At the end of this spring semester, Houghton will be bidding farewell to six of its current faculty: Mark Hijleh, associate dean for academic affairs and professor of composition and conducting; Keith Horn, associate dean for the natural sciences and mathematics; Brandon Johnson, associate professor of vocal music and conducting and director of choral activities; Jun-Koo Park, assistant professor of applied mathematics; Trini Rangel, assistant professor of physical education and chair of the department of physical education; and Jillian Sokso, associate professor of art and art department chair.
While Johnson, Park, Rangel, and Sokso will be departing voluntarily for varied reasons, Horn’s departure after five years at Houghton will be happening with budget cuts passed as part of recent austerity measures enacted by the college. Linda Mills-Woolsey, dean of the college and vice president for academic affairs, explained the reasoning behind the cut, stating that the goal is to “administratively have fewer areas so we’re not investing in so many associate deans,” adding that the priority is to cut administratively before cutting faculty.
The cutting of Horn’s position will require faculty will require some transition. “What we are going to move toward there is a dean position that’s more like the deans of the other areas, which would be a teaching dean,” explained Mills-Woolsey. “Dr. Horn has been a consulting dean; he’s done a wonderful job for us when he first came on as associate dean. [But] it was going to be a temporary thing.” Mills-Woolsey went on to say that “because Dr. Horn has done such a good job and been very invested in the sciences and really provided some spiritual leadership as well as divisional and area leadership, obviously they [the faculty] are very sad, some of them are angry. They will be going through a grieving process over this, partly because there’s never a time when you feel like it’s a good time for it to happen.”
Also terminated was Hijleh’s position as associate dean for academic affairs. However, after considering an offer for a similar but distinct position at Houghton, he opted instead to head to The King’s College, a Christian institution with a student body of around 500, in New York City and take up a position as vice president for academic administration and dean of the faculty. “Both Dean-Mills Woolsey and President Mullen offered me something that I thought had a lot of good potential and was an exciting possibility,” said Hijleh, who has been at Houghton for 21 years. “As is always the case with these kinds of decisions, there was a weighing of a number of factors involved in that.” He explained, “I have been pursuing this kind of chief academic officer position for some time. Certainly, [with] the kind of role I will be able to have there, I’m convinced that’s where the Lord wants me to be at this point in my career.”
Park, on the other hand, is making a move to Georgia Gwinnett College after two years at Houghton in order to better accommodate his growing family. “I’ll never forget the support that I have received from my department, area and the college,” he said. “There are many things; however, the one thing I would like to emphasize is being a Project NExT Fellow. Houghton College was a sponsor for me to be the Project NExT Fellow. I have learned a lot from the experience.”
Johnson, after 11 years at Houghton, is planning to move to Ann Arbor, Michigan in order to work as the director of choral activities at Eastern Michigan University, a secular institution of around 25,000 undergraduates. “My family and I have been looking for opportunities to get a little bit closer to our home, which is in Minnesota,” he explained. “Houghton College has taught me far more than I have taught at Houghton,” he said. “While I’m excited to start this new chapter in my family’s life and in my professional life, I will cherish the time I had here at Houghton.”