Railsback, Gary

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Gary Railsback

  • Dean, School of Education, Point Loma Nazarene University, 2008 - present
  • Professor of Education
  • Phone: (619) 849-2323

Education

  • Ph.D. in Education, University of California, Los Angeles
  • M.A. in Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena
  • B.S. in Christian Education, Northwest Christian College, Eugene, OR
  • Secondary Teaching Credential, Sterling College, KS

Background

Dr. Railsback came to Point Loma in 2008 to serve as Dean of the School of Education.  Growing up in a family with both parents serving as public school teachers he vowed he would never become a teacher or live in the mdiwest, yet as life developed he did both. His background is diverse having served as a a youth minister, an admissions counselor, a School Administrator/Teacher, and college faculty member. As an admissions counselor at three different types of institutions - a small Christian College, a multidenominational Evangelical Seminary, and a large public land grant institution for a total of 10 years, Dr. Railsback gained valuable experience in working with high school students as they attempted to navigate the overwhelming choices of where they would attend college, marketing, publications, and traveled to high schools and college fairs in more than 30 states. While finishing his dissertation he was called to serve as an administrator at a small struggling private Christian School with a decreasing enrollment that had never gained accreditation. It was at Dayspring Christian School in Greeley, CO where he developed a love for teaching high school social studies and that developed into working in the preparation of teachers.  After finishing his doctoral dissertation, he taught in undergraduate Secondary Education programs in Kansas for 5 years,  and then in 2000 returned to the west coast where he taught at George Fox University - serving in several capacity in the graduate Educational Leadership department.  His final assignments were to direct the doctor of education program and serve as department chair during George Fox's initial NCATE accreditation visit. 

Research

Dr. Railsback's research interests are in the area of student and faculty spirituality, and faculty in general at Council for Christian colleges and Universities (CCCU).  One of the avenues that Dr. Railsback has pursued is involvement in the American Educational Research Association, making presentations of papers and serving as Chair of the Special Interest Group (SIG) for Associates for Research in Private Education (ARPE). Research on Christian higher education began with his doctoral dissertation“An exploratory study of the religiosity and related outcomes among college students”, co-chairs Dr. James Trent (deceased) and Dr. Michael Pavel (now at Washington State University). 

A recent presentation on CCCU faculty perceptions of tenure was featured in an online journal "Inside Higher Education." See http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/05/05/christian


Recent peer-reviewed presentations include:

  1. "Private Liberal Arts faculty perceptions of stress," at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Special Interest Group (SIG) - Associates for Research on Private Education, New Orleans, April 2011.   
  2. “The impact of institutional size on faculty satisfaction at private colleges” at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting, Special Interest Group - Associates for Research on Private Education, Denver, CO, April 2010.
  3. “Faculty perceptions about tenure at private liberal arts colleges” at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting, Division J Postsecondary, Denver, CO, April 2010.
  4.  Faculty religious convictions and spirituality at Christian Colleges – at the American Educational Research Association annual meeting,Special Interest Group Religion and Education,  New York, March 2008.
  5.  The quandary of American Evangelicals regarding the public school system: Either support a system with an increasingly secular worldview or find a school that is more tolerant to their worldview. Presentation at the Oxford Roundtable, Oxford, UK, July 29, 2007.
  6.  Graduate faculty and student perceptions of integration of faith and learning.  Joint presentation with Dr. Debi Miller, Multnomah Bible College. October 20, 2006 at the North American Professors of Christian Education, Denver, CO.
  7.  Future educators equipped for service in America's classrooms: A national study compares CCCU graduates with their secular counterparts.  May 25-27, 2006 at Coalition of Christian Teacher Educators (Affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities) at Regent University, Virginia Beach, VA.
  8.  "EVANGELICAL COLLEGE STUDENTS AT SECULAR CAMPUSES: What happens to their faith and moral beliefs?" October 19-23, 2005 at the North American Professors of      Christian    Education conference, Rochester, MN.    
  9. "The Colorado Freshman," with Dr. Helen S. Astin, UCLA Professor of Higher Education, at the annual meeting of the Colorado Council on High School and College Relations, Denver, Colorado, 1989.

Interests

Dr. Railsback's interest in Student and Faculty Spirituality, and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities has resulted in the following presentations:

"Evangelical students at secular and Christian Colleges: Findings from national research". Presentation at the 2007 ACSI Leadership Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, July 2007.


Publications

  1. Railsback, G. & Wood, D. (2011) Book Review - "Christianity and Moral Identity in higher education." Review of Higher Education. Volume 34, Number 2, Winter 2011, pp. 347-348.
  2. Railsback, G., Swezey, J., Campbell, C., Croy, K., & Gibbs, S. (2008). Faculty satisfaction at private religious colleges. Private School Monitor 29(2), 1-18. http://www.aera.net/uploadedFiles/SIGs/Associates_for_Research_on_Private_Education_(10)/Newsletters/MONITOR%20Dec%2016%20Rails.pdf
  3. Railsback, G.L. (2007). Growing pains from rapid growth: A historical case study of George Fox University from 1983 to 2003. Christian Higher Education,6(5) 409-427.      
  4. Railsback, G.L. (2006). A Demographic Description of Evangelicals Attending Secular and Christian Colleges. Christian Education Journal, 3(2) 278-302.
  5. Railsback, G.L. (2006). An investigation of the faith commitment of Evangelical college students at secular and Evangelical colleges. Journal for Research on Christian Education, 15(1), 39-60. 
  6. Adams, G. L., Slocum, T., Railsback, G. L., Gallagher, S. A., McCright, S. A., Uchytil, R. A., Conlon, W. W., & Davis, J. T.  (2004). A critical review of Randall Ryder’s report of Direct Instruction reading in two Wisconsin school districts. Journal of Direct Instruction, 4, 161-190.
  7. Railsback, G.L. and Colby, A. (1988) Improving academic advising in the community college. Published by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Community Colleges, UCLA (ED 320647) http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9215/advising.htm
  8. Banks, D. & Railsback, G.L. (1988). A pilot study on needs in the sciences in Community Colleges.  Published by the Center for the Study of Community Colleges, UCLA. (ED 297801) Grant funded research from the Ford Foundation in NY, a 33 page report based upon 91 telephone interviews.http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED297801.pdf
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