4 minute read
New Faculty
JOHN ORTBERG
DR. AVERIN
Dr. Alexander Averin joined the School of Business in July 2020. Dr. Averin moved to the Lynchburg area from New York with his family. He and his wife, Lizabeth, have been married for over 22 years and are blessed with two sons: Michael (21, a senior at Vassar College) and Nikolai (18, a freshman at Liberty University). Dr. Averin earned his B.A. in Economics at Vassar College in 1997, his M.B.A. at Marist College in 2006, and his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at Regent University in 2018. His scholarly work includes research and presentations on leadership in multicultural environments and employee retention. Dr. Averin’s professional and academic experiences encompass a broad array of over 19 years of service in nonprofit administration, which includes positions of chief financial officer, head of school, director, treasurer, and others, as well as multiple faculty appointments at various colleges. Teaching and investing in the lives of others for God’s glory are his passions, and he is excited to be a part of Liberty’s mission of Training Champions for Christ!
PROFESSOR BOYCE
Professor Kristin Boyce is joining us from Delaware this fall. She most recently comes to us from the Christian radio world where she served at 88.7 The Bridge (Bridge of Hope) for the last seven years as the director of donor development. She has worked with many Christian artists on concerts and events and helped the radio station grow in revenue, listenership, and signals. Prior to her time in radio, Professor Boyce served as a vice president with Bank of America for ten years, filling a variety of roles. Her family is excited to now call Forest, Va., home. She and her husband, Thad, have three beautiful daughters — Madison, McKinley, and Malaney. Madison will be attending Liberty in the fall, and McKinley and Malaney will be attending LCA. They are a soccer family and look forward to games together. They also enjoy family time together at Smith Mountain Lake. Professor Boyce shares her excitement about becoming a Liberty family with her husband and children and is looking forward to pouring into the students at the School of Business this fall.
DR. LEHRFELD
Dr. Michael Lehrfeld comes to Liberty University with 25 years of industry and academic experience. He began his career in the public sector as a developer, project manager, and professional technical trainer. As a trainer, he discovered his passion for helping people understand complex topics and solving problems using technology. He then moved into academia where he would lead and teach networking and security topics. After earning his Ph.D., he moved to Tennessee as the primary cybersecurity expert for Liberty. In 2020, he felt a call from God to move to Lynchburg and join the School of Business as the executive director of the Center for Cyber Excellence. As the executive director, Dr. Lehrfeld provides vision and oversight for Liberty’s cybersecurity curriculum across six different degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. His charge is twofold — to enhance cybersecurity excellence within the computer science department and provide cybersecurity opportunities and awareness across all disciplines at the university. Dr. Lehrfeld believes that cybersecurity is something for which everyone has a personal responsibility. Liberty is uniquely positioned to provide the technical background to be successful in today’s global economy while wrapping a biblical worldview around this training to enable students to be ethical leaders in their fields of study.
DR. VRANES
Dr. Jason Vranes now serves as an online chair in the School of Business. Since earning his M.B.A. from Liberty in 2006, he has had a desire to join the Liberty faculty. While Dr. Vranes is from Knoxville, Tenn., his wife attended Longwood University, and they were married over 25 years ago just outside of Farmville, Va. Thus, coming to work at Liberty has been a homecoming event. Prior to joining Liberty, Dr. Vranes had over 20 years of experience in the United States Army where he served as an Air Defense (PATRIOT) Officer. His military assignments took him around the world, including Germany for over 12 years. During his military tenure, he held numerous leadership roles — including a battery commander of 180 soldiers and a battalion executive officer of over 650 soldiers. Before retiring from the service, he served as a professor of military science where he led a cadre of staff that administered over 150 ROTC cadets. After retiring, Dr. Vranes started three businesses in the digital marketing sector while completing his doctoral studies near Fort Worth, Texas. He recently served as the chief advancement officer and dean of graduate studies at a private Christian college in Knoxville, Tenn. He and his wife have six children, ranging in ages from 21 to 4 years old, and they are excited to serve God in the Lynchburg community. His spiritual inspiration is Hebrews 4:12 — “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
