The Catholic College of the South
In episode 12 of the Conversatio podcast, Dr. Mary Imparato, Chair of the Politics Department at Belmont Abbey College and Youthan Love, student and President of the College Republicans join Hans von Spakovsky, Director of the Heritage Foundation’s Election Law Reform Initiative to discuss election integrity in America today.
Author: The Crusader Staff Writers
Welcome to the 13 new faculty members at the college [in Fall 2022]! The departments of Accounting, Biology, English, Health Administration, Honors College, Human Services, Nursing, Psychology, Sociology, and Sport Management all have new faculty members.
Elizabeth Bookwalter
Assistant Professor of Psychology
I am excited to once again be part of the Abbey community! I earned a double major in Theology and English for my bachelor’s degree at Belmont Abbey College. During my time as a student at the Abbey I ran for the Track & Field team, focusing primarily on the 400m dash. I attended graduate school at Divine Mercy University in Virginia where I earned my Psy.D. in clinical psychology (plot twist!). Over the past 5 years, I have worked in a variety of clinical settings including a college counseling center, neuropsychology assessment, and a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. As a clinician, I am passionate about addressing trauma, complicated grief, and interpersonal dynamics.
At the Abbey, I am teaching Introduction to Psychology, Seminar in Counseling, and Senior Practicum in Applied Psychology. I am having a blast and enjoying getting to know the students in my classes. Expect to see my husband and me (and possibly our dog, Monty) at many of the Abbey Home games. Go Crusaders!
Josh Chen
Assistant Professor of Human Services
I have a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Virginia and a M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary. Previously, I spent 7 years living and working in the “hyper ghetto” of N. Philadelphia as a pastor, teacher, and professor among Black, Puerto Rican, and Cambodian communities where broken social systems meant life chances are significantly lower than among middle-class white communities. However, I also saw the beautiful possibility of a diverse community of Christians who worked to make broken things better and bring broken people to a Savior who had been broken on their behalf. It is my conviction that the church must recapture our identity as people who exist, not for ourselves, but for others (Mt. 25:40; Jas. 1:27; Jer. 29:7). This means that the gifts with which God has entrusted us are not meant for ourselves but for others; fruit does not exist for its own sake but to nourish others. Speaking of gifts, I am happily married to my wife, Hannah, with two bright, beautiful, and bold biracial daughters, one 5 years old and one 16 months old. I love reading fantasy/sci-fi, playing board games, singing acapella, beat-boxing with my daughters, playing worship music on my guitar, and dabbling in martial arts. But, most of all, I love diversity and talking with students about the sociological imagination. My office is always open in WGS 113E!
Melissa Horstman
Assistant Professor of Nursing
I graduated from Purdue University with my Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2013 and transitioned into bedside practice in critical care rotating through Neuro, Surgical, and Medical ICUs before landing in a Surgical/Trauma Stepdown Unit. When my husband’s job moved us to Charlotte, NC I changed gears in my nursing practice and began working in Clinical Research by coordinating and managing care of clinical research patients enrolled in pharmaceutical and device trials along the continuum of the research process. During that time I went back to school at Queens University of Charlotte and obtained her Master of Science in Nursing with a concentration in nursing education. I then moved into a quality assurance/educator role within the clinical research department, but found my true calling here at Belmont Abbey College a couple years later and I am so excited to be here!
I live in Fort Mill, SC with my husband and dog. And I am an aspiring cut-flower gardener, a puzzler, and lover of a good book and cup of coffee.
J. Brent Hayes
Assistant Professor of Biology
I am originally from Clover, S.C. I went to Winthrop University and Sherman College.
I was a practicing Chiropractor for about 10 years. I have also taught human anatomy and physiology for the past 13 years.
Prior to moving back to the Carolinas, I lived in the arctic tundra of northern Indiana for 12 years. I am excited to be back home, teaching at the Abbey, and enjoying the scenery and weather again.
Elizabeth Elkind
Professor of Nursing
Dr. Elizabeth Elkind received her PhD in Education with a specialization in Instructional Design for Online Learning K – Corporate from Capella University. She has a MBA from the University of Phoenix, a MSN in Perinatal Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania, and her BSN from Holy Family University. She is a board certified Informatics Nurse through the American Nurses Credentialing Center. In addition, Dr. Elkind is the Editor for the Journal of Informatics Nursing, the American Nursing Informatics Association’s official journal.
Lindsay Hofferberth
Assistant Professor of Sport Management
Lindsay joins Belmont Abbey in the Sport & Motorsport Management Program after serving as an adjunct instructor during the 2021-2022 school year. She began her professional career in 2008 as the Director of Entertainment and Game Operations for the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League. Since 2012, she has served as a graphic designer/operator for a variety of live television sports broadcasts. She has supported events for schools in the ACC, NASCAR, the Charlotte Hornets, the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC. Lindsay earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from UNC Charlotte and a Master’s degree in Sports Management from Liberty University. She is currently completing a Doctorate in Business Administration with a focus in Marketing. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, she has called Charlotte home since 2004.
Lindsay Adams Kennedy
Assistant Professor of English
Lindsay Adams Kennedy is a professional playwright and academic, whose research explores virginity, consent, confessional spaces, and depictions of invisible disability in Early Modern drama and poetry. Most recently her chapter “‘A document in madness’? Disability Erasure in Contemporary Rewrites of Ophelia” was published in Adaptations of Mental and Cognitive Disability in Popular Media by Rowman & Littlefield and her article “Catcalls and Live Chat: Or, How Livestreamed Performances Illuminate the Early Modern Audience” was published in the Sixteenth Century Journal. She has an MFA in Playwriting from the Catholic University of America and is a PhD Candidate at Saint Louis University.
