We think the faculty at Corban University are pretty exceptional. Here are just a few reasons we believe Corban’s faculty are more than qualified to shape your competence, character, and walk with Christ:
- Corban faculty have professional experience in their fields. Our ministry professors have spent years in church leadership positions—and indeed, many are active pastors. Our psychology faculty have years of professional counseling experience, and our criminal justice faculty have spent decades in law enforcement and public safety. In addition to full-time faculty, adjuncts are often active in their respective fields. Professors bring years of practical experience to their courses, enriching students’ learning through real-world stories, application, and wisdom.
- Corban faculty allow students to come alongside and participate in their work. For example, our health science faculty regularly involve undergraduate students in their research. From live-animal research to natural product synthesis, students benefit from hands-on experience working alongside their professors. Under faculty guidance, students publish poetry in national literary journals, co-author papers in peer-reviewed publications, and submit proposals to the National Council on Undergraduate Research annual conference.
- Corban faculty are globally involved, and they help students be the same. Faculty regularly lead trips overseas, whether for short-term missions, ongoing global partnerships, study abroad, or study tours. English faculty lead trips to Great Britain, ministry faculty lead tours to Israel, and education faculty bring students to Kenya for teacher training and curriculum development. Faculty regularly help cultivate our students’ hearts for global concerns and provide multiple opportunities for students to engage in cross-cultural contexts, whether through the lens of ministry, education, business, or academic study.
- Corban faculty engage with students on a personal and spiritual level. By the end of your time at Corban, you’ll likely have visited with professors in their homes, eaten meals with them, and talked with them over coffee. You may have tried Gina Ochsner’s traditional borscht recipe, decorated sugar cookies with Dr. Colette Tennant, or eaten a Passover meal with Dr. Greg Trull. Faculty genuinely care about their students’ personal as well as academic success, and many become lifelong friends and mentors.
Learn more about Corban’s faculty. Better yet, stop by their office and get to know them in person!
Q&A WITH INTERIM PRESIDENT DR. TOM CORNMAN
Dr. Tom Cornman came to Corban in 2019 after serving in previous roles as Vice President and Dean of the Undergraduate School at Moody Bible Institute (2001–2009), Vice President for Academics and Chief Academic Officer at Cedarville University (2009–2015), and Senior…
Corban Launches SCoPE Research Lab in Partnership with Santiam Hospital
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, few could have predicted its course. In Oregon, even fewer would’ve expected a small, liberal arts university, partnered with a local, more rurally-focused hospital, to be prime players in frontline research and testing. Over the…
Dr. Yufeng Zhao Conducts Groundbreaking Frontier Research in Material Science and Sustainability
Corban Assistant Professor of Physics, Dr. Yufeng Zhao has partnered with a team at Rice University to conduct groundbreaking new frontier research at the intersection of sustainability and the field of material science. Zhao, a long-time professional scientist at the…
Writer-In-Residence Gina Ochsner Awarded 2020 Kurt Vonnegut Prize for Speculative Fiction
Corban Associate Professor of English and Writer-in-Residence, Gina Ochsner, was recently awarded the 2020 Kurt Vonnegut Prize for Speculative Fiction by the North American Review for her short story, “The Snow Queen.”
A Global Mission: Corban’s Pastoral Training Program in Africa
Back in 2010, Corban’s administration was looking for a way to expand the School of Ministry’s graduate program. They planned for something servant-hearted yet straightforward,
Director of Criminal Justice Alan Scharn Set to Retire After 10 Years at Corban
As a young man, Alan Scharn had no idea what he wanted to do with his life until a friend talked him into joining the Marion County Sherriff’s Office reserve academy.
Corban to Dedicate the Pavilion in Honor of Former Professor and President, Dr. David F. Miller
Sit down, I’ve got a story to tell you . . .” is exactly what Dr. Miller said to the many students, parishioners, and colleagues who came to him seeking advice.
