Houston, Texas, June 8, 2023 – Dr. Robert Sloan, President of Houston Christian University, and Dr. Stan Napper, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, are pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Lesli Fridge as Dean of the HCU College of Education and Behavioral Science, effective immediately.
In announcing the appointment, President Sloan said, “Lesli Fridge is a consummate professional who is experienced in the world of public and private education. At HCU she has proven herself as an outstanding faculty member, mentor, teacher, and colleague. And her recent service as interim dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences has demonstrated her ability to lead this outstanding academic unit. We are pleased she has agreed to serve as Dean and look forward to the ongoing success and progress of the College under her creative leadership.”
Provost Napper added, “Dr. Fridge has education and professional experience in each of the disciplines studied in COEBS. She has led large organizations in ways that promoted both success in their shared mission as well as the value and contribution of each person within them. Our national search made clear that she has earned the respect and support of every faculty member in COEBS and of administrators and staff throughout the University. Dr. Fridge is a strong supporter of HCU’s mission and strategic plan and is eager to see our academic programs grow in scope, in reach, in enrollment, in quality, and in contributions to our community. Her leadership experience, love for the Lord, commitment to the University mission and purpose, and dedication to the students, faculty, and staff she will lead and serve all demonstrated her ability to fulfill the many expectations for a dean at HCU.”
Dr. Fridge joined the HCU faculty in 2015 after a thirty-year career as a middle and high school teacher, a middle and high school counselor, an intermediate assistant principal, an elementary principal, and a district HR administrator in public school districts. For the last two academic years, she has served as the Associate Dean for Academic Operations in COEBS, working closely with the leadership of each of the academic and certification programs in COEBS. She also served as interim dean since January until her permanent appointment this month. Dr. Fridge has served extensively in other capacities at HCU, including serving as President of the Faculty Assembly and as faculty representative on the Husky Strong Task Force during the Covid-19 pandemic. She has also given leadership within her profession and in the preparation of future educators through her invited membership on Education Advisory Councils for University of Houston, University of Houston-Downtown, Texas A&M University, Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University, and University of Nebraska-Kearney.
Dr. Fridge has earned degrees in secondary education and counseling (with a concentration in psychology) from Nicholls State University and received her Ed.D. in Executive Education Leadership from the University of Houston, completing a dissertation on the leadership needed to support students in higher-need communities and conducting further research that compared leadership approaches of leaders of urban school districts in Texas and in China.
Dr. Fridge has been an enthusiastic participant in HCU’s Kaleō student discipleship program throughout her time at the University and also serves as an active member of Faith Methodist Church in Richmond, Texas, serving on the church board and numerous ministry leadership teams.
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About Houston Christian University
For more than 60 years, Houston Christian University has equipped students to lead, collaborate, and embody a deep sense of spiritual purpose resulting from our central confession, “Jesus Christ is Lord.” The University offers a wide range of majors, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs, as well as NCAA Division I athletics in the Southland Conference. Located in the heart of one of the nation’s largest metropolitan centers, HCU’s culture of excellence molds the next generation of educated disciples to be pillars in their communities, preparing them to think critically and biblically as they impact the world.
About the HCU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
The mission of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences is to prepare students to be effective citizens and professional educators, administrators, counselors, and researchers who reflect Christ in their work and service. To accomplish this mission, COEBS’s nearly sixty residential and online programs at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels provides students with the courses and mentoring necessary for a solid pedagogical grounding in their discipline; essential learning experiences that will provide opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and wisdom; and an understanding of their Christian mission and calling to influence individuals and the larger society.