Chapel Speakers

President Chip Pollard

(January 12, February 17, March 7, April 25)

Dr. Pollard has been the president of JBU since 2004. Prior to coming to JBU, he taught English at Calvin College and practiced law in Chicago.

MLK Jr. Service: Rukshan Fernando

(January 16)

Rukshan Fernando is Associate Dean of the School of Behavioral and Applied Sciences at Azusa Pacific University. His research has been published in the Encyclopedia of World Poverty, Journal of Community Practice, and Christianity and Social Work.

Rod Reed

(January 17, February 7, March 28, April 4)

Dr. Reed is University Chaplain and Associate Professor of Theology.

Soon-Heung Chang

(January 19)

Soon-Heung Chang studied nuclear engineering at Seoul National University before earning his doctorate in the same field from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has been the president of Handong Global University in South Korea since 2014 and is currently the chairman of the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission’s advisory committee. In 2015, he was inaugurated as the president of the “4/14 Window Movement” of Korea, an initiative to restore the passion of youth toward the gospel.

Spiritual Renewal Week: Mae Elise Cannon

(January 24-26)

Mae Elise Cannon is the author of the award-winning Social Justice Handbook: Small Steps for a Better World and Just Spirituality: How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action. Her ministry and professional background includes serving as Senior Director of Advocacy and Outreach for World Vision-US, Executive Pastor of Hillside Covenant Church (Walnut Creek, California), Director of Development and Transformation for Extension Ministries at Willow Creek Community Church (Barrington, Illinois), and consultant to the Middle East for child advocacy issues for Compassion International. Her visit is funded by a grant from the Thomas F. Staley Foundation.

Darren Iselin

(January 31)

Darren Iselin serves as the president of Christian Heritage College, a fully accredited, multidisciplinary college in Brisbane, Australia. He was awarded the prestigious Grassie-Basset prize in Educational Administration at the University of Queensland. He is passionate about his faith, his family, and his beloved football team, the Brisbane Broncos.

Mike Huckabee

(February 2)

Mike Huckabee was the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 until 2007, becoming one of the longest serving governors in his state’s history. Governing magazine named him as one of its “Public Officials of the Year” for 2005, and Time magazine honored him as one of the five best governors in America. The former governor and his wife, Janet (a JBU alumna), live in Florida and still spend part of their time in Arkansas. He comes as a guest of the Barnett Civic Leadership Series.

William Struthers

(February 9)

William Struthers is Associate Professor of Psychology at Wheaton College. His clinical research is in the area of compulsive sexuality and pornography use, and he speaks internationally as an advocate against various forms of sexual exploitation, including pornography, prostitution, and sex trafficking. His book Wired for Intimacy specifically addresses the effects of pornography on the brain.

Francis Umesiri

(February 14)

Dr. Umesiri is Assistant Professor of Chemistry at JBU.

Soderquist Leadership Chapel: Eric Pianalto

(February 16)

Eric Pianalto was named president of Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas in 2013. A Northwest Arkansas native, Eric has been with Mercy since 1994, in a variety of diverse roles within Mercy’s four-state ministry. Two decades with Mercy has given him a balanced view of health care, offering perspective during the inevitable health care shifts and challenges to come. He and his wife and family live in Tontitown, Arkansas.

Tracy Balzer

(February 21, March 16)

Tracy Balzer is Director of Christian Formation at JBU.

Sean Moore

(February 23)

Sean Moore and his family live in Haiti and work for the Hands And Feet Project (HAFP), a Christian organization dedicated to providing family style, holistic residential care and creating sustainable, dignified solutions to fight against the poverty-driven child abandonment and child slavery crisis. Sean is here as a guest of the Soderquist College of Business Working for the Common Good Series.

Lou Cha

(February 28)

Dr. Cha is Assistant Professor, Christian Ministry and Formation at JBU.

Daniel Calveti

(March 2)

Daniel Calveti is a singer, composer, and worship leader based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Three of his six albums were nominated for Latin Grammy awards. He is the author of two books. Daniel comes as a representative of Compassion International.

Cary Balzer

(March 7)

Dr. Balzer is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at JBU.

Steve Garber

(March 9)

Steve Garber is the principal of The Washington Institute for Faith, Vocation & Culture, which is focused on reframing the way people understand life, especially the meaning of vocation and the common good. He is the author of The Fabric of Faithfulness: Weaving Together Belief and Behavior, and Visions of Vocation: Common Grace for the Common Good. Steve lives with his wife Meg in Virginia.

Randy Hollingsworth

(March 14)

Dr. Hollingsworth is Professor of Communication at JBU.

Jen Edwards

(March 28)

Jen Edwards is Assistant Professor of Worship Arts at JBU.

Chris Hoke and Neaners Garcia

(March 30)

Chris Hoke is a jail chaplain, pastor to gangs and violent offenders in Washington’s Skagit Valley, and the author of Wanted: A Spiritual Pursuit Through Jail, Among Outlaws, and Across Borders. Through his work with the organization Tierra Nueva he cofounded a coffee-roasting business, Underground Coffee, which employs men coming out of prison and addiction, and connects them to agricultural partners in Honduras.

Neaners Garcia is a former gang member who, after years in maximum-security prisons and solitary confinement, now works with Chris at Tierra Nueva. Together, they reach out to active gang members on the streets and throughout the prisons he once knew—with the same love that found him in those dark places. A rare voice that has risen from America’s underground, Neaners often speaks in churches, helping mainstream communities reimagine and reengage those still in prison.

Jaime Zamarrón

(April 6)

Jaime Zamarrón is a communicator and campus pastor of Olive Street en Espanol, a campus of First Baptist Rogers. He graduated from Baptist University of Americas in San Antonio, Texas. He aims to resource new pastors and leader teams for new congregations all around Northwest Arkansas and the world. Jaime and his wife, Erika, have two children.

The Salvation Army and John Brown, Sr.: A Look Back

(April 11)

It was 120 years ago that John Brown, Sr., attended a Salvation Army revival meeting and gave his life to Christ. This special chapel service will celebrate the ministries of the Salvation Army and the founder of our university.

April Moreton

(April 18)

Dr. Moreton is Senior Director of Development at JBU.

Academic Excellence: Gregory Thornbury

(April 20)

Gregory Thornbury serves as president of The King's College in New York City. His recent books focus on the relationship between philosophy, theology, and culture. His forthcoming work, Only Visiting This Planet, is a biography of the 1970s Jesus Movement icon and rock pioneer, Larry Norman, whom Thornbury calls, “the forerunner of the millennial generation’s attitude toward religion.” He and his wife Kimberly have two daughters and reside in Manhattan.