By Elizabeth Clarke, LCU News
PINEVILLE, La. (LCU News) – Louisiana Christian University has welcomed six new faculty members for Fall 2025. These six faculty attended an orientation and workshop on campus and will begin their university teaching careers in Pineville with students in the classrooms beginning in the fall semester.
“LCU continues to attract the finest professors for our open positions,” said Henry O. Robertson, vice-president of Academic Affairs. “All of them are strong in their Christian faith, dedicated to our mission, and determined in their resolve to give our students the best education found anywhere in the state or nation. It was a pleasure getting to know them in the hiring process and I look forward to their many years of service to the university and those students fortunate to learn from them.”
Ann Ferguson joins the university after obtaining an Master of Science degree in nursing at Wiliam Cary University and undergraduate studies at LCU, Mississippi College and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She has been an ICU nurse at Lafayette General Hospital. Her experience and latest knowledge in the field will be an asset to the LCU Nursing School.
Shareka Moore-Roque is a new assistant professor of social work. She has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Northwestern State and a master’s degree in social work from Louisiana State University. She is completing a doctoral degree at Houston Christian University. She brings seven years of experience in private practice in Central Louisiana and will expertly bridge the divide between class work and practical experience for our students.
Emily Norris joins the university as an assistant professor of psychology. She finished her master’s degree from Louisiana State University-Shreveport. While in graduate school, she helped develop an after-school reading program for children at a community counseling clinic. She is an LCU graduate and attends Philadelphia Baptist Church.
Sandra Purifoy is a graduate of Louisiana College. She earned her Master of Science degree in life sciences at Louisiana Tech. She has decades of experience teaching at both the high school and college levels. She joins the university as an associate professor of biology.
Myles Roberts is finishing his Ph.D. in English literature at Baylor University. He is a 2002 graduate of Louisiana College and holds degrees from LSUS, Howard and Duke universities. He is a Shakespeare scholar, musician and homeless activist. He has been active at several churches and ministries in Shreveport.
John Rivoire is a nursing professor who brings a wealth of experience into the classroom. He has taught at two other universities in Louisiana and served as a major in the U.S. Air Force working in an in-theater mobile hospital in the Persian Gulf. He has been an administrator at facilities and has an M.S.in nursing from the University of Mississippi Health Sciences Center and Grambling University.
Promotions for LCU faculty
The university announces tenure and promotions to their long-serving faculty. The process to achieve tenure and promotion remains rigorous and all faculty applying are reviewed by a university committee of their peers, the VPAA, President, and voted on by the LCU Board of Trustees.
Upon the recommendation of the administration and vote of the LCU Board of Trustees in April the following professors begin this academic year with the following tenure and promotions.
- Theodore Chiasson, associate professor of Computer Science, granted tenure
- Jeannie Gauthier in English, promoted to professor
- Andrew Magee in Criminal Justice, promoted to professor
- Scott Pickard in History, promoted to professor
- Jeff Young in Media and Communication, promoted to professor
“Tenure and Promotion decisions are never taken lightly and come after faculty have met all requirements, demonstrated merit to a peer Tenure of Promotion Committee, and achieved the recommendation of the VPAA and president, Robertson said. “This process begins in the fall and extends into spring each year. The recipients are all worthy of the trust and confidence the university has placed in their teaching, scholarship and service to the university, their church and community.”
Selection of chairs and professorships
Louisiana Christian University is blessed to have donors who have given money over the nearly 120-year history of the university to support prestigious professorships and chairs. Over the decades, the Louisiana Board of Regents has matched the contributions to help create these professorships and chairs. Nominations are made of worthy faculty, and a special committee of peers and administrators convenes to evaluate and recommend candidates.
The Eminent Scholars Committee voted, and the university has awarded the following chair and professorships to take effect this fall.
Coughlin-Saunders Foundation Chair in Nursing
Amelia Davis
The J.E. Hixon Professorship
David Elliott
George F. Kirby Professorship in Chemistry
Sarah Payne
Eugenia Dawson Professorship in Art
Michael Williams
The university recognizes these superior faculty at Founder’s Day Chapel in the fall, and each professor receives an engraved bronze medal on a ribbon.
“These outstanding faculty members have reached the pinnacle of the profession in their respective fields,” Robertson said. “Their excellence shows in their collegiate teaching, scholarship and contributions to their field of study, church and the greater community. I could not be more proud of these individuals and look forward to many years of continued contributions big and small in all that they do.”
