At the October 2019 meeting of the Board of Trustees of Seminary of the Southwest, the board approved the promotion of the Director of the Loise Henderson Wessendorff Center for Christian Ministry and Vocation to Associate Professor.
“Gena’s promotion indicates the high esteem in which she is held at the seminary. She brings together spirituality and psychology in a way that is exemplary for our program. Her teaching, scholarship, and service are outstanding and we are happy that she will be taking on the role of senior faculty member,” said Dr. Scott Bader-Saye, academic dean.
Dr. Minnix’s promotion completes a transition of leadership in the Henderson Wessendorff Center following the retirement of The Rev. Dave Scheider in June. This same time period has seen the Henderson Wessendorff Center grow substantially, with the addition of two new full-time faculty members. This faculty expansion comes after a period of significant growth in the degree programs to explore spirituality in counseling, and the establishment the Latinx Counseling Concentration.
Before she assumed her role as director, Dr. Minnix was a member of the faculty since 2015. Notably, the Henderson Wessendorff Center achieved accreditation through CACREP in the Fall of 2017, a complicated and rigorous review process led by Dr. Minnix. This unique accreditation has contributed to Southwest welcoming one of its largest incoming classes in a decade.
Dr. Minnix is a licensed professional counselor and licensed marriage and family therapist trained in systemic therapies, EMDR, trauma and neuroscience, attachment and play therapy, and the Enneagram. In 2013, she helped co-found The Human Empathy Project, a nonprofit in Austin that exists to foster empathic connection with members of faith and LGBTQ communities. She is the author of several articles and chapters on the intersection of spiritual, religious, and ethical values in counseling, and is currently working on a book that applies neuroscience to Christian theology.
