Seaver College Welcomes 19 Full-time Faculty for Fall 2020
Seaver College welcomed 19 full-time faculty at the beginning of the 2020–2021 academic year. Alongside these full-time faculty additions, Seaver also welcomed 23 adjunct faculty across all eight of the school’s divisions for fall 2020.
Tenure-Track Appointments
Ruth Bernstein is joining the Business Administration division as an assistant professor of nonprofit
management. Formerly a geology explorationist in the oil industry and educator Bernstein
found her passions were in both nonprofit management and teaching. She received an
MA in philanthropy from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and taught
nonprofit studies at the University of Washington Tacoma for seven years. Her research
focuses on inclusive interactions and nonprofit board management. Bernstein is excited
to engage students in nonprofit education through creative pedagogies. Drawn to Pepperdine
for its focus on service learning, her classes will lead students through hands-on
projects that tackle fundraising, philanthropy, and grant writing for nonprofits.
She is also teaching the service learning capstone in which students incorporate business
concepts to support an organization.
Nicole Gilhuis received her PhD in history from University of California, Los Angeles. Gilhuis is
joining the Humanities and Teacher Education Division as an assistant professor of
history. Her research focuses on history of the Atlantic from the 16th- to the 18th-century
with a special focus on African, Native American, and European commoner histories.
Gilhuis is excited to find new ways to make meaningful virtual connections with her
students, while also hearing their exceptional responses to historical inquiries.
Valuing her own personal faith she is honored to work alongside Pepperdine’s faculty
in their shared values of faith and academics. Her husband and two children are also
thrilled to witness her teaching in the remote-instruction context this fall.
Helen Holmlund is bringing her expertise in plant biology to the Natural Science Division as an
assistant professor of biology. She received her PhD in plant physiological ecology
from the University of California, Santa Cruz. During her undergraduate career at
Oklahoma Christian University, Holmlund participated in Pepperdine’s Summer Undergraduate
Research in Biology (SURB) program under the mentorship of Stephen Davis. The program
ignited her passion for biological research and undergraduate mentorship. Holmlund’s
research has focused on drought tolerant ferns such as the “resurrection” ferns in
the Santa Monica Mountains, the mangrove ferns in Australian swamps, and tropical
ferns in Costa Rica. Despite this year’s continuing challenges, Holmlund is excited
to absorb as much pedagogical insight to help make biological research more accessible
and engaging for students—no matter their physical location—and continue mentoring
undergraduates in their research aspirations.
Alongside these three new tenure-track additions, assistant professor of digital art Katherine Parsons and assistant professor of biology Leah Stiemsma will be transitioning from visiting appointments to tenure track positions. Fabien Scalzo, assistant professor of computer science, will also begin teaching in spring 2021.
Visiting Appointments
Beau Brannan, visiting instructor of humanities, is leading students through Western culture in
the Humanities and Teacher Education Division. Brannan brings nearly 20 years of mentoring,
teaching, and coaching experience to his classrooms. He leverages his unique range
of athletic background, teaching and coaching excellence, creativity, entrepreneurial
experience and extensive humanities background to connect with students on a deeper
level and inspire them to further creative education exploration.
Rachel Gould is joining the Humanities and Teacher Education Division as the Seaver Faculty Fellow
to teach English composition courses and special topics in literature. Gould received
her PhD in British literature from Vanderbilt University where she developed her research
on Ottoman influences in British narrative technique throughout the 18th-century.
She is incorporating her research, particularly on the collection of Arabic folk tales
Arabian Nights, into her special topics in literature course with English majors.
Even in a remote context, Gould is eager to see students discover their voices in
writing in her composition course while also developing strong, faculty-student mentor
relationships. Already encouraged by the collaborative environment fostered by Pepperdine’s
faculty, she is excited to join in Pepperdine’s shared mission to help students develop
spiritually and academically.
PhD candidate in theology from Boston College John Kern is bringing his expertise to the Religion and Philosophy Division. He will be leading
Seaver students through the New Testament and through the Great Books Colloquium.
He is eager to see how students engage and consider works of philosophy, literature,
religion, and political thought of the ancient world in the Great Books program while
also incorporating new pedagogies in the remote-learning context. His research focuses
on 13th-century medieval theology and 20th-century reflection on the doctrine of the
Holy Spirit.
Sarah Lee is joining the Business Administration Division as a visiting assistant professor
of organizational behavior. She received her PhD in organization and management from
Emory University. Lee taught organizational behavior, leadership and change management,
and innovative organizational development at Dominican University of California, where
she was also highly involved in re-evaluating the university’s diversity statement
and strategic plan, as well as inclusive and equitable hiring and promoting practices.
Her research focuses on how social psychological processes affect attitudes and behaviors
in organizations. Specifically, she is interested in unpacking barriers to upward
mobility for marginalized groups, why external threats cause shifts in our perceptions,
and why some people are perceived more leader-like than others. Her dissertation focused
on the perceptions of Asian American working professionals and the gap in representation
or consideration of leadership. Pepperdine’s culture of collaborative mentorship drew
her to join the faculty. She is excited to see how she can use remote-learning pedagogies
in new, innovative ways to engage and connect with students this fall.
Noemi Palomares is a PhD candidate in theology from Boston College. She is joining the Religion and
Philosophy Division to teach students through the Old Testament as a visiting instructor
of religion for fall 2020 before transitioning to a tenured appointment in spring
2021. Palomares’ research has focused on the Hebrew Bible, biblical law, poetry, and
prayer, while also analyzing the terms for “remembering” and “forgetting” in the Hebrew
Bible and in the ancient Near East. She is also particularly interested in migration
studies and Latinx hermeneutics.
In addition to the new faces in the Pepperdine faculty, seven faculty members are returning or transitioning to new teaching roles including: visiting instructors Brittany Corbucci, Angela Smith, Colin Storm, and Anastasia Triviza transitioning from adjunct appointments; former Seaver Faculty Fellow Stanley Talbert moving into a visiting instructor of religion position; and campus minister Linda Truschke who will be joining international programs as a visiting instructor of religion. Additionally Nicholas Few, visiting instructor of theatre, and Helen Wan, visiting instructor of Chinese language and culture, will be continuing their appointments from spring 2020.
To read the faculty bios not included here, visit the Seaver Dean’s Office website.