Feature Story
Ben Gaughran, Brady Hanson, and Donnie Tapp Join Southern Virginia University as Assistant Professors
Southern Virginia University is pleased to welcome Ben Gaughran as assistant professor of music and director of choral activities, Brady Hanson as assistant professor of biology, and Donnie Tapp as assistant professor of art.
Ben Gaughran, Assistant Instructor of Music and Director of Choral Activities
Gaughran will be joining Southern Virginia University as an assistant instructor of music and the director of choral activities, where he will be teaching choral conducting, choral literature, and applied voice, in addition to directing Chamber Singers and Men’s Chorus.
“I love the way that music can be a vehicle of expression for me when I’m feeling a myriad of feelings,” said Gaughran. “I could be feeling really elated and will be able to find music that will make that feeling even more prominent, or I could be feeling really down, and find music that helps me to navigate those feelings and figure out what next steps there are.”
Having directed college, community, and youth choirs as well as musical theatre productions, Guaghran also served as conductor of Orpheus Singers and University Choir at the University of Michigan. He is a distinguished Fellow of the Royal Schools of Music in Choral Conducting, an honor held by a select group of musicians worldwide, and was a finalist for the American Prize’s Dale Warland Award in Choral Conducting.
With 10 years of experience in administrative positions, Gaughran recently served as interim music director of Voices Valiant at the University of Michigan, and MPulse camp director at the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was also the lead music facilitator at The Cardinal Hume Academy Trust and head of the music department at St. Thomas More Catholic School.
Gaughran earned his masters of music and a doctor of music arts in choral conducting at the University of Michigan, as well as a masters of arts in education at the University of Nottingham. He also received a bachelor of music at the Royal Holloway College.
Brady Hanson, Assistant Professor of Biology–Exercise/Health Science
A research physiologist who specializes in cardiovascular medicine, Brady Hanson will be joining Southern Virginia University as an assistant professor of biology–exercise/health science and will teach General Biology I and kinesiology.
“I love the idea of guiding somebody to learn what they want, and to help them understand and take advantage of what’s right in front of them,” said Hanson. “That’s why the teaching aspect is pretty interesting and compelling to me, just to see the student growth and the accomplishment there.”
Hanson worked as a postdoctoral fellow in geriatric and cardiovascular medicine and a VA Advanced Fellow in Geriatric Research at the Utah Vascular Research Laboratory, as well as a graduate research assistant at the University of Iowa. He also taught at the University of Iowa as a cardiopulmonary therapeutics teaching assistant.
Hanson earned his doctor of philosophy in human cardiovascular physiology at the University of Iowa, and a master’s and bachelor’s of science in exercise physiology at Brigham Young University and Brigham Young Univeristy–Idaho respectively.
Donnie Tapp, Assistant Professor of Art
With an emphasis in oil painting, Tapp joins Southern Virginia University as an assistant professor of art, where he will teach Drawing I, oil painting, and design.
“I’m excited to work with students in a smaller class size than I’ve had in the past, where I can get to know them and work with them on a more individual level,” said Tapp. “Being able to see them learn and grow and have those moments of progression is so special. That’s kind of what brought me to teaching in the first place.”
Prior to Southern Virginia University, Tapp worked at Savannah College of Art and Design in the Foundation Studies department and as an adjunct professor at Brigham Young University-Idaho teaching figure drawing and painting classes.
In his professional painting practice, Tapp’s work is represented in the Meyer Gallery in Park City, Logan, UT; Fine Art Gallery in Logan, UT; and Montana Trails Gallery, Bozeman, MT. His work has been recognized at the Rice Gallery of Fine Art Small Works National Juried Show, Springville Museum of Art, and Idaho Sculpture Jam.
Tapp earned his masters of fine art in painting at the Academy of Art University and a bachelor of science in studio arts at Brigham Young University-Idaho.