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In light of the recent retirement of several long-time professors at The ����aa����, as well as continued growth in the student body, TMU has hired five new faculty members for fall 2023.

Every faculty candidate at TMU is evaluated not only for expertise in his or her field, but for knowledge of Scripture, agreement with the University’s doctrinal statement, and passion for ministering to students.

Here’s a snapshot of the newest additions to TMU’s faculty:

Dr. Haley Smith | Biology

Smith has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology. She has taught at UCSB, Westmont College, and Pepperdine University, running the gamut from introductory courses to advanced cellular biology lectures and labs. She has a particular interest in guiding students through issues of ethics in the sciences.

Photo courtesy of NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center Photo Department

Prof. Philip Hamory | Electrical Engineering

Hamory earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, and he has extensive experience as a flight instrumentation and avionics engineer at NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center. He worked on the experimental NASA X-57 Maxwell aircraft, authored and co-authored several technical publications, and has done design work with circuit systems, signal processing, and flight instrumentation. He is also actively serving at Valley Bible Church in Lancaster as an evangelism teacher.

Dr. Keith Palmer | Biblical Counseling

Palmer graduated from The Master’s Seminary with a Master of Divinity and went on to earn doctoral degrees in biblical counseling from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He taught at TMU as an adjunct science professor for several years before becoming a pastor at Grace Bible Church in Granbury, Texas. During his service there, he has developed the church’s biblical counseling ministry, building curriculum and training counselors.

Dr. Marius Bahnean | Music

Bahnean studied choral conducting at the University of Massachusetts (Master of Music) and Louisiana State University (Doctor of Musical Arts). Across his career, he has directed music in churches and academic settings — most recently serving as associate professor and director of choral activities at Tennessee Wesleyan University, and as the music minister at Inskip Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. Though conducting is his passion, he also performs with a range of instruments, including the harpsichord, mandolin, and trumpet.

Dr. Steve Pekovich | Biology

Pekovich earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology from Vanderbilt University. He then went on to a post-doctoral fellowship there in pathology and enzymology. Over the years, he has researched and taught at several other institutions, including Northwest Nazarene University, College of Western Idaho, and Westmont College. More recently he has pursued entrepreneurial opportunities, establishing an auction house for sports memorabilia as well as American Family Research, a company that uses genetics to perform family research for adoptive children.

Read more about TMU’s faculty at masters.edu/faculty.