Dr. Joe Gubanyi, long-time Concordia professor, finds fulfillment in helping students achieve their goals

Dr. Joseph (Joe) Gubanyi is an active member of the Concordia University, Nebraska community, having taught as both a full-time and adjunct faculty member for the last 43 years. His work in helping students prepare for their careers and helping them grow in their faith through showing them the beauty of God’s creation is truly inspiring.

Gubanyi graduated from Concordia Nebraska (then Concordia Teachers College) in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Upon graduation, he received a call to teach at Holy Cross Lutheran Elementary School in North Miami, Florida. He remained there for nine years teaching mostly sixth grade. He also coached activities such as volleyball, basketball, softball and track and field. During his time there, Gubanyi served as a youth group counselor and started a student outdoor club which included camping trips and overnight canoe trips. He also took the students on summer backpacking trips to the southern Appalachians.

In 1981, Gubanyi accepted a call to teach seventh grade at Concordia Lutheran School in Seattle, Washington. However, he only remained in this position for a year because he received and accepted a call to be a graduate assistant and teach biology at Concordia Seward. The position came with the opportunity to pursue graduate studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This opportunity led to Gubanyi earning his master’s degree in wildlife biology in 1989 and his Ph.D. in wildlife ecology in 2001.

“I never viewed my time at Concordia as a job. I was called to teach at Concordia and as such have been a teaching minister. I always felt the most important part of my call was that my students and I grew in faith. Along that line, the Lord has blessed me in countless ways which has strengthened my faith.”

When Gubanyi started at Concordia he taught classes in organismal biology including general zoology, ecology and field biology and vertebrate anatomy and morphology. During his time in Florida, Gubanyi had learned to snorkel on coral reefs, and so when he started at Concordia, he took students on marine biology study tours to the Florida Keys. Later, these tours expanded to marine biology study tours to Belize which not only gave students the opportunity to study marine biology but also to learn about other cultures and tropical rainforests. The Belize study tours eventually expanded to study tours in Costa Rica. Gubanyi was able to make connections in Belize that enabled him to take students there on mission trips as well. Over the years, the classes that he taught also expanded, with him taking on classes like genetics, Midwest flora, general biology, animal behavior and research in biology. In addition, Gubanyi created an honors ornithology course.

Outside of his career, Gubanyi enjoys birdwatching. This has been an active hobby of his for over 50 years. He states that “it [birdwatching] has made a positive impact on my teaching both in Lutheran elementary schools and at Concordia.” He says that it provides opportunities for people to participate in hands-on citizen science programs like Christmas bird counts, rescue and recovery of injured birds of prey, nightjar survey and many others.

Gubanyi is married to his wife, Heidi. They have four children and 14 grandchildren. Their oldest son, Nic, and his brother, Tony, teach at Concordia Lutheran High School in Bennington, Nebraska. Their daughter, Jenny, is an insurance agent in Lincoln, and their youngest son, Marcus, is a computer science professor at Concordia.

Gubanyi says, “I never viewed my time at Concordia as a job. I was called to teach at Concordia and as such have been a teaching minister. I always felt the most important part of my call was that my students and I grew in faith. Along that line, the Lord has blessed me in countless ways which has strengthened my faith.”

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