Here at Warner University, we celebrate excellence. We are blessed to not only have excellent students, but we also have faculty who pursue excellence in all they do. We want to highlight a few who are doing great things inside and outside of the classroom:
Dr. David Linton is an Assistant Professor of Exercise Science. In November 2025, Dr. Linton defended his doctoral dissertation, Evaluating the Effects of Visualization on Vertical Jump Performance in Varsity High School Athletes, and later earned his doctoral degree. His dissertation examines the potential of psychological skills training and its impact on high school athletes as a means to improve performance.
Mrs. Jennifer Goodson is an Instructor of Psychology and the Online Program Coordinator for the Psychology Program. She recently did a TEDx Talk called “Read the Room: Perception is Presence.” The message is about how our internal state influences the way that we experience others, and how small shifts in perception can transform connection and communication. Go check it out!
Dr. Lori Hutto is a Professor of Education and the Chair of the Education Department. She recently completed work in partnership with the Florida Department of Education workgroup to write the new requirements for the Uniform Core Curriculum. This curriculum governs what teacher preparation programs in Florida must cover. Dr. Hutto also went back to Tallahassee for a short period of time as a member of the Steering Committee for the Florida Teacher Excellence Exam (FTEE). She has also facilitated Zoom calls with deans and directors of teacher education across the state to work through the challenges of implementing new legislation and requirements into their programs. At this time, Dr. Hutto is writing blog posts for the Kappa Delta Pi International Honor Society CARE team to support teachers across the globe in the areas of stress management and mental health. As if she is not already busy enough, Dr. Hutto is also in the process of completing training to become a certified Resiliency Coach through Polk County Schools.
Mr. Daniel Estabrooks is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences. Last semester one of his Biology 1 Lab classes collected mushrooms around campus. These mushrooms were collected for the Mycota FL project, which is run through the University of Florida. The Biology Lab class submitted about 30 mushrooms to the project for DNA barcoding; this identifies the mushrooms by their DNA sequences. The University of Florida has been slowly sending back the results of the process over the last few weeks; however, they did receive results on two of their Amanita mushrooms. It has been discovered that two of their Amanita mushroom samples are entirely new species. They are currently known as Amanita FL21 and Amanita FL23, even though it will be some time before they are formally described. A fun fact about the Amanita mushrooms is that they are often toxic (some fatally so), and seeing as there is not much knowledge surrounding them, it is encouraged you do not eat any mushrooms found on campus!
Mr. Justin Sharpless is an Assistant Professor of Agricultural Studies and the Chair of the Agricultural Studies department. He has recently earned his Advanced Certified Board Member distinction from the Florida School Boards Association. This distinction is awarded to board members who have completed 30 professional development points within a single year. The Advanced Certification Board Member is built on the FSBA’s foundational Certified Board Member program, which requires an initial 96 hours of comprehensive training.
We are so proud of our faculty!
