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The Lee University Board of Directors recently a warded promotion in rank to nine faculty members. Five faculty were promoted to professor and four were promoted to associate professor.

The faculty members promoted to professor are Drs. David Broersma, Aaron Johnson, Lisa Long, Thomas Pope, and Alexander Steffanell.

Broersma joined Lee’s Department of Language and Literature as an associate professor of TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and linguistics in 2014, where he teaches courses such as English Language Structure and Theory, Second Language Acquisition, and Introduction to Linguistics. Prior to Lee, he lived and worked for 17 years in Moscow, Russia, at the Russian-American Christian University and Hinkson Christian Academy. He also served as faculty for the Master of Arts (MA) in TESOL at LCC International University in Klaipeda, Lithuania. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) and MA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Purdue University.

Johnson joined Lee’s Department of History, Political Science, and Humanities in 2010. He has held fellowships at Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies (Harvard University), the Society of Fellows at the University of Chicago, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the University of Tuebingen (Germany). His publications include books published by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, over 20 scholarly articles, and many dictionary entries and book reviews. He earned a PhD and MA from the University of Colorado and a BA from Colorado Christian University.

Long joined the Lee faculty in 2006 and currently serves as the director of Graduate Programs in the Christian Ministries Department. She is a membe r of the Society of Professors in Christian Education, the Society for Pentecostal Studies, and an area book review editor for the “Journal of Christian Education.” Her area of expertise is practical theology in relation to Christian formation, and she teaches courses on preaching, spiritual formation, and practical theology on both the undergraduate and graduate levels. She earned a PhD from Biola University, an MA from the Church of God Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) from Lee University.

Pope joined the faculty in Lee’s Department of History, Political Science, and Humanities in 2010, where he teaches coursework in political theory and constitutional law. He takes a deep interest in academic excellence, serving as director of Lee University’s honors program, Kairos Scholars. He also serves as the university’s pre-law advisor and LSAC liaison, advising students across majors who are preparing for law school. His research explores the relationship between political theory and practice, particularly with regard to social contract theory and American political institutions. Pope earned his PhD and MA from Baylor University and his BA from Berry College.

Born in Colombia, South America, Steffanell joined Lee’s Department of Language and Literature in 2007. His research interests include women’s convent writing, Latin American literature and culture, faith-oriented pedagogy, and literary criticism in the Spanish-speaking world. He serves as a board member to a variety of colleges, universities, and seminaries in Latin America; is a peer reviewer and editor for academic journals; and is an international guest lecturer for doctoral programs in education and foreign languages in Latin America. He earned a PhD from the University of Florida, an MA from Miami University of Ohio, and a BA from Universidad del Atlantico, Colombia.

The faculty members promoted to associate professor are Dr. Lenena Brezna, Dr. Joseph Daft, Jordan Holt, and Dr. Christopher Stephenson.

Brezna joined Lee’s School of Music in 2014 as an assistant professor of voice. Prior to Lee, she was an adjunct instructor for music appreciation at the University of Memphis and voice instructor at Northeast Mississippi Community College. She has taught voice and piano privately to students of all ages and has received acclaim in a variety of operatic roles, along with solo and concert presentations. She received a Doctor of Music Arts from the University of Memphis, a Master of Fine Arts from Louisiana State University, and a BA from the University of Mississippi.

Daft joined Lee’s College of Arts and Sciences as an assistant professor of biology and health science in 2015. He teaches courses in health science, microbiology, and anatomy. He earned his doctorate in pathology with a focus on diabetes-based pathology and immunology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and his BS from Juniata College. While at UAB, he served as a graduate research assistant and teaching assistant. He has also been a research fellow at the University of Toledo and an adjunct professor at the University of Montevallo.

Holt joined the university’s full-time faculty in 2015, where he teaches graphic design, illustration, art history, and theory courses for the Communication Arts Department. Prior to joining Lee, Holt served in a variety of commercial and non-profit graphic design roles, such as the media and marketing manager at The Torch Worship Center, an assistant media manager for Bryan College, and a graphic designer at Wadel Media in Chattanooga. He also maintains a freelance illustration business. Holt received his MFA in illustration from Academy of Art University and a BS from Lee University.

Stephenson began teaching in Lee’s Department of Theology in 2008. He is an internationally-recognized scholar of Pentecostalism and ecumenism. He is the author of “Types of Pentecostal Theology: Method, System, Spirit,” and his current research includes a project titled “Redeeming Rituals: Baptism and Lord’s Supper in Pneumatological Perspective.” He has participated in ecumenical dialogues with the Catholic Church, the World Council of Churches, and the Mennonite Church USA. He received a PhD from Marquette University and an MA and BA from Lee.