After completing his academic program at Southern Illinois University in history and philosophy, Dr. Claude Black began his teaching career in 1972. He taught at four colleges before joining the Emmanuel College faculty in 1994 where he teaches courses in American and European history.
Dr. Black has served as the pastor of three churches and as the minister of education for four years at another church.
Claude and Alice Black (who serves as the administrative assistant in the School of Education at Emmanuel) have three sons and daughters-in-law who each have two sons.
In addition to traveling and camping, the Blacks enjoy the opportunity to spend time with their families.
Click here to email Claude Black.
Judy Henzel has a B.A. in history from Berry College and an M.A. in history from Clemson University. Her areas of interest include ancient history, the history of early Christianity, Georgia history, the U.S. populist and progressive era, and cultural and religious histories. Judy is married to Dr. John Henzel, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Emmanuel. The Henzels have two children. Judy is an ailurophile, loves to read, and enjoys gardening and genealogy. She and her husband attend Ekklesia Centre in Royston, where they are involved in various aspects of that local ministry.
Dr. Mason teaches courses in human growth and development, biological basis of behavior, social psychology, cognitive psychology, psychological statistics, research design, psychological testing, and psychology seminar, and honors freshman seminar. She received her B.A. from Spelman College and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Florida Center for Reading Research in Tallahassee, FL. Dr. Masons’ scholarship is published in several journals. She has made numerous research presentations at national and international venues.
Dr. Mason enjoys helping students involved in the PSYC Club, BASA, REVIVE, and SIFE. She is married to Coach Derrick Mason. They have three sons.
Dr. Blake Rackley, assistant professor of psychology, teaches courses in general psychology, personality theories, history of psychology, marriage and family, abnormal psychology, and spiritual formation. He received his B.A. in psychology from Emmanuel College and his M.A. and PsyD in clinical psychology from Regent University. Dr. Rackley is a licensed psychologist in the state of Georgia. Besides teaching at Emmanuel, Dr. Rackley is in private practice where he specializes in child and adolescent psychology, psychological evaluation, parenting capacity, and educational evaluations. Dr. Rackley and his wife have two wonderful children.
Adjunct Faculty
Emmanuel’s campus pastor and Director of Spiritual Life, Chris Maxwell teaches spiritual formation and is the author of numerous books and articles.
Beverly J. Oxley, Ph.D., previously taught in the psychology department at Emmanuel for 10 years before retiring and opening Wellsprings Psychological Resources in 2009, where she serves as executive director.
Brandon holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of Georgia and is currently completing a post-doc at Wellsprings Psychological Resources in Franklin Springs.
Teresa holds a B. A. in history, an M. A. in history, and an Ed.D. in social science from the University of Georgia; she retired from a full-time position at Emmanuel after teaching here for 32 years.