Mark Gring, Ph.D.

Mark grew up on the border of Texas and Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Kansas. He was educated at home (long before it was cool) and semi-educated in U.S. public school systems from the 6th grade through his doctorate. He attended various undergraduate institutions and finally completed both a Bachelor's of Science and a Master of Arts in Speech Communication at the University of Texas at Austin. Eventually he earned his doctorate (Ph.D.) at The Ohio State University in 1993. After teaching at various institutions of higher education, he finally arrived in Lubbock, TX with his family and was tenured and promoted at Texas Tech University. He is the husband of Dana (Hammock) Gring and father to Corinne (Gring) Holloway [and father-in-law to John Paul Holloway], Evan Gring, Nathan Gring, and Dodie Gring. Mark and his family attend, and he is an elder in, Providence Presbyterian Church in America, Lubbock,TX. Dana and Mark homeschool their children using the Classical Conversations approach.

Mark's research focuses on the effects of epistemic commitments (especially religious) on persuasive arguments. He has published articles and book chapters about Liberation Theology and revolution, Communication as Covenantal, Sermons presented after 9-11, Classical Pedagogy, Church discussions about race, and various encyclopedia entries and book reviews. He and his students continue to be challenged by classical texts and authors.