Construction Project Manager, Seasoned Counseling Professional Join Mississippi College Faculty

Braden Spiller will serve as an instructor in engineering, computer science, and physics, while Lisa Busby Thomas will trade in her longtime adjunct role to become an assistant professor of counseling.

Mississippi College executive leaders are proud to welcome two valuable additions to the Christian University’s faculty and administrative staff.

Braden Spiller, M.S.

A talented commercial construction project manager assistant and a Mississippi College alum, Braden Spiller has joined the MC faculty as an instructor in engineering, computer sciences, and physics.

Chris Maggio, associate professor and chair of the department, said Spiller will teach lecture and lab courses this year in general physics, fundamentals of physics, thermodynamics, and optics.

“We are very pleased to have Braden Spiller join our physics faculty,” Maggio said. “His background and commitment to student success makes him a great fit in our physics program.”

After obtaining his B.S. in physics with a minor in applied mathematics from MC, Spiller earned his M.S. in physics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He gained experience as a project manager assistant and estimator with Commercial Construction and Maintenance, Inc. of Birmingham.

Lisa Busby Thomas, D.P.C.

A seasoned counseling professional who has long been connected to Mississippi College, Lisa Busby Thomas has joined the full-time faculty at MC as an assistant professor of counseling.

Kayla Acklin, interim department chair and assistant professor of counseling, said Busby will teach in the Doctorate of Professional Counseling program.

“She has taught as an adjunct with MC for many years and we are thrilled to have her in the department full-time,” Acklin said. “She will be an asset to our programs and to our students.”

Thomas is an alumna of Mississippi College, having earned her B.A. in psychology, her M.S. in counseling psychology, and her D.P.C. at MC. She has served as an undergraduate adjunct instructor in the Psychology Department at MC for 26 years.

She has also worked in private practice with children and adults who have catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord injury and acquired brain injury, as well as physical and mental disabilities. She has served as a national subcontractor with the Veterans Administration throughout the United States and as a contractor for the U.S. Department of Labor and the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.

Thomas is the author or coauthor of more than 35 articles, research, and educational papers. She has given numerous presentations at professional conferences and meetings in Alabama and Mississippi.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​