GROVE CITY, Pa. – This fall, 12 new faculty members, including three alumni, are joining Grove City College's ranks.
Dr. Erik Anderson, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and grew up in California and the Albany, N.Y., area. He earned his bachelor of science degree from Gordon College where he majored in physics and biology, and minored in biblical languages.
Anderson taught high school science and math and coached basketball at Black Forest Academy, a school for the children of missionaries, for four years. In 1995, Anderson was awarded a W. J. Fulbright Fellowship to study biomechanics in Nova Scotia toward a master's degree at St. Francis Xavier University. He earned his Ph.D. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, studying the hydrodynamics of fish swimming. Most recently, he taught physics at Emmanuel College in Boston while completing a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University.
Anderson founded an outreach concert ministry on Cape Cod called Y Fest. He has participated in short-term mission projects to the Dominican Republic, Romania and poor communities in New Hampshire. He is an avid sailor, fisherman, birder, guitarist and baseball fan. Anderson met his wife, Rachel, at Black Forest Academy. They have a son, Fisher, 1.
Dr. Erik Bardy, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, was born and raised in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He earned a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1999, a master of science in 2002 and a Ph.D. in 2006. While researching his master's and Ph.D., he used computer simulations to study the stress distribution of the femur caused by total hip replacements and examined methods to thermally protect underwater SCUBA divers using new insulation concepts and active heating/cooling technology.
Bardy spent his first year of graduate school in Lille, France at Ecole Universitaire D'Ingénieurs de Lille. Upon returning to the states, he became involved in a young adult ministry in New York called Vintage, where he served on the leadership team for four years. He also helped launch a graduate student club promoting interaction between American and French speaking exchange students.
Bardy's interests include college ministry, traveling, motorcycles, Tae Kwon Do, swing dancing and singing in choir.
Michael Dreves, assistant professor of physical education and head men's soccer coach, was born and raised in Pittsburgh. He graduated from Grove City College in 1997 with a bachelor of arts in mathematics education. While a student, Dreves was a member of the men's soccer team.
Upon graduation, Dreves taught middle school mathematics and was the varsity soccer coach for the Titusville Area School District in northwestern Pennsylvania until 2001. In the fall of 2001, he began teaching mathematics in the Mercer Area School District. Dreves also became the assistant coach for the Grove City College men’s soccer team and an adjunct professor in the education department. He recently earned his master’s degree in exercise science at Slippery Rock University. His master's thesis focused on the Fitness and Wellness course requirement for all Grove City College freshmen. This fall, Dreves will begin as head coach of the Grove City College men's soccer team.
Dreves and his wife, Susan, met at Grove City College as freshmen and married in 1998. Susan, a former elementary teacher, is currently an adjunct professor and guest lecturer in the education department. They have two sons, Joshua, 3 and Isaac, 1. Dreves is an avid runner and competes in many local road races. He also enjoys playing soccer, reading and playing with his sons.
Dr. Iain Duguid, professor of religion, was born in southern England to a Scottish family. He met his wife, Barb, while they were serving with the Sudan Interior Mission in Liberia, West Africa. There, Duguid was electrical engineer for the Christian radio station and hospital, while his wife worked as medical technologist.
Duguid completed a Master of Divinity at Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, followed by a Ph.D. in Old Testament at the University of Cambridge. The Duguids then moved to plant a Presbyterian church in Oxford, England, and had a special ministry to street children ages 7 to 11.
After one year teaching Hebrew at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Miss., the Duguids moved to southern California, where Duguid taught Old Testament and Hebrew at Westminster Seminary California. In 2000, Duguid served as the organizing pastor for a Presbyterian Church in America church plant in Fallbrook, Calif.
The Duguid family includes five children: James, Sam, Hannah, Robbie and Rosie. Duguid enjoys reading books and watching movies and has also taken up rugby refereeing.
Michelle "Chelle" Fuss, assistant professor of physical education, head softball coach and assistant women’s basketball coach, was born in Columbus, Ohio, and grew up in New Straitsville, Ohio. She attended Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pa., as a scholarship athlete and received many individual honors in both basketball and softball. She earned her bachelor of arts in speech communications/broadcast communications in 1993. She recently earned her master of arts in highereducation from Geneva.
Fuss comes to Grove City from Geneva where she has worked since 1994. She served as the head softball coach and assistant basketball coach between 1994 and 1999. In 1999, she stepped down and assumed the position of conference services director, building the department into a profit-making center.
Fuss and her husband, Matt, met at Geneva and were married in 1994. They have two children: a son, Zane, 7, and a daughter, Logan, 5. Fuss loves all types of sports and outdoor activities including mountain biking, hiking, primitive camping and fishing.
Dr. Christiaan Paul Gribble, assistant professor of computer science, was born in Massillon, Ohio, and raised in nearby Canton. In 2000, he graduated magna cum laude from Grove City College with a bachelor of science degree in mathematics. As an undergraduate, Dr. Gribble was active with a number of campus groups.
Gribble earned a master of science in information networking from Carnegie Mellon University in 2002. While at CMU, he worked as a research assistant at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center. Gribble then joined the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute at the University of Utah, recently completing his Ph.D. in computer science. He spent two months at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, studying the impact of computer graphics on archaeology.
Gribble's interests include reading and drawing, as well as studying medieval castles and assorted topics in the creation/evolution debate. Gribble met his wife, Suzanna, while he was a student at Grove City. The couple was married in December 2002, and they share a love of cycling, backpacking, and playing with their dogs, Roxanne and Riley.
