Meet Our Faculty & Staff

Michael Aronson joined The Compass Center as Jewish Life Advisor in April 2023 during a Future Faculty Teaching Fellowship year at Butler University’s College of Communication. Michael holds a master’s degree in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College in Newton Center, Massachusetts, and is working towards his doctorate in Media Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington. Michael serves the Jewish community at Butler by channeling his passions for living in community, Jewish learning, adult education and pluralism towards helping The Compass Center create an inclusive and loving environment for all people at Butler. 

Biography

Born and raised in southcentral Pennsylvania in one of only two counties in the Commonwealth without a traffic light, Brent Hege earned his BA in Religion and History with a minor in Classics from Gettysburg College (PA) in 1998. He completed the Zentrale Mittelstufenprüfung Diplom (German Language Certificate) at the Goethe Institut in Dresden, Germany, in 2000 while completing his MA in Historical Theology with a minor in New Testament at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg (PA). He earned his PhD in Theology with Distinction from Union Theological Seminary and Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA, in 2007. His dissertation was awarded the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise by the Forschungszentrum Internationale und Interdisziplinäre Theologie at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. He was honored by his alma mater with the 2013 Gettysburg College Young Alumni Achievement Award and in 2015 he was elected an honorary member of Butler’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In 2017 he received the Outstanding Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching from Butler’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and in 2024 he received the Butler University First-Year Impact Award for his work teaching and mentoring first-year students at Butler. In 2017 he was appointed The Compass Center Scholar in Residence and in 2020 he was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Religion. He has taught at Butler since 2008. 

Teaching Duties

As a faculty member of Butler’s Religious Studies program, Hege teaches the yearlong First Year Seminar, “Faith, Doubt, and Reason,” the Texts & Ideas (TI) course, “Religions of the World,” online every summer, and the following 300-level Religious Studies courses: God, Theologies of Liberation, Evil, Religious Pluralism, and Ecotheology. Hege has directed several offerings of the Butler Series on Religion and Society, including “Religion, Race, and Culture” (2015-2016), “Sacred Spaces: Intersections of Religion and Ecology” (2018-2019), and “Faith and Activism” (2022-2023). Hege is also the Compass Center Scholar in Residence, where he works with a cohort of student Scholars on issues of interfaith engagement and vocational discernment. Hege holds affiliate faculty status in the programs of Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Science, Technology, and Environmental Studies, and the Center for Urban Ecology and Sustainability. In 2022, Hege successfully chartered Butler’s chapter of Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honors society for Religious Studies and Theology, for which he serves as faculty advisor. Hege is also the faculty advisor of Grace Unlimited, Butler’s Lutheran-Episcopal campus ministry. 

Scholarship

Hege’s research focuses on the history of Christian thought and contemporary Christian theology, with special focus on 19th- and 20th-century liberal Protestant theology, continental philosophy and philosophical theology, contemporary constructive theology, Lutheranism, and theology and culture. In addition to his award-winning first book, Faith at the Intersection of History and Experience: The Theology of Georg Wobbermin (Wipf and Stock, 2009), he has published articles and invited review essays in a number of European and American journals, including Zeitschrift für Neuere Theologiegeschichte/Journal for the History of Modern Theology, Theologische Zeitschrift, Theology and Science, Radical Philosophy Review, Politics and Religion, Teaching Theology and Religion, and Dialog: A Journal of Theology. He is also a frequent reviewer of books on historical and contemporary theology for Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology. He has presented papers at national and regional academic conferences, including The American Academy of Religion and The Southwest Popular Culture Association and The American Culture Association, as well as being a frequent guest lecturer and panel member for school, church, and community programs. His second book, Myth, History, and the Resurrection in German Protestant Theology, was published by Pickwick Press in 2017. His most recent book, based on the first semester of his popular Butler First Year Seminar, is Faith, Doubt, and Reason (Wipf and Stock 2020). In 2020 he was elected to the editorial council of Dialog: A Journal of Theology, the world’s premier journal of Lutheran theology. 

Aziel Nunez is the Director of The Compass Center at Butler University, where he leads efforts to support students in their exploration of meaning, purpose, spirituality, and interfaith engagement. He brings over a decade of experience in pastoral ministry, having worked across diverse faith communities with a particular focus on supporting historically underrepresented and multicultural populations.

Aziel holds a Doctor of Ministry from Boston University, a Master of Divinity from Yale University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University. He is deeply committed to education that is inclusive, accessible, and transformative for all students. With a passion for student formation, he works to foster spaces where individuals can reflect, grow, and engage across lines of difference.

Aziel’s office is located in The Compass Center, where he welcomes opportunities to connect with students, staff, faculty, and community partners who are exploring their own spiritual and vocational journeys.

