ETBU - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Head Coach, Women 's Basketball / Division
Arbogast is entering his second year at ETBU and became the new head coach on August 1, 2020. Arbogast has roots in the American Southwest Conference as a player and assistant coach.
He came to ETBU after coaching two years at the University of the Ozarks in the men's basketball program. In those two years, UO improved their win total by five and had three players named All-ASC. He played four years basketball at Howard Payne University and was a graduate assistant for one season before moving onto Holiday High School.
Arbogast graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor's degree in Exercise and Sport Science. He then completed a Master of Education in Sports Administration from Midwestern State University in 2018. He and his wife, Shelby, have one son, Foster, and they attend Immanuel Baptist Church in Marshall.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant / Division
- Administrative Assistant for Academic Affairs
Chris Sooter serves as the Administrative Assistant for Academic Affairs at ETBU. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Interior Design from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2010 and her Master of Business Administration degree from Louisiana State University Shreveport in 2018. Before joining ETBU, she worked as an Office Manager and Project Manager for a construction firm. She is excited to see what God has in store for her at East Texas Baptist University. Chris and her husband, Bradley, have been married for ten years and have one energic son, Samuel.
Job Titles:
- Director of Campus Services
Job Titles:
- Assistant Coach, Men 's Basketball / Division
- Assistant Men 's Basketball Coach
Derek Alleman serves as the Assistant Men's Basketball Coach. Alleman came to ETBU after serving as an assistant coach at Crescent City Christian School in Louisiana.
Alleman brings coaching stops from the high school and junior college level to ETBU. In 2019-20, he was a part of the coaching staff at Crescent City Christian School that led the team to the Louisiana Division State championship. Prior to Crescent City, he was on ETBU Head Coach Chris Lovell's staff at Bossier Parish Community College as the Cavaliers reached the NJCAA nation's top 25 for the first time in 20 seasons.
Derek received his Master of Education Degree from ETBU in May of 2022. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration at Southeastern Louisiana University in 2011.
Job Titles:
- Counseling Education
- Professional Counselor
Dr. Joseph Allen Kofi Appiah-Boateng was born and raised in Ghana; he is a native of Ashanti and Akwapim. He earned his BSc in Banking & Finance from Central University in Accra, Ghana; Chartered Diploma in Strategic Marketing Management from the Chartered Institute of Marketing-United Kingdom; M. A. in Marriage & Family Therapy from Liberty University; and Ph.D. in Counselor Education & Supervision from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Additionally, Allen has 25 years of experience in Christian leadership, including planting Churches, teaching Sunday school, and pastoring youths. Allen believe teaching is both a ministry and public service.
He is an advocate of sound integration of faith and learning grounded in comprehensive biblical understanding and systematic observation of human behaviors. He enjoys drawing students' attention to the contributions of general revelation to the understanding of special revelation. He believe that all academic disciplines have an important relationship to God's truth and encourage students to approach every course as part of God's process of transforming them into effective Kingdom builders.
He has published and presented in numerous professional conferences (including ACA & ACES) on topics relating to masculine socialization and boy's bullying, marketing the supervision services, and counseling men. His research interests are school counseling interventions, bullying prevention, masculinity, and faith and learning integration.
Allen is a licensed Professional Counselor and specializes in men and marriage counseling; particularly, couples in conflicts, pre-marital, and post-divorce parenting. He counsels marriages from an integrative approach, utilizing multigenerational theory as his foundational model.
Dr. Appiah-Boateng is married to Rhoda Appiah-Boateng and they both reside in Longview, Texas. He enjoys working with his hands and listening to smooth Jazz.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Communication
Dr. Angela Anima-Korang has over a decade experience in higher education and student academic success. She has mentored several students in those years; she serves as the co-founder of MARP-U, an organization dedicated to student excellence and MeetMentors, an international students' mentoring organization. She is currently serving as Associate Professor of Communication and Director of the Master of Arts in Strategic Communication (MASC) program in the School of Communication and Performing Arts. Prior to joining the ETBU community, she served as Sustainability Specialist Research Assistant with the Sustainability Office of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, while earning her Masters in Public Health degree. Dr. Anima-Korang also holds a Master of Science in Mass Communication and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mass Communication & Media Arts, from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and Southern Illinois University Carbondale, respectively. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the Catholic University College of Ghana. Dr. Anima-Korang's research focuses on using communication strategies to improve health outcomes for underserved populations. She has published works in scholarly peer-reviewed journals. Her most recent collaborative book chapter (in review for: Handbook of Research on Contemporary Issues in Multicultural and Global Education, IGI Global), focuses on the multicultural and educational challenges in the context of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Dr. Angela Anima-Korang's Christian faith and values have informed all aspects of her career and especially in her interactions with the students whom she serves.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry
Dr. Matt Baird, Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry, comes to ETBU with over 20 years of pastoral experience. He earned his BA in Religion from Wayland Baptist University in 2001 as well as his MCM in Bible from Wayland in 2006. He studied at B. H. Carroll Theological Institute, receiving his PhD in Scripture and Witness in 2015. His research interests include the Gospel of Mark, historical Jesus study, the New Testament's use of the Old Testament, and the incorporation of theological education in the life of the church. He teaches courses on the New Testament and the spiritual formation of students with a calling toward vocational ministry.
Job Titles:
- Director of Choral Activities
- Director, Choral Activities / Assistant Professor of Music
Dr. Patrick Antinone serves as Assistant Professor of Music and the Director of Choral Activities at East Texas Baptist University. Dr. Antinone comes to East Texas Baptist University with 32 years of experience in Music Education. His higher education teaching experience includes positions at Southeastern Oklahoma State, UT Arlington, TCU, and Texas Tech. Previously, he served Texas public schools for 26 years as a junior high and high school choir director and fine arts administrator in the greater Dallas and Ft. Worth area. Dr. Antinone holds a BME from Baylor University, a MA in Music Education from Texas Woman's University and a Ph.D. in Fine Arts and Music Education from Texas Tech. He studied music education and research with Dr. Janice Killian, vocal technique with Joan Wall, Lanelle Blanton and Richard Robinson, and choral techniques with Dr. Hugh Sanders.
