About our instructors
David Harris, Ph. D.
Dr. David Harris is an Associate Professor in the Economics Department at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. After obtaining his undergraduate degree from Benedictine College in 1997, he earned his M.S. from Iowa State University in 1999 and his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2008. His areas of research interest are Catholic Social Teaching, the history of economic thought, and social economics. After spending time as a full-time volunteer working with the poor and under served population of Milwaukee, he taught personal finance classes before coming to Benedictine. Dr. Harris and his wife, Jackie, live in Atchison with their three children.
Dr. Harris teaches economics.
Monica Ashour, M.T.S.
Having had 20 years of experience in the classroom, 3 years of experience working at St. Mary’s Catholic Church at Texas A&M University as one of the Campus Ministers, and Master Degrees in Humanities and Theological Studies from the University of Dallas, Monica Ashour comes to us with a breadth and depth of vision that will solidify and electrify high school students. Orthodox, passionate, and pedogogically adept, Miss Ashour reaches youth especially in the areas of Christian Anthropology, Moral Theology, and Social Ethics. Her former students come to her often with gratitude in preparing them for the various experiences that they faced in college. She is also a gifted speaker for the Theology of the Body Institute.
Ms. Ashour teaches theology.
Ed Rivet has a B.S. in Pre-Law and Public Policy and a Master’s in Public Administration both from Michigan State University. He served three years as a legislative aide in the Michigan House of Representatives. For 21 years Ed has served as the Right to Life of Michigan’s Legislative Director. He has written and helped enact dozens of laws, including the nation’s first complete ban on human cloning, and banning assisted suicide in the face of the assault on human life by Jack Kevorkian and Geoffrey Fieger. Ed was the director of the state of Michigan’s largest all-volunteer citizen petition drive which also was the state’s most accurate petition drive ever, 97.3% valid signatures. Ed has done countless media interviews, appearing in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today, plus live interviews on CNN and Good Morning America.
Mr. Rivet teaches government.
Henry Russell, Ph. D.
Dr. Henry Russell is Headmaster of the St. Augustine’s Homeschool Enrichment Program founded with his wife Crystal. The program began in Fall 2005 with 20 students in two living rooms and now tutors more than 70 students. He is also the President of the SS Peter and Paul Educational Foundation, dedicated to founding an orthodox Catholic Liberal Arts college in southeast Michigan.
A graduate of Princeton and South Caroline (M.S.), Dr. Russell completed his graduate work at Louisiana State University. Formerly the Chairman of Ave Maria College’s Department of Literature, he has also been a professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville and Wake Forest University. He is a founding faculty member of the St. Robert Southwell Creative Writing Workshop held in Mahwah, New Jersey.
Dr. Russell’s works include The Catholic Shakespeare Audio Series. He was the Associate Editor of The Formalist from 1990-2004 and his writings have been published in various journals. He was honored to edit Dr. Alice von Hildebrand’s groundbreaking volume, The Privilege of Being a Woman.
Dr. Russell teaches literature.
Robert Gotcher, Ph. D.
Dr. Robert F. Gotcher most recently served as Associate Professor of Systematic Studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Kathy, are raising their seven children in Franklin, Wisconsin. Dr. Gotcher has been actively involved in the home schooling of his children, especially in the junior high and high school years. He has taught Latin, literature, physics, astronomy, and religion to homeschooled students. He has a special devotion to the classical trivium of grammar, logic and rhetoric, especially as they pertain to the written arts.
Dr. Gotcher graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1981 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies. He received his M.A. in Theology of the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul in 1991 and his Ph.D. from Marquette University in 2002.
Dr. Gotcher teaches literature and logic.
Kris Correira
Kris Correira is a homeschooling mom of three boys with a special interest in science. Her blog, At Home Science (http://AtHomeScience.blogspot.com), is a resource for teaching science at home without reliance on textbooks or curricula, but rather by creating individual, flexible science programs through a variety of books and other resources. She also has a unique approach to nature study which she blogs about at A Private Eye Nature (http://APrivateEyeNature.blogspot.com).
Kris has a long background in medicine and teaching. She is a physician assistant who worked in a busy emergency department for sixteen years. She has been teaching in the paramedic program at Quinsigamond Community college since 1993, and now also teaches a lab in Human Biology for Non-Majors at Eastern Connecticut State University. She received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biological Sciences and Computer Science from Wellesley College, and her Physician Assistant Certificate and Masters of Health Professions degree from Northeastern University. She is currently working towards her Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Higher Education online from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln.
Mrs. Correira teaches science.
Jean Rioux, Ph. D.
Dr. Rioux is a professor and chair of the philosophy department at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he has taught for 23 years. A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College, he completed his graduate work in philosophy at the Center for Thomistic Studies in Houston, earning the M.A. in 1984 and the Ph.D. in 1990. Specializing in the thought of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas, Dr. Rioux has published textbooks in logic and natural philosophy, as well as articles on the philosophy of mathematics in the Thomist and the Aquinas Review. He came to Benedictine with a love for the study of primary texts, as well as a keen interest in what computers might bring to that study. His contributions to the philosophical life of Benedictine College range from Great Books Sequences in philosophy and theology to 3D software for students of logic.
He and his wife, Maria, raise their nine children in a farmhouse in rural Kansas. They have been designing their own curricula and educating their children at home for over 20 years.
Dr. Rioux teaches philosophy.
