Meet Our Team
Devoted to God. Dedicated to learning.
Our Spirit-filled Ascent College staff is passionately committed to equipping and empowering God’s sons and daughters to boldly walk out the call of God on their lives as passionate, principled, and practical ministry leaders through sound Biblical education and leadership development.
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP
Dr. Rob Rhoden
President
Dr. Rhoden hails from Richmond, Virginia, where he pastored for 28 years as an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God. He holds his Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Bethany Bible College and completed both his Doctor of Ministry (DMin) and Master of Divinity (MDiv) at Union Theological Seminary. Married to his beautiful wife, Jennifer, an elementary school principal with two adult children, Dr. Rhoden loves to teach, preach, and write, considering himself a lifelong “pastor-scholar.” His first book is entitled See, published in 2016, with plans for more books to come in the future.
“I served as a pastor for almost thirty years before stepping into my current role as President at Ascent College. My heart lies with building up ministry leaders who help the local church go about Kingdom business. My unique insights and experiences as a pastor fuel the mission and vision for Ascent College. Simply put, you’ve been on my heart from the very beginning. Your needs are top of mind, for your good and His glory.”
Dr. Anna Morgan
Vice President of Academics
Dr. Todd Korpi
Dean of Digital Ministry
Taehyun Lee
Dean of Biblical Studies
Rev. Karen Clark
Dean of Worship Ministries Leadership
Dr. Rob Shipley
Dean of Intercultural Studies
ADMINISTRATION
Sonji Thee
Director of Student Services, Registrar
Rev. Kevin Willis
Chaplain
Cori Williams
Director of Admissions
Katy Blevins Calabrese
Academic Advisor and Marketing Director
Amy Young
Assistant Registrar and Student Accounts
Victoria Davis
Academic Advisor
Claudia Traverso
Admissions Counselor
Dr. Ron DeBerry
Director of Library Resources
Vanessa B. Willis
Director of Compliance
Dr. Jacob Al Hassan
Vice President of African Partnerships
In addition to our exceptional Ascent College staff, we are blessed by the guidance of our Board of Directors. We are deeply grateful to host distinguished faculty from all over the country and all walks of life.
Wondering how we are able to track an international footprint of ministry leadership development far beyond our headquartering Mid-Atlantic region in Gainesville, Virginia?
God has woven a beautiful global tapestry of partner site churches that help shepherd those students entrusted to our care within the vibrant community and context of the local church. Explore our partner site network and consider collaborating with us to send forth ministry leaders on mission today!
Looking for an integrated live-in experience for your next-gen ministry leader?
Explore our partnership with the Potomac School of Leadership, a residential two-year ministry training program based out of the Potomac Ministry Network office where students earn their Associate of Science in Ministry Leadership (ASML) through their coursework at Ascent College while also gaining hands-on local church experience as they build lifelong relationships with their peers and leaders through the Potomac Ministry Network.