Four professors honored for more than 30 years of service

Liberty University professors Dr. Cline Hall, Dr. Bill Matheny, Dr. Mark Steinhoff and Mary Lou Garlock were honored for their years of service at a luncheon held in the Williams Stadium club pavilion on July 19.

Each professor is leaving Liberty after more than 30 years of teaching — Matheny taught for 31, Garlock for 32, and Hall and Steinhoff for 34.

Hall, Matheny and Steinhoff were professors in Liberty’s Department of History. Garlock was an assistant professor of education in the Bruckner Learning Center.

Family and friends were invited to the meal, catered by Sodexho. Liberty’s Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr., his wife, Becki, and Provost Dr. Ron Godwin also attended.

“If you look at the resumes of these professors, a wide variety of universities were represented even in the early days – it’s amazing that a school like Liberty could attract professors like you back then. It had to be a Christian mission, it had to be a genuine belief in what we were doing here,” Falwell said. “We really do appreciate the commitment, the years you’ve put in … we owe a great debt of gratitude to all of you.”

Dr. Roger Schultz, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, presented each professor with an acrylic plaque, framed certificate and lapel pin.

“It’s important to know that regardless of how well we recognize your service here below, there’s no question in my mind that God does see the countless hours … of encouragement that you have given to so many, one degree at a time, one life at a time over so many years,” Godwin said.

Hall came to Liberty in 1977. He specialized in courses on the Civil War and the history of the South. He served as Chair of Liberty’s history department from 1985-2002 and has been instrumental in the success of Liberty’s Civil War Chaplain’s Museum and annual Civil War seminar. He earned his B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Richmond, M. Div. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Ph.D. in history from the University of Tennessee. He will continue to work on an archival oral history project.

Matheny served as a missionary in Peru with his wife, Mirle, for 17 years, before coming to Liberty in 1978 to teach in the School of Religion. He returned to South America in 1985 to teach at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Ecuador in Quito. He returned to Liberty in 1987 to teach in the history department and specialize in courses on Latin American history and modern Europe. He earned his B.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbanna, his M. Div. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in history from Texas Christian University.

Steinhoff began teaching at Liberty in 1977, specializing in courses on medieval history. He has been instrumental in the establishment and success of Liberty’s chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the National History Honor Society. Steinhoff earned his B.A. in history from Columbia University in 1967, his M.A. in history from Johns Hopkins University and his Ph.D. in history from New York University. He plans to write and do research in the future.

Garlock began her career teaching fourth and fifth grades in Northern Virginia before coming to Liberty in 1979. She was a supervising faculty member of student teachers and later taught College Learning Strategies courses. Garlock earned her B.S. in education from Bob Jones University and her M.S. in education from Azusa Pacific University. She enjoyed mentoring students to help them succeed academically and spiritually. Three of her four children are Liberty graduates.