Randall Ojeda is a proud alum (MS ’18) who is honored to serve as Executive Director for Culture & Inclusion here at Butler University! His work in leading the three cultural centers while also providing strategic operational direction to the DEISA Division continues to be the highlight of his career. In his role, Randall leads teams of passionate professional faculty/staff, collaborates with a wide variety of departments throughout campus, and strategizes key ways to continue the institution’s profound legacy of priortizing equity to acheive positive outcomes for all students. 

Randall and his husband, Gabriel (currently Butler MBA student), live in downtown Indianapolis with their twin cats (Alison & Ander) and beautiful daughter named Carter. He loves US Presidential Trivia, reality tv shows, Orangetheory Fitness, and is in a kickball league.

Mikala Lain (she/they) has served as the Assistant Director of the Efroymson Diversity Center since 2023. She graduated from Butler University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Business Administration. They then went on to Seattle University to earn a Master of Nonprofit Leadership. She enjoys spending time with family in Southern Indiana, attempting to not kill house plants and garden vegetables, traveling to national hiking spots, and crafting such as punch needling.

Miah McLaurin (she/they) is the Diversity Programs Coordinator in the Efroymson Diversity Center. She is an Indianapolis native and has been with Butler since September 2023. Miah primarily oversees the diverse scholarship programs at Butler; collectively known as the Butler Blue Scholars. They are passionate about increasing college access to marginalized groups through reduced financial barriers as well as student belonging. 

Josiah values providing holistic education for students. He has a interest in supporting students amidst transition, championing those with unique identities, and developing student leaders. Josiah completed his Higher Education & Student Development Master of Arts in 2012, worked in first-year residence life for ten years, joined the Butler University team in January 2023 working in the New Student & Family Programs office, and now serves as the Associate Director of Special Populations within the Efoymson Diversity Center. He enjoys all things pop culture, buying records at LUNA, taking pictures of his cats, and exploring the city.

Danny Kibble (he/him) serves as the Executive Director of DEI Initiatives and Engagement at Butler University, where he provides strategic leadership for university-wide initiatives that foster belonging, strengthen community engagement, and advance Butler’s commitment to equal access, student success, and inclusive excellence. As a member of the Division of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Student Affairs senior management team, he partners with university leaders to advance strategic priorities, strengthen cross-campus collaboration, guide organizational initiatives, and build institutional capacity through shared leadership and innovation.

Prior to his current role, Danny served on the senior leadership team in the Division of University Advancement for more than seven years. He led the transformation of Butler’s alumni relations and engagement strategy by aligning alumni engagement with fundraising efforts, helping fuel the successful Butler Beyond comprehensive campaign, which raised more than $263 million, surpassing its $250 million goal. Under his leadership, the Butler University Alumni Association became a stronger strategic partner in advancing institutional priorities, earning multiple regional awards from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Danny is passionate about building collaborative partnerships that create opportunities for learning, strengthen belonging, and empower others to lead meaningful institutional change.

Danny earned a Master of Public Affairs with a concentration in nonprofit management from the Indiana University Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Outside of Butler, he is an active community volunteer and most recently served as Chair of the Board of Directors for Foster Success (2024–2025), an Indiana nonprofit dedicated to helping youth and young adults transition successfully from foster care to self-sufficiency. He is also a life member of the Indiana University Alumni Association and a Federal Club member of the Human Rights Campaign.  

Rachel is a Disability Specialist at Butler University who is passionate about helping students navigate college in ways that work for them. She enjoys collaborating with students to remove barriers, strengthen self-advocacy, and build practical strategies for success.

Her professional interests include neurodiversity-affirming practice, executive functioning, Universal Design for Learning, accessible communication, and disability inclusion. More broadly, she is interested in how systems, policies, and campus cultures shape experiences of belonging, exclusion, and access. She enjoys exploring topics such as inclusive pedagogy, barrier identification, equitable design, intersectionality, community building, and the role power dynamics play in higher education. 

Dr. Bross primarily teachers our principles of economics courses, and is the faculty advisor for the Economics Club. She is currently in her fourth year of teaching here at Butler. Before Butler, she worked for the State of Indiana’s Legislative Services Agency conducting economic research to help policymakers. She also spent time working for the Education Research Alliance of New Orleans where she evaluated the impacts of school restructuring on student performance.

Cynthia (Weiyue) Chen mostly teaches Media Entrepreneurship and Media Audience Analytics for CCOM students. Prior to Butler, she has taught Introduction to Business News, Digital Analytics, and Media Management. Her research is published in flagship journals in the field: Journalism, Journalism Studies, and The International Journal of Press/Politics, etc. During her doctoral studies, Chen’s first lead-author project on paying for news was featured by the American Press Institute. 

