Welcome Back: Fall 2011 Edition

Good to see you! Us? Oh yeah, we're fine, thanks for asking. Here's what went on around here while you were gone...

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Staff Changes

Serving as the new Vice Provost of Multi-Ethnic and Cross-Cultural Engagement is Dr. Doretha O’Quinn. She will be responsible for multi-ethnic programs, cross-cultural programs and service learning. Doretha is no stranger to Biola.  She holds a Ph.D. in Intercultural Education from our Cook School of Intercultural Studies and served as the Director of our Inglewood satellite campus from 2003 to 2007.  Several of her family members are also graduates of Biola.  Doretha enjoys a wealth of vibrant connections to greater Los Angeles and has extensive international experience.  She comes to us from Point Loma Nazarene University where she has served as the Associate Dean of the Arcadia campus since 2008.

Tamra Newman has accepted the position of Associate Director of Multi-Ethnic Programs. She comes to this new position from Undergraduate Admissions where she has been serving as the Assistant Director for Undergraduate Admissions and Multi-Ethnic Outreach. She is mentor to over 30 students who assist in her programs and who participate in the B.E.A.T. (Biola Ethnic Advancement Team). She has extensive experience in multi-ethnic education, student mentoring, and gospel music ministry. We believe she will be instrumental in assisting the department and Biola in advancing biblical diversity on our campus.

Alicia Miller has accepted the position as Multi-Ethnic Programs Assistant. Alicia has considerable experience in the Department of Multi-Ethnic Programs both as a former student participant in the programs and as the Coalition for Social Action Chair in Associated Students. Alicia brings numerous administrative and mentoring gifts to her role as department assistant and she continues to expand her teaching abilities as well as serve as a diversity workshop presenter.
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Dr. Dennis Dirks, academic dean for Talbot School of Theology, announced to the Talbot community his intention to resign at the end of this academic year, after serving faithfully for 35 years.

Dr. Michael Anthony, Vice Provost for Academic Development and Educational Effectiveness, has concluded his stellar 27-year career at Biola to begin a new assignment as President and CEO of Hume Ministries, parent of Hume Lake Christian Camps.

Dr. Pete Menjares has begun his new role as of Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Academic Effectiveness. In this role, he will be responsible for Summer School, Interterm, Faculty Development, the Office of the Integration of Faith and Learning and the Library Resource Center. He will further be expected to provide horizontal leadership for Diversity and Accreditation.


Dr. Deborah Taylor will assume the role of Dean of University Effectiveness and Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) reporting directly to the Provost.

Dr. Freddy Cardoza, while continuing in his role as Chair of the Christian Education Department in the Talbot School of Theology, will assume the role of Director of Distributed Learning and Instructional Technology for Biola beginning July 1, 2011. In this newly created role, he will report directly to the Provost. Freddy will be responsible for coordinating IT functions, curricular development functions and a creative/entrepreneurial faculty team charged with suggesting and piloting new academic initiatives.

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Department Changes

The Department of Multi-Ethnic Programs will be changing its name to The Department of Multi-Ethnic Programs and Development to more accurately reflect the breadth and direction of the programs.

On the Academic side, the Physical Sciences Department name was officially changed to Chemistry, Physics and Engineering Department.

Registrar's Office

The Registrar has updated some important terminology regarding registration. Beginning with Fall 2011, the process of picking your classes for the next semester will be called Registration, and the process of completing payment and other final details is now called Enrollment. These two steps were previously referred to as WebReg Phase I and Phase II.

So students who have picked classes (but not finished other steps) are considered "Registered," and once they complete those remaining details (housing & meal plan, financial aid, payment arrangements, etc.) they will be considered "Enrolled." By university policy, students must be Enrolled before the semester begins; students who do not complete the Enrollment process will have their classes dropped before the semester begins.

Construction & Facilities

A busy summer of building at Biola, with two major projects going on simultaneously. But the Parking Structure and the Theology Building are not the only things that happened:

• Marshburn Hall, home of the Cook School of Intercultural Studies, had several much-needed faculty offices added across the front of the building. Mayers Aud is still accessible via the outside entrances, but getting there from the front door of Marshburn will require working your way through the new set of offices.
• The "Jesus Mural" has been undergoing a much-discussed refurbishing. Renowned muralist Kent Twitchell, the original artist, has been overseeing and doing much of the work himself, so you may see him on campus for the next few weeks.
• University Drive has been slightly re-routed near the new Parking Structure; instead of running along the baseball field's left-field line, it now jogs north then runs east along the pool and the track. New parking spots have been added, the road has been re-striped, and new landscaping is underway.
• Sutherland Hall has been refurbed with new paint, new carpet, air conditioning on the 2nd floor, and one of the new 'digital signage' monitors that are appearing around campus. Also, two 2nd floor Sutherland classrooms have been turned into faculty offices, so there's some room renumbering up there.
• The Welch Computer Labs in lower Metzger, have been removed; computer labs are now in the Library. This allows IT staff to be consolidated to lower Metzger.
• Additional digital signage has been placed in the Eagles' Nest, the north end of the Cafe, and in Sutherland lobby, adding to the units already up in the SUB, Student Services lobby, and the south end of the Cafe.

As for the Theology Building (aka Talbot East), it is still scheduled to be occupied by mid-October. Since the semester will already be underway, it's unlikely that classes will be there this Fall, but faculty will begin moving into their offices upon opening. A dedication ceremony will take place during Chapel, on Friday October 14. For more info, see the Biola Construction News page.

The Parking Structure is scheduled to open September 27. More info, as well as a live construction-cam, is available on the Biola Construction News page.