Dr. Hovater grew up in Pacific Northwest.  He has a teaching certificate in TESOL from Portland State University, an MA in Intercultural Studies from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, plus an MA in Educational Psychology and a PhD in Educational Studies (higher education emphasis) from the University of Nebraska. He spent 20 years in Taiwan as a missionary. In Taiwan, his various roles included being a college professor, English Department Chair and Vice-President for a small Christian college. Since 2011, Dr. Hovater has been at GCU, serving as the Faculty Chair for online faculty within the College of Theology. He and his wife, Jenny, have 2 children.