LCC Academy

Joe Harder has been a member of the LCC faculty since 2015, when he moved with his family to Lithuania from the United States. Joe holds master’s degrees in theology (Regent College) and biblical studies (Grace University), and earned his Ph.D. in history from the University of Nebraska. His bachelor’s degree in journalism is from the University of Kansas. Currently, Joe is also serving as the interim dean of the faculty. Before coming to LCC, Joe taught for a number of years at a Christian liberal arts university in the U.S. Midwest, and was a pastor for nineteen years. Joe’s research interests are in the relationship between Christianity and politics, especially in the United States; his Ph.D. dissertation examines the political theology of the Religious Right in the mid-twentieth century.   

Movies play a significant role in many people’s lives today, given how many hours they spend watching them. Watching movies can be mindless entertainment, but films can be an expression of their creators’ “worldview,” or basic convictions about important topics. Peter Jackson’s trilogy The Lord of the Rings, and the books by J.R.R. Tolkien on which the movies are based, have a great deal to say about the nature and meaning of life. In this lecture and discussion, we’ll examine one way of thinking about movies, as well as how these particular films might encourage us to deeper reflection.

Scott Neumann has served at LCC International University since he moved to Lithuania with his family in 2015. He grew up in Southern Illinois, in the United States. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Greenville College, and his Ph.D. in the History of International Relations from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Before coming to LCC, Scott taught at Greenville College for fifteen years. His research interests are in the history of US foreign policy, particularly American isolationism. His PhD dissertation was focused on the influence of isolationist thinking on the foreign policy of Dwight Eisenhower. Scott is the Chair of the International Relations and Development Department at LCC. He teaches a variety of courses in the program, including Practicum I and Thesis.     

Dr. Scott Neumann will introduce a tool for understanding international events and the relations between countries, and provide some examples of its application.  

Femi Odebiyi joined the university in August 2007 from his teaching position at City University of Seattle, Slovakia campus. Prior to this, he worked in Dubai. He has a Master’s degree in International Management from the University of St. Thomas, USA and currently pursuing his doctorate degree in Transformational Leadership. He teaches Business Research Methods, and International Business. Part of his practitioner work has involved working with Christian Entrepreneurs in Europe to develop an Entrepreneurship Mentoring and Education project. He is a recipient of the 2017 ECOLAS J.J. Kidd Fellows award and the 2016 Acton’s Mini Grant for Teaching and Research on Free Market Economics.  

This lecture will expound on how businesses help create our standard of living and influence our society. The lecture will also touch on the benefits of understanding the functions of business in our lives.    

Joining the faculty in 2023, Mischa Cantú-Blake is a Communications Department assistant professor for Public Speaking and Documentary Filmmaking. She completed her Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts in 2016 with her documentary film "Steam Dream" gaining film festival laurels at several prestigious venues, including the Cannes Film Festival, The Dances with Films Festival and the Williamsburg Festival in NYC. Mischa has worked as a video editor for various non-profits from community health centers to service dog centers for veterans and children with PTSD. During her free time, Mischa loves camping and riding motorcycles with her husband Zack.   

This lecture will cover films from the Lumiere brothers to the Coen brothers. See why diving into and understanding film history can help contextualize and bolster your communications studies.     

Dr. Eglė Verseckaitė (Grzeskowiak) got her bachelor's and master's degrees from VU IIRPS and earned her Ph.D. in political science at the Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD, USA). In addition to teaching in universities, she has worked for a governmental institution, a think tank and a political party. Dr. Eglė Verseckaitė (Grzeskowiak) has a special graduate certificate in Racism, Immigration and Citizenship and gives public lectures on migration issues, as well as consulting companies on research methodology. She teaches courses on Research Methods, Politics and Economics of Migration, Nationalism and Identity, and Post-communist Studies.  

This lecture will address the main concepts related to the patterns, causes and consequences of migration.   

Shane teaches communications in the Contemporary Communications department. His undergraduate studies are BA in History and Geography, National University of Ireland, Maynooth and STB (Baccalaureate) in Theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Shane’s post graduate studies are MA in Mass Media and Communications, University of Leicester, UK and D. Min in Homiletics, Aquinas Institute of Theology, St. Louis Missouri. From 2005 until coming to LCC Shane served as a priest in the Diocese of Meath, Ireland. His current research topics include post-pandemic communications, media and society in the Cold War and preaching.   

What’s the biggest group of people you have spoken to? Is it 4, is 24, or is it 4024? Regardless of the size, those people are the reason we communicate. We call that group – the audience! One of the biggest mistakes communicators make is not understanding their audience. In this lecture, we will unpack the mystery of the audience! How do we understand them? How do we communicate effectively to them? Most importantly, how can we get the most effective results from our communication?