Jo Ellen Priest Misakian

Teacher Librarian Program Director
View faculty profile.

Adjunct Faculty

Terry Bese

Terry Bese has been a classroom teacher since 1986. With experience at the K-12 level as well as higher ed, he brings a unique blend of theory and practice to the courses that he teaches. In addition to teaching math and technology courses, he has focused on faculty development projects since 2000. Terry is in the process of completing his doctoral dissertation in educational technology at Pepperdine University. His position at Fresno Pacific University includes teaching, instructional design consulting and digital media development. As part of a partnership with the AIMS Educational Foundation he also develops and teaches online professional development courses using AIMS publications.

Terry says "I am made up of equal parts: teacher and techie. After 10 years in the classroom, I moved to a position as a district tech coordinator at Sierra Unified where I first started working with library technology. Jo Ellen has verified that I am a TL at heart, even though I've never had a library of my own."

Terry is the instructor for LIB 740: Information and Communication Technologies.

Terry can be reached at: tlbese@fresno.edu.

Melanie Lewis

Melanie is the teacher librarian at Liberty High School in Madera Ranchos and oversees library services for Golden Valley Unified School District. She holds two master of arts in education degrees - one focused on school librarianship and the other on teaching, learning and technology. Melanie also serves on the Executive Board for the Northern Section of the California School Library Association as president-elect.

Melanie is the instructor for LIB 725: Information Services in the School Library Media Center.

Melanie can be contacted via email at mal7@fpu.edu.

Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan is the teacher librarian for Merced High School in the heart of Central Valley and home to the newest University of California campus, UC Merced. She served as a Teacher Librarian in the elementary and middle school district for 6 years before moving to the high school and was a Spanish bilingual teacher in elementary school for 8 years.

Sarah Morgan is the instructor for LIB 710: The School Library Program.

Sarah can be reached at: sarahcmorgan@gmail.com.

Thomas Nixon

Tom Nixon is a credentialed teacher librarian and is currently a teacher on special assignment for online learning with the Fresno Unified School District. He is on the Northern Section Board for the California School Library Association and was the 2009 recipient of the CSLA Innovation Award. Tom chairs the FPU library media program's Advisory Committee. He is the author of four books on online and alternative education.

Tom is the instructor for LIB 705: Digital-Age School Library Technology.

Tom can be reached at: Thomas.Nixon@fresnounified.org.

Maria Petropulos

Maria Petropulos is the district library coordinator for the Fowler Unified School District. She has 7 years of classroom teaching experience at the elementary and middle school level. Maria received her library media credential and master of arts in education school library and information technology from Fresno Pacific University. In 2007 she received her administrative credential through the Bridges to Leadership program. Maria served as committee chair for the California Standards and Guidelines for Strong School Libraries document and was part of the team that developed and facilitated The Central Valley Library Summer Camp. Maria has been teaching in the Fresno Pacific library program since 2007.

Maria is the instructor for LIB 720: Analysis, Evaluation and Selection of Learning Resources.

Maria can be reached at: mpetropulos@gmail.com.

George Pilling

George Pilling served as a children's librarian in the public library for five years and a classroom teacher (HS and junior high English) for four years. He was the librarian with Tulare County Office of Education for five years and is now the library manager for Visalia Unified where for nine years he has been in charge of the district's twenty-four elementary libraries. He also administers the Visalia Learning Center district library, which is open to the public.

George is the instructor for LIB 745: Organization of Learning Resources.

George can be reached at: gppilling@gmail.com or 559-901-6676.