Regent Presents Faculty with Excellence Awards

With 2015 already off and running, Regent employees packed the Communications Building Dede Robertson Theatre on Tuesday, Jan. 27, and joined hands in prayer to ask God’s blessing on the new year. Regent’s faculty members were invited to gather to recognize God’s provision to the university and the dedication of those who have gone above and beyond in their calling to serve.

Recipients of the Fall 2014 Faculty Excellence Awards were recognized, as were faculty and staff for their years of service. Eric Harrell, MFA associate professor of theatre in the School of Communication & the Arts received the Faculty Excellence Award in the area of teaching. He’s nationally recognized in the field of integrated voice and movement training for actors.

“He advocates a holistic approach to actor training, and in the past ten years, has served approximately 100 dissertation, thesis and comprehensive exam committees. That’s in addition to teaching a full load of courses each semester,” said Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riano, executive vice president of academic affairs. “His former students are performing on Broadway, in network and cable television series, in theaters across the country and with international touring companies.”

Receiving the Faculty Excellence Award in the area of scholarship was Dr. Glen Moriarty, associate professor in the school of Psychology & Counseling. He’s the author of four books, seven invited book chapters and 13 journal articles, all about ways to comprehend and work with emotional reactions that people have to God, particularly in therapy. As a professor in the School of Psychology and Counseling, he writes about and directs dissertations about this topic in addition to researching how technology and psychology can be integrated to help scale mental health services.

Dr. Jenny Sue Flannagan, associate professor in the School of Education, was recognized for her creativity and resourcefulness in leading teachers of science to higher levels of learning. She received Regent’s Fall 2014 Faculty Excellence Award in the area of service. Within the past three years, she has received several state grants and was elected as President of the Virginia Association of Science Educators. Virginia’s governor has appointed her to Virginia’s Standards of Learning Review Committee, and she is known to be one of the best leaders in Virginia in the area of Science Education.

In addition to recognizing Regent’s highly-acclaimed faculty, the meeting encouraged everyone who works at Regent to keep working hard as the school grows to meet its enrollment goals. Founder, chancellor and CEO of Regent University, Dr. M.G. “Pat” Robertson, held out his hand and said he had five words for all Regent employees, “I am proud of you.” He highlighted the increased interest, application and enrollment of students and the accomplishments of current students, like Regent’s Moot Court team placing third in the nation.

The meeting also kicked off Regent’s United Way Campaign. The university is asking all employees to consider donating $5 per month to a charity or impact fund of their choice through the United Way. This organization takes a low overhead for operating costs and was selected because it is aligned with Regent’s beliefs and values.

Regent’s human resources department says it’s injected some competitive fun into the effort. Employees who donate can participate in an interdepartmental Lego structure building contest.