Chen earned her Ph.D. in Information and Media from Michigan State University with a concentration in the media business. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Nankai University and an M. A. in Journalism and Communication (Hon.) from Tsinghua University in China. Outside of work, she organizes social events for international students at MSU, follows cute puppy pictures and sarcastic memes on Instagram, and enjoys hiking in the woods.

Google Scholar Page

My research interests include the history and culture of Japan, the anthropology of sport, the anthropology of science, gender studies, feminist theory, historical anthropology, mass/popular culture, theories of embodiment, urban anthropology, and visual culture. Most of my fieldwork has focused on cultures of sport in Japan and while I study and teach about all kinds of sport, football (soccer) is my ultimate passion. I continue to work on my primary project about soccer, corporate sport, the recession of the 1990s, and national identity in Japan, but have also written recently about the new professional women’s soccer league in Japan and the history of women’s professional soccer/football globally; I’m also interested in issues related to trans* athletes in Japan and the U.S.

Heidi Hancher-Rauch, PhD, MHES® has been a university faculty member and researcher for 20 years. She has taught at Purdue University and spent 17 years at the University of Indianapolis where she was a professor and director of the Public Health Program. She recently joined the faculty at Butler University as a professor of health sciences where she teaches public health and health science courses. She has practiced in the field for approximately 25 years, including work in the areas of community disease prevention and worksite health. Her areas of expertise include health policy and advocacy, program evaluation, and evidence-based health promotion. Health advocacy has always been her main passion, with the majority of her publications and professional presentations on the topic. Dr. Hancher-Rauch has provided professional service to Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) as the Board Trustee for Advocacy & Resolutions, a long-term member of the Advocacy Committee, and now as the president-elect to the Board of Trustees. Additionally, she has been the SOPHE delegate to the Coalition of National Health Education Organizations where she served as the coordinator for three years, is a member of the Top 10 Coalition Steering Committee, and previously served as the director of Indiana SOPHE Advocacy for two terms. She engages with community organizations such as the Indiana Minority Health Coalition as an outside evaluator and uses her advocacy skills to promote health equity and social justice every chance provided.

Derek Reid; Associate Professor, began his training at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in his native Washington, D.C. He subsequently studied in intensive dance programs with Rosella Hightower in Cannes, France,Milwaukee Ballet, and Richmond Ballet. He began attending Butler University in 1984, where he received a B.F.A. in Dance. Mr. Reid’s professional dance careers panned over fifteen years, during which time he performed with the Louisville Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal and Ballet Met in Columbus, Ohio. He performed and created leading roles in works by such internationally acclaimed choreographers as Choo San Goh, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Nacho Duato, James Kudelka, Mark Morris and Ohad Naharin. His repertoire ranged from the classical to the contemporary. His roles have included the prince in The Nutcracker, Siegfriedin Swan Lake and various roles in works by choreographic masters such as Antony Tudor, Vaslav Nijinsky, Irina Nijinska, Agnes de Mille, and George Balanchine.

Mr. Reid’s television credits include PBS’s production ofDance Theatre of Harlem’s Fall River Legend, choreographed by Agnes de Mille, as well as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Dancers for Life gala, in which he performed the pas de deux from Nacho Duato’s Rassemblement. A special highlight of his career was dancing Duato’s Cor Perdut at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece with the Gala des Etoiles, sharing the stage with dancers likeDamian Woetzel, Darcie Bussel and Carlos Acosta.

Mr. Reid’s professional teaching career began with the Northwest Florida Ballet in 1985 and continued through his Associate Directorship of the Fort Wayne Ballet from 2000-2004 and his guest/master classes across the country. In his current position as Associate Professor ofDance at Butler, Mr. Reid teaches Dance History, Classical Ballet technique, Classical and Contemporary Pas de Deux, Choreography, and his core curriculum contribution to the university Black Dance in the American Tradition. While creating original choreographic works for Fort Wayne Ballet, Northwest Florida Ballet, and Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, Mr. Reid offers original works to the Butler Ballet in both the classical and contemporary veins. With an eye towards the history and tradition of classical technique, Mr. Reid continues to search for new ideas to stimulate students and advocate for the continued embracing ofthe fine arts.   In 2012 he received a Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Leadership and Service Learning from Gonzaga University.

Professor Williams is a professional educator whose career started teaching middle school language arts in Ft. Worth, TX. She went on to teach high school English in Oklahoma City, OK before finding her first higher education position as an adjunct instructor at Mountain View College, Dallas, TX. There she worked to help developmental writing students find their voice in academic writing. She has since taught freshman composition, technical writing, and writing within the sciences at the college-level. In addition to a BA in English and African American Studies, as well as a secondary education certification, she holds an MA in Secondary Administration, a graduate certificate in Composition, and an MA in English.