Dr. Comstock and Corban Students Research New Covid Test Method
Back in 2003, when Dr. Sarah Comstock, then a brand-new graduate researcher at OHSU, was asked to learn a relatively new technique called quantitative polymerase chain reaction testing (qCPR),
Dr. Liz Wosley-George Shares how Counselors can Reflect Christ, from the Emergency Room to the Classroom
“You can connect with anyone,” says Dr. Liz Wosley-George, Professor of Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Corban University. For Liz, the ability to connect with others goes beyond shared experiences, age, gender, or race.
Dr. Xiuling Shi Shares how Plant Biology Reveals the Unfathomable Wisdom of God
“Scientific research is one way we get to know the unfathomable wisdom of God,” says Dr. Xiuling Shi, Assistant Professor of Biology at Corban University. Before coming to Corban, Dr. Shi conducted research for several years, specializing in botany.
Dr. Sarah Comstock, Associate Professor of Biology, Partners with Santiam Hospital in COVID-19 Testing Research
A small rural hospital in Stayton, Oregon, was awaiting supplies to run their qPCR test—the test that determines if patients are sick with COVID-19.* But before the supplies could arrive, they were rerouted to a larger hospital in New York.
Meet Corban’s New Computer Science Faculty Member, Dr. Deborah Thomas
Starting Fall 2020, students can join Corban’s computer science program! Leading the program is new faculty hire Dr. Deborah Thomas, who completed her master’s and PhD at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and comes to Corban after nine years of teaching at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Embracing Disruption with Technology and Hope
Professor of English Dr. Marty Trammell shares how teaching remotely has shaped his interactions with students. But while this new teaching format comes with unique challenges, Dr. Trammell isn’t daunted or discouraged.
Training Christians to be Great Counselors: Meet Corban’s Newest Graduate Counseling Faculty
Last fall, Corban welcomed Dr. Ryan Connor as a faculty member for Corban’s MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Dr. Connor comes to Corban with a unique combination of experience in full-time ministry and clinical counseling.
Remembering the Legacy of Anne Jeffers—Professor, Mentor, Colleague, Friend
In the early morning of Friday, December 6, Anne Swearingen Jeffers passed away just two months after her 91st birthday. On behalf of Corban University, I’d like to take a moment to remember the legacy of a woman who has shaped and guided generations of Corban students.
Beautiful Proofs: Megan Boes Shares Her Journey to Christ and Passion for Teaching Mathematics
“I view math as a language used to describe and understand our natural world, both tangibly and abstractly. When we follow its logic, we often find ourselves with breathtaking supernatural results. I like to share this logical language lens with students, and watch how they use it.”
Faculty Sandra Flint Shares what it Takes to be a Criminal Justice Professional
“I’ll bring donuts for the person who can find the word ‘privacy’ in the U.S. Constitution,” says Sandra Flint. Although she’s been teaching part-time at Corban University since 2015, Flint’s upcoming retirement from the FBI has freed her to accept a full-time faculty position this fall in the Criminal Justice and Forensic Psychology programs.
Physics as a Spiritual Science: Dr. Yufeng Zhao Shares How the Natural World Led Him to God
Dr. Yufeng Zhao, Corban University’s new Assistant Professor of Physics, grew up in atheist China. He remembers learning Darwinism and Marxism as absolute truth. Growing up, he learned that the material world was the highest—and only—reality. Little did he know that the natural, material world would one day serve as the first signpost pointing him to Christ.
Stepping Into a Kenyan Classroom: Dr. Kristin Dixon Expands Her Student’s Worldview
This past May, Dr. Kristin Dixon returned from Nairobi, Kenya, along with education faculty Dr. Jennifer Kleiber and Corban education students Mary, Lily, Jessica, and Tenille.
The purpose of the trip had been two-fold: students were given the opportunity to observe and teach alongside national Kenyan teachers, while faculty spent time observing teachers to support and encourage them.
Faculty Feature: Dr. Christina Cooper Publishes Research in AERA Open
How do men and women become interested in STEM fields, and what makes them stay?
Dr. Christina Cooper, Assistant Professor of Biology at Corban University, explored this question and more in research she co-authored with Dr. Adam V. Maltese of Indiana University: “STEM Pathways: Do Men and Women Differ in Why They Enter and Exit?”