APU is committed to fostering an atmosphere wherein academics are not simply taught, but lived.
Professors, experts in their respective fields and passionate about the subjects they teach, challenge and stretch their students to reach their goals. Students are impelled to think critically and analyze thoroughly what they learn in the classroom.
Establishing personal relationships with your professors can change your college experience. Learn more about forming connections with faculty!Connecting With Your Professors
Faculty Search
Meet the Faculty
- Meet the Faculty: Candice Hodge, PhDCandice R. Hodge, PhD, assistant professor in Azusa Pacific’s Department of Criminal Justice. She brings a sociology background to the classroom and her research, which focuses on the effects of colorism in the 21st century, body image among African American teenage girls, domestic violence, interpersonal violence on college campuses, STDs and HIV among minority communities, and the effects of poverty among African American communities. Hodge is a member of the sociology honor society Alpha Kappa Delta, the Association of Black Sociologists, the California Sociological Association, the Pacific Sociological Association, the DC Sociological Society, the Southern Sociological Society, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
- Meet the Faculty: Lu Ruan, PhD“Computer technology has changed the way we live, work, and play,” says Lu Ruan, PhD. As an associate professor in the Department of Engineering and Computer Science at Azusa Pacific University, she enjoys challenging students to think creatively about how they can improve technology to solve problems and positively impact society. Ruan brings vast experience in the industry, having conducted research in optical networks, Internet topology, Internet routing, and content delivery networks. She has published nearly 50 papers in leading networking conferences and journals and is a recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award. She is also a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
- Meet the Faculty: Cahleen Shrier, PhDDuring hiking trips with her father and lessons shared by her mother when she was a child, Cahleen Shrier, PhD, uncovered a passion for science and how it helps her better understand God as our Creator. Today, she shares that passion with students as a professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry at Azusa Pacific University. Shrier’s areas of expertise include endocrinology, reproduction, and the neurobiology of stress and anxiety. In addition to co-authoring faith and science articles, she has written and spoken extensively on the physiology of Christ’s Crucifixion.
- Meet the Faculty: Todd Pheifer, EdDTodd Pheifer, EdD, finds excitement in the endless possibilities and applications that exist within the business world. As an assistant professor in Azusa Pacific University’s School of Business and Management, he challenges students to think critically about what we can learn from past leaders and thinkers while seeking to bring change for the future. Pheifer teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of business ethics, organizational behavior, and leadership development. He is the author of Business Ethics: The Search for an Elusive Idea.