Dr. Paula Tipton, Associate Professor of Counseling, came into academia later in life, though she has been teaching in some capacity for most of her life. After graduating with a BS (Kinesiology and Physical Education) from Cal State University at Hayward, she joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ.
Paula spent her first three-year assignment working with the Agape Movement where she taught high school English, biology, and Bible in Swaziland, Africa, and also worked in a mission station clinic where she learned to deliver babies and treat a variety of infections. During the last part of that assignment, she spent six months in Kinshasa, Zaire working with a team to train pastors and church leaders in principles of evangelism and discipleship. While in Africa, Paula became interested in working in Eastern Europe, particularly Czechoslovakia. She went into the country on a tourist visa in 1980 during the communist reign and was able to stay there for the next 14 years.
After the “velvet revolution” in 1989 she was seconded to BEE (Biblical Education by Extension), an organization that was committed to meeting the theological training needs of church leaders in the communist and post-communist Eastern Block. Her work with families and individuals in the ministry catapulted her into further study during a prolonged furlough.
Paula completed a MA (Christian Thought) at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and then a MA (Counseling Psychology) in 1995. After 17 years of private practice she completed a PhD (Counselor Education and Supervision) and taught adjunct at Northwestern University and TEDS before moving to Denver, then two years at Colorado Christian University.
She has been teaching with the Counseling Division for five years and is thrilled to have Denver Seminary be her professional home. Paula loves travel, exploring Colorado with her English Cocker, Bug, and friends, reading on a beach, home improvement projects, and intimate conversations over dinner or coffee with friends.