CURRICULUM VITAE
NELIA BETH SCOVILL
EDUCATION:
M.Div., Union Theological Seminary (New York City), 1991. Required courses: biblical studies, church history, systematic theology and Christian ethics. Elective emphasis: liberation theology and Christian ethics. Masters Thesis titled "Sojourners in Our Midst: An Application of Karen Lebacqz' Approach to Justice" was written under the direction of Larry Rasmussen and James Cone.
B.S. in Religious Studies, Oregon State University, 1986. Graduated with High Honors, GPA of 3.68 on 4.0 scale. Finalist in the Mellon Doctoral Fellowships in the Humanities, 1987. College of Liberal Arts Outstanding Senior, 1986. Kate Bartholemew Scholarship in Technical Journalism, 1985. Student Representative to ad hoc Committee on Evaluation of Teaching (June 1985 to 1986), Advancement of Teaching Committee (Fall 1984 to Spring 1985); University Housing Committee (Fall 1984 to Spring 1985)
TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:
Academic Editor & Workshop Leader, Self-Employed. (October 2008 to October 2015). Conduct training in research ethics and APA citation methods. Provide editorial support to faculty for journal articles and bibliographies. Copyedit and format dissertations to comply with university requirements and APA style. Conduct community education workshops on implementing change.
Adjunct Instructor, Moraine Park Technical College, West Bend Campus (Jan. 2011 to Dec 2011). Teach traditional and accelerated courses in Ethics and Sociology.
Adjunct Instructor, Interdisciplinary Studies Program, School of Education, National Louis University, Milwaukee Campus (November 2010 to May 2011). Cohort instructor for an interdisciplinary master’s program in curriculum and instruction. Courses taught: Curriculum and Instruction I: Theories, Foundations, and Contexts; Group Theory & Classroom Applications, Action Research I: Purposes, Assumptions and Practice
First-Year Seminar Curriculum Coordinator (Assistant Professor), Marian University, Fond du lac, WI (Fall 2005 to Summer 2009). Facilitated the development, implementation and continued improvement of a three-credit First-Year Seminar course with general education faculty and student affairs professionals. The First-Year Seminar course is an academically rigorous course addressing the developmental needs of first-generation college students during their transition to college. The course provides an introduction to the liberal arts disciplines, critical thinking, and college-level reading through a common reading program, guest presentations by faculty members across the disciplines, and small seminar sections led by individual faculty. Primary responsibilities: design and teaching of a common curriculum for the First-Year Seminar, recruitment, orientation and oversight of faculty teaching in the program, preparation and recommendation of budgets for the First-Year Seminar program, and coordination of scheduling of the First-Year Seminar in conjunction with academic divisions and the registrar’s office. I collaborated extensively with the Director of First-Year Experience and other student affairs professionals to integrate the First-Year Seminar into the comprehensive first-year experience, the planning and implementation of New Student Orientation, Fall First-Year Student Leadership Retreat, and the Spring Leadership Conference. I was invited to teach courses by the Philosophy Department and the Theology Department.
Adjunct Instructor, Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, WI (Fall 2004). After the unexpected departure of an adjunct faculty member, completed semester course in world religions.
Assistant Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Carroll University, Waukesha, WI (Fall 1997 to Spring 2004). Designed and taught variety of courses in religion (world religions, women and religion, Christian theology, Christian ethics, research methods, and senior research seminar), philosophy (philosophical ethics), and the college-wide First-Year Seminar. While at Carroll, focused on curriculum revision for the departmental major, introduced an ethics minor into the curriculum, and developed and implemented the department’s assessment program. I designed and supervised the department’s Senior Capstone course to prepare students for graduate-level research and designed and introduced course titled “Research Methods in Religious Studies.” All but two of the courses taught were part of the college’s General Education Program and required integration of oral communication, academic writing, information technology, critical thinking and identifying contemporary relevance.
Assistant Lecturer in Composition 101 & 102, Freshman Writing Program at the University of Southern California. (Fall 1993 to Fall 1994; Fall 1995 to Spring 1997). Instructor for required course in academic writing which emphasized both the writing process (generating ideas, developing a thesis statement, planning the paper, writing and revising) and essential academic skills such as critical thinking, reading comprehension, research, and writing drawing on multiple sources.
