Howard Payne University announced three new faculty appointments at the beginning of the fall semester. Dr. Dennis Gibson was promoted to the role of chair of the Department of Physical Sciences and associate professor of chemistry after serving as an adjunct faculty member at HPU. Dr. Martin Mintchev was named director of the engineering science program and professor of engineering while Chris Sutton was employed as assistant professor of nursing.

“Dr. Dennis Gibson, Dr. Martin Mintchev and Chris Sutton love the Lord, love students, love their disciplines and love to teach,” said Dr. Donnie Auvenshine, vice president for academic affairs. “Each one of them is a great fit for the university and for their particular program. As a university, we are blessed to have people like these join us.”

Dr. Gibson holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northwestern State University of Louisiana and earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from South Dakota State University. In addition to working as an adjunct faculty member at HPU since 2019, he also served at HPU as assistant professor of physical sciences from 2017-2018.

Dr. Mintchev holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the Technical University of Sofia (Bulgaria) and earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Alberta (Canada). He most recently served in the role of professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Calgary.

Sutton holds a Bachelor of Science degree from HPU and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Lubbock Christian University. He earned his Master of Science in Nursing degree from The University of Texas Medical Branch – Galveston. He most recently served as a family nurse practitioner with Adult Medical Solutions.

For more information about HPU and its programs, please visit www.hputx.edu.