Emily Nishiyama
Assistant Professor of Nursing
Emily Nishiyama is an Assistant Professor with the Nursing Department here at Belmont Abbey College. Currently, she is responsible for teaching pre-licensure BSN students in both didactic and clinical settings.
She has been in nursing education for 8 years and has a background in simulation education, curriculum development, and instructional design. With a diverse background in professional and clinical nursing, Emily has a passion for using creativity in the classroom through the utilization of technology and active learning strategies to engage all types of learners. She follows a student-centric approach while striving to create a safe learning environment that fosters mutual trust and respect.
She is active in various departmental, college, and community service initiatives. Most recently, she has served as an active board member with the Gamma Iota Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, is currently a member of the Southwest Region for the North Carolina Nurses Association, and was selected as a 2021-2022 Faculty Fellow for the Invest in Nursing Faculty Fellowship program with the UNC Chapel Hill School of Nursing.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2009 and her Master of Science degree in Nursing Education from Gardner-Webb University in 2014. Her past clinical practice experiences involve working as a Registered Nurse in both medical-surgical and emergency
settings.
Outside of her professional life, she enjoys staying active, being outdoors, and spending time with her husband and two young sons.
This article was originally posted in the Fall 2022 Issue of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue.
Belmont, N.C. (October 26, 2022) – Today Belmont Abbey College publicizes the addition of three new Master’s degrees to its academic offerings. All under the umbrella of business, the private liberal arts college announces a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Master of Leadership (MA in Leadership), and a Master of Strategic Analysis (MS in Strategic Analysis)*. These new graduate degrees, in addition to our existing Master’s of Health Administration (MHA) and Master’s of Science in Nursing (MSN), align with Belmont Abbey’s objective to prepare students to create a better world for themselves and their communities and equip them to lead without compromising their values. Unlike many other programs in the market today, the MBA, MA in Leadership, and MS in Strategic Analysis are designed for completion within 12 months.
“As a Catholic academic institution, we believe in providing quality education with a moral foundation that will help solve societal problems. We are thrilled to offer degrees that are dedicated to producing the kinds of organizational leaders the world needs,” says Dr. Travis Feezell, Provost of Belmont Abbey College.
Founded in Catholic social thought, Belmont Abbey’s online, asynchronous MBA program explores the connection between faith and business. “Leaders today are often expected to deny their principles for the sake of their organization(s). Our goal at the Abbey is to provide a solid moral foundation along with ethics training so that graduates feel prepared to lead in an ever-changing landscape,” remarks Dr. Brad Frazier, Associate Professor and Chair of the Business Department at Belmont Abbey. The cross-disciplinary program ensures that students are well-versed in key business areas such as Managerial Finance, Strategic Marketing Management, and Corporate Governance and Law. Designed to appeal to a wide variety of business professionals, students will tailor their academic program by electing one of the seven available concentrations: Accounting, Finance, Data Analytics, Leadership, Marketing, Motorsports Management, and Sports Management.
The MA in Leadership program at Belmont Abbey prepares students to lead organizations ethically and effectively while demonstrating the concept of servant leadership. Guided by Benedictine values, this program encourages and inspires leaders and other business stakeholders to see challenges and opportunities, to judge them according to the ethical social principles illuminated for Christians by the Gospel, and to act as leaders who serve God in all things. “Here at the Abbey, we are passionate about helping students find their vocations. The MA in Leadership allows us to support students who are called to lead and help give them the tools to change the world,” says Frazier. This program is designed for individuals who desire the training and skills to be a dynamic leader.
The MS in Strategic Analysis degree supports its students’ work within organizations in their journey to search for and live in response to Truth. The program produces leaders who demonstrate decision intelligence, the practical discipline of mind used to improve decision making by explicitly understanding and engineering the evaluation, management, and improvement of decisions and outcomes. Dr. Hannah Kling, Assistant Professor of Data Analytics & Economics at Belmont Abbey, says it is imperative that we change the way we interpret and use data. “Data is so often misrepresented. The MS in Strategic Analysis program is committed to engage in practices that challenge realities often taken for granted, foster intellectual breakthroughs, and cultivate habits of mind that will transform our students’ abilities to interpret data and communicate the truth”. This program is for change leaders who are responsible for evaluating and explaining data in any number of organizational settings, including not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, for-profit businesses, and government agencies. Applications for the MBA, MA in Leadership, and MS in Strategic Analysis programs are open now! Apply today. http://belmontabbey.force.com/apply
*Pending Approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
For information on all of the Master’s degrees offered at Belmont Abbey, visit https://bac.edu/academics/graduate-studies/. Press inquiries can contact Julia Long at 423-827-8727 or julialong@bac.edu.
In episode 11 of the Conversatio podcast, Dr. Carolyn Harmon and Dr. David Williams explore how a catholic based nursing curriculum helps prepare future nurses for how to manage situations ethically and with compassion.
In episode 10 of the Conversatio podcast, Dr. Mary Stratton, Chair of the Education Department at BAC, and Dot Guthrie, Founder and Curator of the African American Museum of History and Culture in Gastonia, NC sat down with Phillip Brach, VP of College Relations at BAC to discuss the how the college and the county are partnering to provide education around African American culture from our local area.