Job Titles:
- Provost and Vice President / Professor of Christian Ministry
- Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Dr. Thomas Sanders is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and has been employed by East Texas Baptist University since 2013. As the chief academic officer, his leadership responsibilities include seven academic schools and thirteen departments. He supervises the enrollment management of the dual enrollment program, the international program, the graduate education program, the Center for Academic Excellence including student success and support programs and initiatives, the Learning and Leading program which is a freshmen first year experience, the Global Education program, the Institutional Research and Accreditation department, our university community service and service learning program, the Institute for Economic Education, the Jarrett Library, and the Institutional Technology department.
Dr. Sanders is also involved in teaching undergraduate courses in Christian Education, Learning and Leading courses for freshmen, and weekly academic accountability with at-risk undergraduate students. Currently, he is chairing the University strategic planning process and also participates in many aspects of the University including student engagement, development, and athletics.
Dr. Sanders and his wife, Treva, have been married for 35 years. Treva has taught elementary school for over 30 years. They have three children. Katie is an Assistant District Attorney; Claire is an Emergency Room Nurse; Kyle is a high school teacher. They also have two grandchildren, Holt and Eleanor.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Nursing
Job Titles:
- Electronic Resources and Technical Services Librarian / Assistant Professor of Library Science / Division
Mr. Christopher Altnau is the Electronic Resources and Technical Services Librarian for the Jarrett Library. Mr. Altnau holds a Master of Arts in English from Lamar University, Beaumont, Texas, and a Master of Science in Library Science from the University of North Texas in Denton. He is currently working on a third master's degree, in Theological Studies from East Texas Baptist University. Mr. Altnau began his library career in 2010, working as a cataloging assistant at Concordia University of Austin while in grad school. Mr. Altnau has been a professional librarian since 2011, and his areas of interest in that field include digital preservation of both scanned analog and born-digital works, obsolescence of file format and file reader technologies, obsolescence of electronic storage media technologies, special collections, and archives. Mr. Altnau's literary interests include Aristotelian Tragic Theory, and Restoration-era / Early 18th Century Poetry, especially the works of John Dryden, Alexander Pope, and Jonathan Swift. Mr. Altnau resides in Marshall, with his wife, Magdalena, and their two children. Mr. Altnau is a member of St. Timothy's Anglican Church of Marshall.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Provost, Adult and Graduate Studies / Assistant Professor of Adult Education
Mr. Vince Blankenship has been employed at East Texas Baptist University since January 1996. He served in the Enrollment and Marketing areas for 20 years and currently is the Assistant Provost for Adult Education and Graduate Studies. Before coming to work at ETBU, he served full-time as a church staff member in music and education. Vince received a Bachelor of Music in All-Level Music Education from ETBU in 1985 and a Master of Arts in Religious Education from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Vince is married to Susan, who is also a 1985 ETBU graduate. She teaches high school Spanish. They have two adult children, Kari and Cody, who are both ETBU alums, as well.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Vice President for Student Engagement
- Associate Vice President for Financial Affairs / Director, Human Resources
Mrs. Tara Bachtel currently serves as the Assistant Vice President for Student Engagement and Director of Human Resources at East Texas Baptist University. Before joining the ETBU staff, she served in a variety of professional and administrative roles in multiple Texas public school districts. Her experiences include teaching high school science for 8 years, campus administration for 4 years, and serving as an assistant superintendent for 2 years. Mrs. Bachtel earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Howard Payne University and a Master of Science in Environmental Science from Tarleton State University. She has been married to her husband, Jason, for 17 years, and they have four children, Talen, Bailee, Brooklyn, and Blaire.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Provost / Associate Professor of Library Sciences / Division
- Associate Professor of Library Science
Ms. Elizabeth Ponder currently serves as the Assistant Provost and Associate Professor of Library Science at East Texas Baptist University. Ms. Ponder earned a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies along with her Texas Teaching Certificate in Language Arts and Social Studies Grades 4-8 from the University of Texas at Tyler. After serving as a classroom teacher for grades 6-8, Ponder earned her M.S. in Library Science from the University of North Texas. In her time at ETBU, Elizabeth has worked in various roles including Manager of Instruction & Information Services for the library, Program Coordinator for the Center for Excellence in Christian Scholarship (CECS), General Education coordinator, and has served on several committees. Over the last several years, Ms. Ponder has had the opportunity to give several professional presentations related to information literacy for college students. Ms. Ponder is passionate about education, and she believes that providing access to trustworthy information is a key component in equipping lifelong learners.
Job Titles:
- Director / Division
- Director of Academic Affairs
Felicia Taylor is the Director of Academic Affairs. Prior to her work at East Texas Baptist University, she was a local business owner and had a successful career working in the insurance industry. Felicia is a licensed insurance professional with a background in sales, acquisitions, compliance, codes, and contract management. Felicia and her husband Darrell are advocates for family and community. Together, they serve the purpose of God by encouraging couples in the biblical principles of marriage and participating in community service.
Job Titles:
- University Park Residence Manager
Job Titles:
- Assistant Athletic Director, Operations / Division
Reid serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Operations and Director of Intramural Sports at East Texas Baptist University. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from ETBU in 2019 and later earned his Master of Education in College and University Leadership from ETBU in 2020. Through many avenues of campus involvement as an undergraduate student, Reid has a passion for providing current and future students opportunities to pursue their calling and glorify God.