Martin Dawson hired as Tabor psychology professor
Tabor College hired a new assistant professor of psychology/chair of the psychology department for the 2004-05 academic year.
Dr. Martin Dawson earned his bachelor's degree in education from Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas. He received his master's degree in marriage and family therapy from Abilene (Texas) Christian University. He then completed his doctoral program at Texas Tech University.
Following the completion of his doctoral program, Dawson received the Boren Fellowship from the U.S. Defense Department to travel to China and study the language and culture.
However, that trip to China wasn't the first time Dawson had traveled to China. Between earning his bachelor's degree and master's degree, Dawson spent two years in China teaching English.
Counting those two experiences, Dawson, along with his family, have spent a total of nine-and-a-half years overseas, quietly ministering to the people of China.
"What we were doing was missionary work basically, but in China you can't call it that," Dawson said. "So we were Christian professionals and we actually ran a restaurant."
Dawson said he hopes to return to China over the summer or possibly with students over interterm in the future.
Dawson, his wife, Lucy, who is serving as an adjunct instructor of sociology, and children, Timothy Andrew, 8, Philip, 5, and Miriam, 4, arrived in Hillsboro in June after residing in Austin, Texas, after returning from China.
"I heard about this job at Tabor and it seemed to be a pretty good fit and here we are," he said. "It's worked out really well."
Dawson said he plans to help the students, but he also wants to see the social science department grow.
Dawson plans to develop a strong sense of camaraderie among the majors in the social science department. He also wants to expand the department by getting students interested in the psychology major through better advertising as well as additional courses that are geared toward practical application to students in other majors.
"I'm committed to the students," he said. "The students learn some things from us, but they learn a lot from each other. There needs to be a healthy group atmosphere where students can learn from each other and have that sense of community."
