Indonesian University Instructor, Old Dominion Ph.D. Candidate Join MC Faculty

Dr. Hendra J. Tarigan, left, and Dr. Jeffrey Drake Terry have joined the Mississippi College faculty.

Hendra J. Tarigan, Ph.D.

Dr. Hendra J. Tarigan, an instructor at a private university in Indonesia for the last two years who has also taught at Howard Payne University, a Christian university in Brownwood, Texas, has joined the Mississippi College faculty as an assistant professor of electrical engineering.

Dr. Chris Maggio, associate professor and chair of engineering, computer science and physics, said he is pleased to welcome Tarigan to MC’s engineering faculty.

“His background and expertise make him a great fit in our electrical engineering program,” Maggio said. “Dr. Tarigan has already begun demonstrating his commitment to student success and to providing the highest quality educational experience for our students.”

Tarigan received his B.S. in engineering physics and his M.S. in physics from the University of Nevada, Reno. He also obtained his M.S. in applied physics, his M.S. in electrical engineering and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He completed his Ph.D. research at TTU’s Nano Tech Center, where he characterized the dielectric constant and reflectance of Bulk Metallic Glass nanopillars using an ellipsometer and integrating sphere.

He and his wife, Annie, have two daughters and one son, and the family enjoys taking road trips to the Grand Canyon, Lake Tahoe, and Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks. Tarigan’s favorite Bible verses are Matthew 7:7-8: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (NIV)

Jeffrey Drake Terry, M.S.

Jeffrey Drake Terry, a Mississippi College alum who is a Ph.D. candidate at Old Dominion University, has joined the MC faculty as an instructor in psychology.

Dr. Michael Mann, professor and chair of the Department of Psychology and Counseling at MC, said Terry brings excellent teaching and research experience to his new position.

“Drake will enhance the research component of our major, as well as bring a new specialty to our department: Industrial and Organizational Psychology,” Mann said. “His work experience and research is associated with this compelling sub-discipline of psychology.

“Drake easily connects with students and is well liked by them. He will be a great asset to our department and the college.”

After receiving his B.A. in English writing and psychology summa cum laude from MC in 2016, Terry obtained his M.S. in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2018. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. in industrial and organizational psychology from Old Dominion in December.

A member of the President’s List, Who’s Who, Mortar Board, Sigma Tau Delta, and Psi Chi while a student at MC, Terry received the Perry Academic Award in spring 2016. He also received the Provost Student Research Award and the Outstanding I-O Psychology Master’s Student Award at UT-Chattanooga and the Department of Psychology Graduate Student Service Award at Old Dominion.

An active member of the Academy of Management, the Society of Occupational Health Psychology and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Terry is an ad-hoc reviewer for the Journal of Religion and Health and Sociology of Religion.

A highly sought speaker, he has given 16 presentations at academic conferences and meetings internationally. He has served as an adjunct instructor at MC since the spring.

The coauthor of two articles in the peer-reviewed Journal of Religion and Health and an article recently accepted by the peer-reviewed Journal of Career Development, Terry also has written a dozen book entries currently in press. His research interests include occupational health, work as a calling, and recovery of work, and how these areas relate to one another.