Dr. Julia Hyman Joins DBU Faculty as Assistant Professor of Education

Dr. Julia Hyman’s approach to education is student-centered, engaging learning where students receive both the theoretical foundation and practical application of instructional strategies. When it comes to integrating faith into the classroom, “I ask students to think about how their practices reflect the expectations of the God outlined in Scripture. For example, does your demeanor as a teacher display the fruit of the Spirit or how does God’s admonition to be slow to anger influence how you discipline students?” Whether it relates to communicating educational strategies or the character of a Christian servant leader, Dr. Hyman desires that her students not only receive information about instructional methods, but that this is also modeled in the way she interacts with them on a daily basis.

Dr. Hyman is no stranger to DBU but is new to the full-time family in her role as Assistant Professor of Education in the College of Education. She brings a passion for teaching, training educators, and views the classroom as her mission field – a calling that was planted in her as a young teen.

Growing up in Killeen, Texas, in a civilian family in a military town, Dr. Hyman’s parents modeled hard work and cherished time together. “They valued education and made sure that we had the greatest opportunities to learn and grow.” Dr. Hyman remembers her father becoming a Christian when she was eight years old. Soon after, she made her own decision for Jesus as a child and has followed Him ever since.

The unconditional love of Christ was modeled for her and her brother as they watched their parents “walk the talk” of devotion to God’s word and active service for his Kingdom. The family attended an Assembly of God church where her mother served as the church’s financial secretary for many years.

As Dr. Hyman grew into a young adult, she remained very involved in children’s and youth ministry, attending mission trips, and teaching Sunday School as a teen. “There is nothing better than leading a child to know the Lord and discipling them in the Word. I wanted to be a teacher, and in my small church there was an opportunity for a willing heart,” she remembers. “This set the stage for a teaching ministry as my vocation and in my church which continues to this day.”

Her calling in education took her to TCU where she received her Bachelor of Science in Education, followed by a Master of Education in Secondary Instruction and Gifted Education from The University of North Texas. Dr. Hyman began serving as an adjunct professor at DBU in 2014, and four years later, completed the Ed.D. in K-12 Leadership. Over the years, she was able to develop her experiences as a high school and middle school teacher in Everman and Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISDs; served as a Social Studies/Gifted Instruction Consultant at the Education Service Center Region 11; and then as the Social Studies Coordinator, Gifted/Advanced Academics Coordinator/Director, and Director/Executive Director of Teaching and Learning and Advanced Academics for Birdville ISD.

“Serving as a public-school educator was an honor and a direct calling of God on my life,” she says. “To work with young people in these settings gave me the opportunity to walk my witness before them each day as I served as the light of Christ on campus. In supervising and serving teachers and administrators throughout the district, I had the opportunity to model servant leadership. I lived each day as an educator with the call to pray for my students and their families and my colleagues.”

Dr. Hyman views her mission on University Hill as teaching students who will be future educators and who may not yet know the good news of Christ as Savior. “I have already had two students give their life to the Lord in the eight months I have been here. DBU is helping to fulfill two great calls on my life: education and missions.”