Three Faculty Members Promoted or Approved for Tenure

FREDERICK, Maryland—Three Hood College faculty members were promoted and/or approved for tenure during the March 2021 Board of Trustees meeting.

“I am pleased to celebrate the outstanding achievements of these colleagues,” said Debbie Ricker, Hood College provost and vice president for academic affairs. “They are dedicated scholars and teaching professionals who not only reflect Hood College's core values but also take great care to instill these values in our students every day. Their positive impact on our campus is evident in many ways, and it is an honor to recognize their success.”  

Approved for tenure and promotion in rank to associate professor:

• Teresa Bean, J.D., assistant professor of law and criminal justice
• Alan Goldenbach, M.A., assistant professor of journalism

Approved for promotion to professor:

• Christy Graybeal, Ph.D., associate professor of education and mathematics

Teresa Bean has taught at Hood College since 2000, first as an adjunct instructor then as a tenure track faculty member beginning in the fall of 2015 when the department and new program in law and criminal justice were emerging. As an attorney, Prof. Bean brings real-world experience to her students via mock trials, writing-intensive briefs, presentations and collaborative learning. As a faculty member, she maintains a holistic focus on student recruitment, teaching, success and retention, and job placement.

In 2018, Bean launched an innovative new applied learning opportunity, the Pre-Law Clinic, that allows students to gain experience researching actual cases through the public defender’s office. Bean was also appointed by Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor to serve on the Frederick Police Chief External Search Committee. Prof. Bean is an engaged reviewer of manuscripts and texts for professional journals in her field, and has delivered conference presentations regionally and nationally.

Alan Goldenbach began his tenure-track appointment at Hood College in 2015 in the Department of English and Communication Arts. Goldenbach served 12 years as a staff writer for the Washington Post, was an instructor at the University of Maryland’s College of Journalism, and faculty member at Utica College. Leveraging his experience as an accomplished journalist, he considers a fundamental responsibility of his job to be educating students and the community on the importance of accurate and responsible journalism and mass media, as well as dispelling common misperceptions about the field. As a teacher, he epitomizes the philosophy of a reflective practitioner, utilizing student and peer feedback to strategically improve each of his classes.

Goldenbach has numerous publications and presentations on record and his ongoing research on the correlation between sports and religion has resulted in a published chapter in the anthology Sports and Religion in the 21st Century (2015). He also has a book proposal entitled “Tuning into the Gospel: How the Growth of Sports Television Popularized Public Prayer Among Athletes.”

Christy Graybeal has served Hood College since 2008 as a faculty member with joint appointments in the Department of Education and Department of Mathematics, teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses. In 2014, she earned tenure and was promoted in rank to associate professor. And, since 2017, she has been serving as department chair of education and program director for the graduate programs in math instructional leadership and math education. 

Throughout her career at Hood, Dr. Graybeal has consistently demonstrated teaching excellence, active scholarship, and dedicated service to both campus and community. Since earning tenure, Dr. Graybeal has published nine peer-reviewed articles and delivered 14 conference presentations at state, national, and international conferences with competitive acceptance processes. She also founded the Association of Maryland Mathematics Teacher Educators, which promotes the improvement of mathematics teacher education statewide. Consistently, Dr. Graybeal’s students and colleagues applaud her innovative work with students in the classroom.

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