Grace College and Theological Seminary welcomes five new faculty members to the 2012 – 2013 school year.

Grace’s Math and Science department is pleased to welcome Ashley Holland, Ph.D., as the newest assistant professor of mathematics. Dr. Holland received her Ph.D. in applied and interdisciplinary mathematics from the University of Michigan and joins the Grace faculty after having worked for StataCorp and the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The School of Behavioral Sciences welcomes Brooke Kovac, who received her B.S. in criminal justice and psychology from Grace College and her M.A. in criminal justice from Pennsylvania State University Harrisburg, as the newest assistant professor of criminal justice.

Kovac has participated in research with juvenile delinquents and transgender inmates in Pennsylvania prisons and in Italy, worked with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and has interned with the United States Secret Service. Kovac has also worked with Kosciusko County Emergency Management and with Chasing Rainbows, a community organization that provides equine therapy to children with disabilities.

Grace’s graduate program welcomes three new assistant professors of graduate counseling and interpersonal relations. David Olges, Ph.D., will teach graduate students on-campus, while Jenny Preffer, Ph.D. and Rhonda Ladd, Ph.D., will teach students online through Grace’s department of online education.

Dr. Olges joins the faculty having earned his M.A. in counseling from Grace (97) and his Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision from Regent University. Olges currently has his own counseling practice and has served as a staff team member in two large Indianapolis churches. He has also built a Christian residential facility and program for women who suffer from eating disorders.

Dr. Preffer also earned her Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision

from Regent University. She is a licensed mental health counselor and is board certified as a nationally certified counselor. In addition to teaching, her career experiences include working with military families, providing intensive in-home counseling with at-risk youth, Christian-based private practice, and providing career counseling to college students. She is active in research and has presented at several national conferences.