Gordon College Welcomes Thirteen New Faculty Members Across Diverse Fields  

As seven new schools launch at Gordon this fall, 13 new faculty members have joined the Gordon community. These experts in finance, education, biblical archeology, mental health, languages and sports management bring decades of industry and teaching experience and will play important roles in helping the new schools realize their potential to impact both present and future Gordon students. 

Abby Baier: Instructor Teaching Professor of Spanish

Baier is a 2022 Gordon alumna who returns to her alma mater to teach after a productive career at Baylor University, where she won the 2023–2024 Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award. She was the instructor of four college-level Spanish sections and served as a tutor for over 500+ students within a diverse student body (including ESL students, international students and individuals with hearing impairments) to improve their language and writing capabilities.  

Patrick Daly: Associate Professor in the Practice of Finance 

Daly comes to Gordon from a partnership at Revere Capital Advisors, LLC, a global merchant bank that performs principal, strategic, financial advisory and capital-raising transactions focused on renewable energy, sustainability and healthcare. He’s an experienced financial services executive with experience at many global firms, including Lehman Brothers, Inc., Kidder Peabody & Co., Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co., and he has also structured finance assignments for sovereign entities in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. 

Ruth Firmin: Assistant Professor of Psychology 

Dr. Firmin is a fully licensed clinical psychologist who is deeply passionate about cultural influences on views of stigma, mental health and treatment. She completed degrees and postdoctoral fellowships at prestigious universities including Purdue, Yale and Brown University, which have awarded her numerous accolades for her work helping others. She comes to Gordon after serving as a clinical psychologist at McLean Hospital and as an instructor at Harvard Medical School. 

Jeffrey Garcia: Associate Professor of Biblical Studies 

Dr. Garcia is a learned biblical scholar with a focus on the connections between ancient Judaism and early Christianity. He’s been a part of five seasons of archeological excavations in Israel between 2016 and 2023 and is the author of numerous articles and books covering the peoples of the ancient Middle East and their relationship to Christianity. He’s been serving as a professor and chair in the Department of Biblical and Theological Studies at a college in New York for several years and now joins us at Gordon.  

David Hughes: Associate Professor in the Practice of Sport Management 

David Hughes’ research covers topics ranging from esports (online or electronically simulated sports games) to activism among African American athletes. He built an esports program at Hampton University, the first historically black college to begin such a program, thanks to a grant from the Department of Homeland Security. He comes to Gordon from serving as a capstone advisor in sports industry management at Georgetown University and a consultant for Games for Change, facilitating the distribution of esports STEM education to 20 different school districts.  

Oluwadamilola "Dami" Kabiawu: Associate Professor in the Practice of Business 

Dr. Kabiawu brings a wealth of skills and research knowledge to the School of Business, including corporate finance, managerial accounting, business statistics, economics, board diversity and gender diversity. She has educational and professional experience at institutions such as London Southbank University, Clark Atlanta University and King’s College, teaching and presenting on topics like the oil industry in Sub-Saharan Africa.  

Nora Kirkham: Instructor of English 

Kirkham, a 2016 alumna, returns to Gordon to join the English Department and teach The Great Conversation course along with contemporary literature classes. She spent the last several years in Ireland, Japan and the UK studying creative writing and theology. She’s currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Aberdeen writing a thesis on religion and the environment in modern and contemporary women's writing around the world. When she’s not working on her thesis, she’s working on her upcoming chapbook. 

Megan Lease: Instructor of English and Director of First-Year Writing 

Lease already has experience working at Gordon––she previously helped revise curriculum for The Great Conversation, a flagship core class taken by every first-year student at Gordon—and now joins the English Department as a professor. Lease is a Ph.D. candidate at Boston College, where she was involved in several projects for their Center for Teaching Excellence.  

Kim Leonard: Associate Teaching Professor of Education 

Leonard claims a strong Gordon legacy in education, starting with her undergraduate studies back in 1989, her master's degree in 2003 and her educational specialist certification in 2008. She has taught in several districts, from Melrose to Georgetown, helping students of all learning abilities flourish while crafting professional development courses and presentations to elevate and empower the teachers in her community.  

Li Chieh Lu: Assistant Professor of Microbiology 

Dr. Lu comes from Taylor University, where he has been performing research at the intersection of synthetic biology, geomicrobiology and biochemistry. An experienced professor of the sciences who has taught many courses and had numerous articles published, he brings skills in microbiology, molecular (gene) cloning, genetics, fluorescence microscopy, mammalian cell culture and more. 

Jason Meyers: Professor of New Testament 

Dr. Meyers has taught on the Bible around the world at places like Rwanda Teaching Trips; Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary in Tallinn, Estonia; New Theological College in Dehradun, India; and West Africa Theological Seminary. An accomplished scholar who has published many books and articles on the New Testament, he comes to Gordon from Greensboro College, where he served as the chair of the Religion, Ethics and Philosophy Department for several years. 

Sheryl Sleeva: Professor in the Practice of Entrepreneurship and Innovation 

Dr. Sleeva boasts an Ed.D. from Columbia University in organizational learning and leadership. Her experiences in entrepreneurship include founding her own innovation consultancy and solution design firm called Teamcraft Labs; climbing the career ladder at several prominent organizations, including Mastercard, where she worked as the senior vice president and group head of cardholder solutions; and serving as the board president of Girl Scouts of Connecticut.  

Karen Wrobbel - Professor of International Leadership 

Dr. Wrobbel has worked in international Christian schools for approximately 20 years, living in Spain, Venezuela, and Costa Rica, where she’s served as a teacher, administrator, school board member and children's education coordinator for her agency. Her scholarly focus is the education of missionary kids, third culture kids and international education, especially at the intersection of faith and learning. She is also the author of The Globally Mobile Family's Guide to Educating Children Overseas.