Education Faculty

Dr. Karen Gentsch

Dr. Gentsch holds the rank of Professor at East Texas Baptist University. She has an earned doctorate degree from Texas A&M University at Commerce in curriculum, supervision, and instruction with 18 graduate hours in reading. She has a master's degree in elementary education and a master's degree in library information science. She has valid Texas teaching certificates in elementary self-contained grades 1-8, elementary mathematics grades 1-8, elementary reading grades 1-8, and learning resources endorsement grades PK-12. Her teaching experiences include more than 10 years teaching on the college level and seven years in P-12 schools. Her scholarly productivity is maintained through frequent state, regional, and national presentations. Every semester for the past two years, Dr. Gentsch has taught two of the upper-level undergraduate courses in a hybrid format. These classes met face-to-face two days per week to discuss application of course content that was enhanced with weekly online assignments. Prior to working at ETBU, she designed curriculum for LeTourneau University’s alternative certification program.

Dr. Donna Lubcker

Dr. Lubcker holds the rank of Professor at East Texas Baptist University. She has an earned doctorate degree in curriculum and instruction from Louisiana Tech University. She has a Master of Science degree in home economics education. She has valid Louisiana teaching certificates in elementary grades, kindergarten,nursery school, and for supervisor of student teaching. She taught both in the United States and overseas during two decades of working with young children in classroom settings. While in the classroom, she served on various committees that wrote and/or evaluated curriculum to reflect the specific developmental needs of children. While teaching overseas, she had opportunities to travel and work with teachers in Europe, Africa,and Asia, presenting at conferences and serving on international committees. Upon return to the United States, she formed her own consulting company whose clients included McMillan/McGraw-Hill, Simon and Schuster,and area school districts in North Louisiana and East Texas. She also conducted in-service training for teachers in North and South America. She has served on a dissertation committee for the University of Phoenix and Southwestern Seminary, as well as the site advisor for projects completed by doctoral students at Texas A&M University at Commerce. Currently, she teaches a hybrid class with students attending classes two days per week and the third class is an online assignment where students research topics related to the information that will be studied during the upcoming week. She also teaches strategies for taking the State certification exam.

Dr. John Sargent

Dr. Sargent holds the rank of Associate Professor at East Texas Baptist University. He has a doctorate degree in curriculum and instruction from Louisiana Tech University and a Master of Science degree in human resources management. He has a valid Louisiana teaching certificate in mild/moderate grades 1-12, a valid Texas teaching certificate in generic special education grades PK-12, and has a Louisiana certificate as a reading specialist. He has extensive teaching and research experience in the field of education. His experience in P-12 education includes instruction in reading, language arts, and mathematics. He is currently a certified teacher in both Texas and Louisiana, and a certified reading specialist in Louisiana. Dr. Sargent has presented papers on various topics in education at 21 state, regional, national, and international conferences. He is the author of six journal articles relating to issues in the educational arena. Dr. Sargent has authored a book on qualitative action research and his undergraduate students have completed over 250 qualitative research projects in the local schools under his guidance. He was one of the first instructors at East Texas Baptist University to utilize online delivery in a hybrid format for all of his classes. He is extremely adept in using the latest computer instructional techniques for the benefit of his students and incorporates Web 2.0 materials in his classes.

Dr. Mary Thompson Price

Dr. Thompson-Price holds the rank of Assistant Professor at East Texas Baptist University. She has an earned doctorate degree from the University of Houston in curriculum and instruction with 45 hours in instructional technology. She has valid Texas teaching certificates in elementary self-contained grades 1-8, elementary English grades 1-8, and generic special education grades PK-12. From 2003-2006, she taught graduate courses including Computers in the Classroom and Introductory Web Design at the University of Houston. Additionally, she assisted in program design and implementation of a hybrid master’s certification program (ECATE) at the University of Houston (main campus). During this time, she also served on two dissertation committees. She currently uses the Web-based content management platform, RCampus, to provide online resources, additional information, and feedback to her undergraduate students. Course lectures, interactive support material, additional multimedia, and assignments are all available to students online and are discussed and used during face-to-face instruction in Web-supported undergraduate courses.

Dr. Paul Vickers

Dr. Vickers holds the rank of Assistant Professor at East Texas Baptist University. He has an earned doctorate in educational leadership from Stephen F. Austin State University. He has a Master of Education in educational leadership. He has a valid Texas teaching certificate in secondary social studies composite grades 6-12 and Texas principal and superintendent certificates. He has previously taught graduate courses in master’s of educational leadership programs at Stephen F. Austin State University and Dallas Baptist University as an adjunct professor. He taught curriculum design and evaluation, as well as supervision of instructional programs. Dr. Vickers has supervised teachers and other school administrators as a public school principal and private school interim superintendent. He is a certified Professional Development and Appraisal System (PDAS) evaluator for Texas teachers, and has evaluated numerous teachers over the past decade. He has experience as an instructional leader, school administrator, teacher, and college instructor. Dr. Vickers has developed virtual assignments in a hybrid graduate course and had students participate in online discussion boards concerning various educational topics. He has developed Web-based syllabi through Blackboard and has used other online tools to enhance student learning.