The promotions were announced by Lee President Dr. Paul Conn at a recent faculty meeting.
These faculty members are Dr. Andrea Dismukes, Dr. Arden Jensen, Dr. Edley Moodley, Dr. Ashley Smith, and Dr. Jeri Veenstra.
Dismukes, mezzo-soprano, has served Lee and the School of Music in various roles since 1992, including chair of the Department of Vocal Music, member of the university’s Faculty Council, mentor to new faculty, professor of voice and diction for singers, director of Ladies of Lee for six years, maintaining a sizable studio of highly accomplished voice students.
Locally, Dismukes performs with the Choral Arts of Chattanooga and is a featured soloist with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and the Chattanooga Bach Chorale.
She also serves as director of music for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in downtown Cleveland and as a vocal consultant for the Young People’s Chorus of New York City. Dismukes received her doctor of musical arts from the University of Alabama, her master of music from Austin Peay, and a bachelor of music education from Lee University.
Jensen joined Lee’s English and Modern Foreign Languages Department in 2003 and teaches English and Asian studies courses. Director of the Asian Studies program, Jensen coordinates opportunities for Lee students to study at Tokyo Christian University for a semester and seeks out ways for them to serve Japanese churches and other ministries in Japan.
Jensen received his doctorate and master’s degree in English from Florida State University and his bachelor of arts from Florida International University.
He and his wife, Denise, have four children.
Moodley joined Lee’s faculty in 1999 teaching in the Intercultural Studies Department.
Moodley has taught across cultures around the world in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. His area of specialty is Contextual and Global Theologies. His monograph, “Shembe, Ancestors, and Christ: A Christological Inquiry with Missiological Implications,” was published by Pickwick Publications in September 2008.
An ordained bishop in the Church of God, Moodley received his doctorate from Asbury Theological Seminary, his master of divinity from Church of God Theological Seminary, and a bachelor of theology from the University of South Africa.
He is married to a Lee alumna, Flora. They have two daughters, Debbie and Eleanor, also alumnae of Lee. Debbie is married to Lee alumnus Jason Brown. The Moodleys have one granddaughter, Kjeersten.
Smith joined Lee’s Helen DeVos College of Education in 2005 as the director of Field Experiences and the following year began directing the Teacher Education Program.
He holds an education doctorate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a master of science from Middle Tennessee State University, and a bachelor of science from the University of Florida.
Prior to coming to Lee, Smith served as the supervisor of middle grades and grants for the Cleveland City Schools system and as principal of Cleveland Middle School for 18 years. He has served in numerous professional organizations and on state education committees.
He currently serves as the South Regional Trustee for the National Middle School Association and as a board member of the Tennessee Association of Middle Schools.
Veenstra joined the Lee faculty as an assistant professor of health science in 1999 after nine years as an adjunct professor in the Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
Veenstra’s academic interests include public and international health, medical ethics, and health professions research and education.
She has been a trip coordinator and practicing dentist for the Summer of Studies in Medical Missions Program since its inception 12 years ago. She also initiated the annual high school essay competition, “Integration of Faith and Practice: Called to Science.”
Veenstra received her doctorate from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and her bachelor of arts in general science from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She also holds a doctor of dentistry degree from Crieghton University. She and her husband, Jim, have two children.
