Our Teaching Focus

Biola's role as a Christian graduate university is not to make a leader, but rather to educate, sharpen and deepen the raw leadership abilities placed there through God's design and your early life experiences. The MOL has brought together a faculty possessing extensive real life experience and theoretical understanding to provide the insight, developmental environment, coaching, personalized feedback and skills training that can make the difference between leadership excellence and mediocrity for students of the program.

REPRESENTATIVE LIST OF FACULTY FOR THE MASTER OF ARTS IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Jeffrey Decker, MOL Academic Chair
Ph.D., Drucker School of Management, Claremont Graduate School/University
MBA, Kent State University
B.A. in Business, Kent State University

Dr. Decker brings several years of high-level management experience to the MOL program through his previous role as a senior-level executive in the insurance industry. His teaching career includes that of professor and director of the executive management and MBA programs at the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management. Dr. Decker received the Harry S. Nerhood award for teaching excellence at Whittier College in 1997. In addition, he has taught at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management.

Scott Rae
Ph.D., Social Ethics, University of Southern California
M.A., Ethics, University of Southern California
Th.M., Dallas Theological Seminary
B.A., Economics, Southern Methodist University

Nationally known as an author of 7 books, including Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics , and dozens of published articles on ethical issues, Scott Rae is also the ethical advisor to numerous Southern California hospitals in the area of medical ethics. He is the co-author of Beyond Integrity, a textbook on business ethics from a Christian perspective. He is the Chair of Philosophy of Religion and Ethics for Talbot School of Theology and teaches as adjunct faculty in the M.A. in Organizational Leadership degree.

Dr. Rae is married with three teenage boys and spends free time coaching their sports and being on the road crew for one of the boy's rock band. They live in Irvine and attend Mariners Church.

Donna Ward
Ed.D., Instructional Technology, University of Southern California
M.S., Consumer Economics, Oklahoma State University
B.S., Consumer Economics, Oklahoma State University

Donna is a freelance author, speaker, adjunct professor at Biola University, and serves as Area Director Crown Financial Ministries with Sid, her husband of 37 years. She has led two dozen Crown Bible studies, including Business by the Book, and is director for three counties: Ventura, Santa Barbara, and North Los Angles. In 2008, She and her husband spent three weeks in Indonesia for Crown Ministries, speaking to business people about God's Words on ethics and integrity in business.

While getting her doctorate, she was part of the USC Instructional Development Institute and was Director of the School of Business Learning Support Center at USC. She was also the first professor in the Information Decision Sciences department at California State University, San Bernardino to be selected to teach in the Distance Learning Classroom via television. Over the years, she's taught more than 1100 college students, primarily graduate students.

Richard S. Franklin
Ph.D. Candidate (ABD), Organizational Leadership, Regent University
Th.M., Systematic Theology (emphasis), Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
M.Div., Pastoral Care & Counseling (emphasis), Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
B.A., Communication Studies, University of California, Los Angeles

Rick teaches as adjunct faculty in the MOL program as well as for Talbot School of Theology, placing a primary emphasis upon character development and the inner dynamics of leadership. He has over 20 years of executive leadership experience both in the U.S. and internationally ministering with Campus Crusade for Christ, where he served as national director of Campus Crusade in the Czech Republic and currently helps provide leadership development for staff throughout Eastern Europe and Russia. Rick provides consulting for Christian non-profit organizations and his research interests include integrating biblical faith, theology, and leadership studies as well as studying authentic leadership.

Rick and his wife, Dana, were high school sweethearts and have been married for nearly 23 years. They have four children ranging in age from 10 to 19. Rick and his family enjoy spending time together at the beach and at their family cabin in the Colorado Rockies as well as ministering cross-culturally.

Jill Bedell
Ed.D., Human Development, Biola University
M.A., Personality and Vocational Development, Azusa Pacific University
M.A., Counseling, Biola University
M.A., Bible and Theology, Talbot Theological Seminary
B.A. Physical Education, Westmont College

Jill Bedell is a noted expert in the field of outdoor experiential learning, personality and vocational development. She has worked as a career counselor and as a seminar speaker and team leader for Summit Adventure. Most recently she has been a professor of Bible and theology at Biola University.

Rex Johnson
Psy.D, Alliant International University
M.A., Biola University
M.R.E., Talbot School of Theology
B.A., University of California, Los Angeles

Rex Johnson is Professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership at Talbot. He is one of the cornerstone professors in the Intentional Character Development program at Talbot as well. Rex trains teachers and pastors in Russia, Ukraine, Mozambique and other countries around the world. He has contributed to Christian magazines, journals and texts and has published several books, including Characteristics of a Caring Home with Dr H. Norman Wright.

Rex and Eve, his wife, invest in marriage ministries leading workshops and couples' groups, and have been developing their own marriage for over 41 years. They also love and are loved by their four adult children, their children's mates and their six grandchildren.

Ronald Smedley
M.S., Industrial Psychology, California State University, Long Beach
B.S. Psychology, Biola College

As Director of Human Resources for well-known Southern California manufacturing companies and a consultant in HR and labor law for the past 15 years, Ron Smedley has developed a wealth of practical experience filtered through a biblical world view. He has been an adjunct faculty member at Biola for over 10 years and was a founding faculty member of Biola's bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership. In addition to corporate clients, Ron has consulted foreign governments, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.