Sarah Harris, assistant professor of physical education and exercise science and head women's basketball coach, was born in Tallahassee, Fla., but grew up in New York and Chicago. She received both her bachelor of arts degree in Spanish in 2003 and her master of arts degree in intercultural studies/TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in 2004 from Wheaton College. She then attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she recently earned her master of science degree in exercise and sport science with an emphasis in sport and exercise psychology.
At UNCG, Harris participated in research developing physical education programs for preschool and homeschool populations, sport leadership programs for underserved youth and analyzing physical activity preferences and barriers among homeschool families. Her thesis research considered psychosocial aspects of self among college basketball coaches. In addition, Harris worked as a writing consultant at the University Writing Center.
While at UNCG, Harris served as the graduate assistant women’s basketball coach for two years. Along with her coaching duties, she helped run the summer basketball camps at both UNCG and Wheaton College. Harris' interests include running, playing basketball and spending time in the Adirondack Mountains.
Dr. H. Collin Messer, associate professor of English, was born and raised in Laurens, S.C. He completed his undergraduate studies in literature at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., in 1991.
Upon graduation Messer spent a year in Washington, D.C., working with student leaders from colleges across the U.S. His work there inspired him to pursue graduate work. In 1992, Messer began his graduate studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His master’s studies culminated in 1994 with a thesis on William Faulkner. During the summer of 1994, he met Elizabeth Koberg, a native of Texas, and they were married one year later. During his Ph.D. course work in American literature, Messer served as managing editor of the "Southern Literary Journal" and was designated a Senior Teaching Fellow in the UNC English department.
Upon completion of the Ph.D. in 2000, he accepted a position as assistant professor of English at King College in Bristol, Tenn. Messer recently completed a two-year term appointment at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. Messer has published articles on Thomas Wolfe and William Faulkner, and he continues to pursue research interests in American literature and southern intellectual history. The Messers have three children: Cammie, 7, Grace, 5, and McCormick, 1.
Dr. Patricia "Pat" S. Scheffler, assistant professor of education, was born and grew up in Burlington, N.C., where most of her extended family members live today. She went to Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga. During her senior year of student teaching in elementary education, she met her husband, Towner B. Scheffler, also a student at Covenant.
They married the following fall and stayed in the Chattanooga, Tenn., area for a few years while Scheffler taught sixth grade in a public school. After two years, she moved to Mississippi and taught fourth grade language arts during the day and attended graduate school at night. After receiving her master’s degree in elementary education, she started a Christian school in Oxford, Miss.
After several other moves, Scheffler and her family — Towner and children Barb and Ben — settled in Butler, Pa. She taught early childhood education classes at Butler County Community College and supervised student teachers at Clarion University for eight and a half years. She recently earned her doctorate of education in school leadership along with a reading specialist certificate at the University of Pittsburgh. Scheffler's interests include scrapbooking, shopping, traveling and reading. She enjoys working with church youth and going on mission trips. Jogging, entertaining and dining with friends are some of her favorite pastimes. Her daughter, Barb '06, is a Development Associate at the College.
Dr. Jennifer A. Scott, associate director of career services and assistant professor of communication studies, was born in Long Branch, N.J., and grew up in Sewickley, Pa. She earned a bachelor of arts in English and an auxiliary in communication from Grove City College in 1999. After completing her studies, she spent two working as an assistant director of career services at Grove City College before pursuing her graduate studies at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, where she recently earned her Ph.D. in communication studies.
At OU, she studied magazine journalism. While completing her doctorate, she taught and assisted with a number of courses in the Scripps College of Communication. In addition, she was a research associate with the Central Region Humanities Center. Her teaching and research interests span the areas of organizational communication, media and cultural studies, and American studies, specifically 19th and 20th Century American literature.
Her work has been published in numerous scholarly journals. She currently serves as senior editorial associate for "Communication Yearbook," an annual review of the latest communication research. Scott’s hobbies include writing, reading, traveling, watching films, walking and spending time with family and friends.
Dr. Sam Stanton, assistant professor of political science, was born in North Carolina and raised in many locations throughout the South as the son of an Air Force technician. He earned his bachelor of arts in political science in 1996 and master of arts in political science in 1998 at Arkansas State University. He completed his Ph.D. in political science at Texas Tech University in 2004. His studies focused on comparative politics in developing countries, ethnic conflict, international security, international environmental politics, methodology of political science research and political philosophy.
Stanton has taught courses in his field of study at Arkansas State and Texas Tech while completing his studies. He was a visiting assistant professor of political science at Eastern New Mexico University. For two years, he was a visiting assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. His research activities focused primarily on issues affecting ethnic conflict, including renewable natural resource scarcity, human security issues and shadow economics.
He met his wife, Vicki, which completing his studies at Texas Tech. They were married on Christmas Eve 1999. They have two sons, Samuel L. Stanton II, who is 4 and Nathan Lee, who was born Aug. 23. Stanton's hobbies include camping, fishing, hiking and hunting.
Scott Thomson, assistant professor of philosophy and science and technology studies, was born in New Jersey and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Mt. Lebanon, Pa. He went to Virginia Tech to study biochemistry with the intention of going to medical school. Instead, through his experience in campus ministry, he felt called to minister to college students and after graduating with a degree in biology in 1988, he earned a Master of Divinity in 1993 from Emmanuel School of Religion in Johnson City, Tenn. While at seminary, Thomson met his wife Angela, then a student at East Tennessee State University. They were married in 1991 and have one daughter, Bethany, 11.
From 1993 to 1999, Thomson served as campus minister at Ohio State University. In 1999, Thomson entered the Ph.D. program in science and technology studies at Virginia Tech. While there he had the opportunity to teach in the religious studies program, and later in the philosophy department. Thomson’s interests include baseball, softball, golf, soccer, art, cooking and science fiction.
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