Dr. Kevin Larsen, Vice President for Academic Affairs, announced the promotion of two full-time faculty members on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.
Abigail Mirau has been promoted from assistant professor to Associate Professor of English Composition. Ms. Mirau began teaching at the university in the fall of 2015. She is a graduate of Crossroads College in Minnesota (B.S. in General Ministry and Biblical and Theological Studies) and a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University (M.A. in English and Creative Writing). She has reinvigorated the sequence of courses in composition and literature that all students must complete as part of a degree program at MACU.
Associate Professor Mirau challenges her students by helping them appreciate the importance of good writing, not only for future employment demands, but more importantly, for the student as a disciple of Jesus who is called to excellence. Ms. Mirau has a strong presence in students’ lives not only in the classroom, but also outside of it. If she is not attending a student social activity or cheering her students on at a sports event, she might be home making cookies or brownies for her classes.
Ms. Mirau serves as chair of the General Studies Committee and is the program advisor for the Associate of Arts: General Studies. In addition to everything she does for the university and her students, she is herself a student, taking courses to earn her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Humanities from Faulkner University. Ms. Mirau is a valuable asset to the Kingdom as she serves God at MACU, and the university is grateful for her service.
Lee M. Fields has been designated “Distinguished Professor of Biblical Studies.” Dr. Fields is the first recipient of this honor at MACU. In higher education, schools reserve such a designation as the highest of honors for faculty members who produce outstanding scholarship and have a national reputation in their academic discipline. In MACU’s policy statement for making such a designation, distinguished professors are not only persons whose work reflects high achievement, but they are also those whose life demonstrates a comprehensive commitment to the issues and themes which are central to MACU’s mission.
A graduate of Emporia State University (B.S.E. in Physical Science); Cincinnati Christian University (M.Div. in New Testament); and Hebrew Union-College-Jewish Institute of Religion (M.Ph. in Hebraic and Cognate Studies and Ph.D. in Hebraic and Cognate Studies with concentration in Judaic Studies in the Greco-Roman Period), Dr. Fields is an exemplar of how to meld academic scholarship with the concerns and needs of real-life ministry. He has published books, written dozens of academic articles, is involved with innovative approaches to teaching biblical languages, leads a men’s group at his local church, teaches Sunday School, and periodically leads a Wednesday evening study at church. Dr. Fields models what it means to be a “scholar/pastor.” When he is not in his study, he can be found at university sporting events, or at home making pancakes for students who are coming over to his house for times of fellowship. Dr. Fields is a valuable asset to the Kingdom, and the university is grateful for his service at MACU since 1997.