Throughout the 2023-24 academic year, Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary & Graduate School will celebrate our 90th anniversary! Here, we introduce our community to “90 Faces of LBC” each week. Keep up with all the news and events of our 90th year, read stories and more at lbc.edu/90.
Dr. Vanessa Saylor
To kick off the 2023-24 academic year, LBC | Capital is welcoming a new faculty member in the Counseling & Social Work Department: Assistant Professor in the Master of Social Work Program Dr. Vanessa Saylor.
Born and raised in Pottstown, Pa., Sayler earned a bachelor’s degree and Master of Social Work from Temple University as well as a Doctor of Education in Pastoral Care and Counseling from Liberty University. She has more than 30 years of experience in a variety of direct service settings, including welfare to work, housing, foster care, youth development, school social work and healthcare. An experienced leader in program development, grant writing, management, community collaboration and mobilization, Saylor’s recent industry experience is in the healthcare sector, where she has practiced in inpatient, ambulatory and health equity program management settings.
“I am passionate about training Christian social workers to represent Christ in every social sphere and setting of influence where biblical values can impact change in the lives of people and communities,” she said. “My guiding verse for social work is ‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God’ (Micah 6:8).”
A Certified Case Manager, Saylor developed a passion for addressing religion and spirituality in healthcare with specific interest in medical residents to grow in this dimension of patient care as they were learning and shaping their own practice. Her dissertation, “Confidence or control: Using theory of planned behavior to explore medical residents’ intentions to address religion and spirituality in patient care,” explored whether physicians in training had the confidence or the control to address this important dimension of patient care, particularly at end of life.
With a varied and rewarding career in social work, Saylor often shares with students that variety is a unique and invigorating attribute of being a social work professional.