Consultant, Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health and Ethics. (Summer 1995). Work on projects under direction of Consultation President Daniel Maguire. In the summer of 1995 the Consultation commissioned me to write a monograph titled The Liberation of Women: Religious Sources for the United Nations Women's Conference in Beijing, China. Monograph argues that the core of each of the major world religious traditions affirms the equality of women and men.
Teaching Assistant in Western Religions & Biomedical Ethics Courses in the School of Religion at the University of Southern California. (Fall 1991 to Spring 1993). Duties included leading weekly discussion groups, grading exams and papers, teaching midterm and final review sessions, and occasional lecturing. Received Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award from School of Religion, 1991-92 Academic Year.
TEACHING COMPETENCIES AND SPECIALIZATIONS:
Religious Studies
Ethics
Research Methods
Sociology
Writing
SOCIAL JUSTICE EXPERIENCE:
Development and Special Event Assistant (Spring 1990 to Spring 1991); Speakers Bureau Coordinator (Fall 1989 to Summer 1990), Center for Constitutional Rights, New York City. Sought out and arranged speaking engagements for the center's staff and cooperating attorneys. Assistant to Director of Development for planning and implementation of two major fund-raising events, and maintenance of donor records in computerized database.
Co-founder and Director. Political Asylum Project of Austin, Austin, Texas. (August 1988 to August 1989). A project of the National Lawyers Guild, Casa Marianella (a local refugee shelter) and The Friends Meeting of Austin. My position was funded through the Friends Meeting of Austin and the Quaker Volunteer Witness Program. During its first year of operation, I worked closely with the coordinating attorneys to set up the project. My duties included staffing and managing the office, screening. and training paralegal volunteers, matching clients with volunteer interviewers and documenters, insuring case deadlines were met, establishing and maintaining client and volunteer databases, and coordinating public relations.
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Associate Pastor, Wilshire Christian Church, Los Angeles, CA (July 1995 to July 1996). Responsible for teaching adult Sunday School class, young adult ministry, publicity and computer training of staff. Liturgical leader in regular Sunday morning worship service, occasional preaching.
Co-Interim Pastor, Wilshire Christian Church, Los Angeles, CA (January to June 1995). Shared full-time responsibilities of senior pastor while congregational pulpit committee conducted search for permanent minister. Duties included, preaching and liturgical responsibilities in regular worship services; Administration of support staff, two nested ethnic congregations, and pre-school; and pastoral care. Programmatic elements included adult education series on ethical issues confronting the church, young adult weekly meeting, and Lenten Soup Supper program on spirituality around the world.
Associate Pastor for Membership and Evangelism, Wilshire Christian Church, Los Angeles, CA (Spring 1994 to December 1994). Co-leader of Annual Planning Conference and leader of Task Force charged with finding ways of rebuilding membership by enriching the lives of current members and incorporating newcomers into the life of the church. Liturgical leader in regular Sunday morning worship service, occasional preaching.
Secretary and Workshop Leader, 13th Convocation for Women of the Christian Church in the Pacific Southwest Region (Disciples of Christ) (Spring 1994 to Spring 1995). Organizational secretary for planning committee. At the convocation, led workshop entitled "Making Decisions at the End-of-Life: Drawing on Faith Resources".
CERTIFICATIONS:
Certified to administer and interpret the Bar-On Emotional-Quotient Inventory, a B-level instrument that measures five domains of an individual’s emotional intelligence: interpersonal, intrapersonal, mood, stress management, and adaptability.
PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATION RECORD:
Heim, Joel J. and Nelia Beth Scovill. “A Spectrum Pedagogy for Christian Ethics: Respecting Difference without Resorting to Relativism.” Teaching Theology and Religion. October 2010: 350-370.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “There for All to See.” Kitchen Talk: Sharing Our Stories of Faith. Ed. Jane McAvoy. Chalice Press: St. Louis, 2003.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “Women’s Full Participation in the Public Sphere: Implications of the Protestant Doctrines of Creation and Salvation.” In A Woman’s Place: Religious Women as Public Actors. New York: World Conference on Religion and Peace, 2001. 137-47. Commissioned by the Women’s Program of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) for presentation at the Women’s Assembly (November, 1999) in Amman, Jordan.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “Common Ground.” In Historical and Multicultural Encyclopedia of Women’s Reproductive Rights in the United States. Ed. Judith A. Baer. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2002. 60-61.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “Review of Some Choose to Stay: Faith and Ethics in a Time of Plague,” by Alan C. Mermann. Encounter. Spring 1999: 256-258.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. The Liberation of Women: Religious Sources. The Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health and Ethics: Washington, D.C., 1995. Also available on-line at
Heim, Joel J. and Nelia Beth Scovill. “Review of Religion, Theology and American Public Life,” by Linnell Cady. Encounter. Winter 1994: 97-99.
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS AND SERVICE:
“A Spectrum Approach to Christian Ethics: Respecting Difference without Resorting to Relativism.” Co-Presenter with Joel J. Heim. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. Academic Teaching and the Study of Religion, Philadelphia, PA, 2005.
“Family-Leave Policies: Not Just for Families with Children.” Luncheon Panelist for the Women’s Caucus and Health Care Issues Networking Group, Annual Meeting of the Society of Christian Ethics, January 2003.
Article Reviewer for the Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics, January 2002.
Facilitator, Breakfast with the Author. Society of Christian Ethics Annual Meeting, January 2001.
“Transforming the Self in ‘Self-Determination’: A Liberationist Ethical Analysis of Medical Decision Making at the End of Life,” Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion, November 1996 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
“Ethical Decision-Making in A Multi-Cultural Church.” Academy for Continuing Education, Disciples Seminary Foundation, Claremont, California (May 1995).
"A Feminist Assessment of Contemporary Physician-Patient Models." Annual Meeting of the Western Chapter of the American Academy of Religion, Santa Clara, CA (March 1994).
"A Liberationist Analysis of Euthanasia Public Policy Proposals." Annual Meeting of the Western Chapter of the American Academy of Religion, Fullerton, CA, (March, 1993).
PUBLIC PRESENTATIONS:
Nelia Beth Scovill. “Writing Your Own Recipe to Change Jobs.” Career Tools Conference. Milwaukee, WI. August 2012.
Nelia Beth Scovill and Dawn Crowley. “Five Elements for Handling a Successful Career Change” Milwaukee Job Camp, February 2010.
Nelia Beth Scovill. “Mission Possible.” Marian University 4th Annual Student Leadership Conference. Marian University, April 2009.
Krueger, Jennifer and Nelia Beth Scovill. “Emotional Intelligence Monty Hall Style: Make a Deal with Yourself” Marian University 3rd Annual Student Leadership Conference. Marian University, April 2008.
Krueger, Jennifer and Nelia Beth Scovill. “Hitch Your Wagon to A Star: The Five Star Power of Emotional Intelligence” Marian College 2nd Annual Student Leadership Conference. Marian University, April 2007.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “Divergent Visions of the Family in Mainline Protestantism,” Adult Education Program, Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. April, 2001.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “Decision-making at the End-of-Life” Adult Education Program, Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Sunday, January 21, 2001.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “Reclaiming Family Values from the Political Arena” Full-Day Adult Education Program. Emmanuel Presbyterian Church, Milwaukee, WI. January 2000.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “The Church and Homosexuality” Pilgrim Christian Church (Brookfield, WI). Co-led with Joel Heim. A Four-Part Christian Education Series, April-May 1999.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “The Wisdom to Do God’s Justice.” Guest Preacher for Women’s Sunday, January 1999 at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “Reclaiming Family Values from the Political Arena” Half-day Workshop for clergy in Southeast, Wisconsin sponsored by the Family Life Task Force of the Presbytery. October 1998.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. Bible Study Leader. Church Women United, Waukesha Chapter. May 1998.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “The Women at the Cross.” Luncheon Speaker, Waukesha YWCA. March 1998.
Scovill, Nelia Beth. “What Shall We Tell the Children?” Guest Preacher, First Baptist Church, Waukesha, Wisconsin. September 1997.