Derek Prentice
Mr. Prentice is a graduate of Hope College with a B/A in Communications, Business and Art. An accomplished and integrity-driven professional with over 14 years of business success with Fortune 500 organizations and start-up companies, specializing in technology, automotive, powersports and consumer electronics.
Phillip Campbell
Phillip Campbell holds a BA in European History from Ave Maria University and is pursuing graduate studies in education at Madonna University. He is a Youth Director at Old St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Ann Arbor, MI where he also teaches history for the St. Augustine Homeschool Enrichment Program. Mr. Campbell and his wife of eight years homeschool their three children.
Mr. Campbell teaches history.
Dayspring Brock
Dayspring Brock has been teaching in private schools since 2004 in the Dallas area. She grew up a Dallasite, and though experimented with northern living by moving to Baltimore for a year for her first teaching job, discovered that the Texas life was indeed superior. Her undergraduate degree is in history and philosophy from Dallas Baptist University and she holds a Masters of Humanities in Literature from the University of Dallas. Dayspring is a current candidate to enter the Catholic Church (an Anglican rite church) and can’t wait to take her first Eucharist at Easter. She has a passion for books, current events, films, fashion, pop culture, coffee, and music. She loves Junior High students and the opportunities to show how reading and writing can open up a whole new dimension to a student.
Ms. Brock teaches Junior High literature.
Alecia Rolling
Alecia Rolling received a B.A. in German and Latin from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2005 and an M.A. in Classics (Latin emphasis) from the University of Nebraska in 2008. In addition, she studied German at Institut für Internationale Kommunikation in Zusammenarbeit mit der Heinrich-Heine Universität in Düsseldorf, Germany 2002-2003. Her teaching experience ranges from individual tutorials in French, Latin, German, and history to large collegiate classes in Classical Mythology and Latin. She has edited independent study courses in Latin for the University of Nebraska, and currently she is working on a Latin translation of a tenth-century papal document for publication.
Mrs. Rolling is home educating her two young children with a modified classical/Montessorian curriculum. German is the primary language spoken at home, which makes home-made curricula a necessity. Another son is expected this spring of 2010, and the whole family is excited.
Mrs. Rolling teaches Latin and German.
Kenneth Rolling
Kenneth Rolling is a graduate student at the Catholic University of America pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy. He earned an M.A. in Classics, specializing in Greek, from the University of Nebraska in 2008 and a B.A. in philosophy from Benedictine College in 1999.
At times working in the university system, tutoring centers, and the homes of families, he has taught courses and tutorials on subjects as diverse as musical performance, Classical mythology, philosophy, literature, and standardized test preparation. Currently, he is the managing editor of the Review of Metaphysics, and he does research on the ideas of education and beauty.
Mr. Rolling teaches Latin, philosophy, and history.
Gary Michuta
Gary Michuta was born into a devote Catholic home. In the late 1980’s, many of Gary’s friends fell prey to anti-Catholic Fundamentalist Protestants and left the Faith. For him, the Catholic Faith was something to be believed, but it didn’t have anything to do with “real life” (i.e. philosophy, reason, sports, et al.). All that changed, when in 1989, Gary struck up a friendship with an anti-Catholic Fundamentalist when Gary discovered that there is a rational, biblical, and historical case for Catholicism that is both compelling and exciting.
Ministry In 1992, Gary formed Thy Faith, Inc., a lay-run 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting Catholic apologetics and evangelism. Through exciting parishes and conferences, Thy Faith, Inc. helped hundreds of Catholics learn and explain their Faith in a confident, competent and charitable fashion. Gary’s talks attempt to break through the typical “talking head” approach. He gets the audience involved in the talk. For conferences, Gary often includes mock debates so that his audience will learn not only what to say in a dialog, but how to say it. Gary was also the contributing editor of its bi-monthly publication Hands On Apologetics Magazine. Books After a two-part radio debate against anti-Catholic James McCarthy, Gary decided to author his first book that refutes McCarthy’s anti-Catholic work The Gospel According to Rome. The book is called The Gospel According to James McCarthy (Grotto Press, 2002). Today, McCarthy’s book has become a play book for anti-Catholic evangelists. Gary’s response has been a top selling antidote to McCarthy’s cavils.
In 2004, Gary participated in The Great Debate Series in Long Island, New York where he debated Dr. James White on the topic “The Dueterocanon / Apocrypha is Scripture.” The material for the debate involved four years of intensive research on the subject of the Deuterocanon. The fruit of this research is his upcoming book Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger: Did the Catholic Church Add Books to the Bible? (Grotto Press, 2007). Gary’s latest book is How to Wolf-Proof Your Kids: A Practical Guide to Keeping Your Kids Catholic (Grotto Press, 2010). This unique book gives Catholic parents and educators valuable insights into the deceiptive tactics used by anti-Catholics and concrete suggestions on how to combat these methods. Radio and Television Gary Michuta was also the co-host of the local radio show Hands on Apologetics Live (Michigan Catholic Radio: WCAR, 1090 AM). He is also a frequent guest on various Catholic radio shows such as Catholic Answers Live (EWTN), Searching the Word (Relevant Radio), and the Son Rise Morning Show (EWTN). He gave his “inversion story” on The Journey Home (EWTN) and he also worked as an uncredited consultant for Steve Ray’s Footsteps of God video series (Ignatius Press). Instruction Since 2003, Gary has developed apologetic material for the Eastern Church Re-Evangelization Commission (E.C.R.C) to aid the Chaldean Catholic Dioceses. Gary currently offers classes on Apologetics to Catholic parishes around the country.
Mr. Michuta teaches Catholic Apologetics.
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