing

On-campus dining discounts (Tuscana Ristorante and Portico)

Access to the campus pool and exercise facilities

Access to Steelman Library and online databases

Join the SEU Alumni Association at SEU.edu/alumni or by calling 863.667.5400.

DR. MURRAY DEMPSTER RETIRES

After a career that spanned more than 50 years in higher education, Dr. Murray Dempster retired from his position at Southeastern at the conclusion of the spring 2020 semester.

When Dempster came to Southeastern in 2010, he had already had a lengthy career at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif., where he served as the president, chancellor, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

While on the faculty of Vanguard, he even had the opportunity to teach Southeastern University President Kent Ingle in an undergraduate introduction to theology and ethics course. Over the years, Dempster became a mentor to Ingle.

“In his leadership, Murray has displayed the great characteristics it takes to uphold such responsibility. And in his own personal walk, Murray had always been instrumental in creating a solid awareness of the things that mattered in life,” said Ingle.

Dempster came to Southeastern through a connection to Dr. Bob Houlihan. He applied and interviewed at the same time his son, Marlon Dempster, was in the final round of interviews for a position as an English professor. When Dempster came to Southeastern, he used his years of knowledge and experience to teach theology classes. As an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God, Dempster had previously pastored churches in Canada and California. He also held a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies and a master’s and Ph.D. in social ethics.

During his time at Southeastern, Dempster taught religion courses and assisted the dean and religion faculty in developing a master of arts in theological studies program. He also served as the codirector of the Center for the Study of Global Pentecostalism.

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