Wilmette Institute Faculty an On-Line Bahá'í Learning Center

Wilmette Institute Faculty TIMARA ADAMS Timara Adams is the Director of the Office of Assembly Development, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, Ill. NECATI ALKAN Ph.D. in Middle Eastern Studies, specialization in late Ottoman History; post-doc and faculty at the Department of Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies and the Chair in Bahá’í Studies, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2006-2008); senior fellow from June 2008 to June 2009 at the Research Center for Anatolian position at the University of Erfurt, Germany. HUSSEIN ASHCHI I am a biologist and an educator by profession with educational background from Aston [UK], Florida State and Southern California [USA], universities. Currently, I am semi-retired and involved in teaching efforts directed at the Arab world, the Wilmette Institute and the BIHE through the internet. My interest is the understanding of Islam from a Bahá’í perspective. I am also involved in translations from the holy literature into English. CHRISTOPHER BUCK Christopher Buck (Ph.D., study of religion, University of Toronto, 1996; J.D., Cooley Law School, 2006) is a Pennsylvania attorney and independent scholar. He previously taught at Michigan State University (2000-2004), Quincy University (1999-2000), Millikin University (1997-1999), and Carleton University (1994-1996). He is the author of various book chapters, encyclopedia articles, journal articles, and books, notably Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America’s World Role (2009); Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy (2005); Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith (1999); and Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Íqán (1995/2004). An On-line Bahá’í Learning Center Wilmette Institute Faculty MARLEEN CHASE M. Chase, trained in history of science and medicine, is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute research fellow alumna and scientist investigating infectious diseases and immunological responses. Her interests include philosophy of science and the historical reception of Darwinism in the Near East. PHYLLIS GHIM LIAN CHEW Race: Chinese Nationality: Singaporean Languages written and spoken: Chinese, Malay, English Education Background B.A. Hons. University of Singapore Dip. Education. University of Singapore Dip. Applied Linguistics. SEAMEO Regional Language Centre M.A. ESL. University of Hawaii Ph.D. Linguistics. Macquarie University, Australia. RODNEY CLARKEN Director of School of Education, Associate Dean of Teacher Education, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan. Taught over seven Wilmette Institute Courses, Bahá’í for 41 years, Traveled to 60 countries, Taught in schools and universities in several countries for over 35 years. See http://www.instruct.nmu.edu/~rclarken/ for biography, vita, papers and other material. An On-line Bahá’í Learning Center Wilmette Institute Faculty ARTHUR LYON DAHL Professor Arthur Lyon Dahl of Geneva, Switzerland (http://yabaha.net/dahl), has more than 40 years international experience in sustainable development and environment. He coordinates the UNEP/University of Geneva/Graduate Institute Programme of Advanced Studies in Environmental Diplomacy (http://www.unige.ch/formcont/environmentaldiplomacy/) and is Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton, UK, and partner in an international project on values-based indicators of education for sustainable development (http://www.esdinds.eu/). He is a retired Deputy Assistant Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and a consultant to international organizations and research programmes on environmental assessment, observing strategies, indicators of sustainability, coral reefs, biodiversity, islands (islands.unep.ch), environmental education, and social and economic development. He holds an A.B. in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. A specialist on small islands and coral reefs, he spent many years in the South Pacific as Regional Ecological Advisor with the Pacific Commission (www.spc.int), and organized the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (www.sprep.org). He represented the Bahá’í International Community at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (1972), was in the Secretariat of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to prepare Agenda 21, the global action plan for sustainable development, and organized several parallel events at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002). He is President of the International Environment Forum (www.bcca.org/ief) and on the governing boards of the European Bahá’í Business Forum (www.ebbf.org) and the Global Islands Network (www.globalislands.net). He has published many scientific papers and books including: “Unless and Until: A Bahá’í Focus on the Environment” and “The Eco Principle: Ecology and Economics in Symbiosis.” ROGER M. DAHL Roger Dahl received his master’s degree in American history from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, with an archival sequence. He has been the archivist at the National Bahá’í Archives, United States, since 1974. He is a member of the Society of American Archivists, the Academy of Certified Archivists, the Midwest Archives Conference and the Association of Moving Image Archivists. Mr. Dahl has published several articles on American Bahá’í history and is currently working on a biography of the first African American Bahá’í, Robert Turner. An On-line Bahá’í Learning Center Wilmette Institute Faculty NICOLA DANIELS Niki Daniels earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of the West Indies (Mona), and a Master’s in Forensic Chemistry from the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow). She worked for 10 years in the Police Forensic Laboratory in her home town of Kingston, Jamaica, before leaving the scientific field to work as an administrator. Niki became a Bahá’í in 2001. She is also a poet, and a blogger, and science-related issues are often featured in her writing. She reads widely, and is especially interested in health/alterna- tive medicine, brain science/artificial intelligence, and evolutionary theory. Niki served as Faculty on the Institute’s Science & Religion course (2010), and is looking forward to collaborating once again with other faculty and learners. ED DILIBERTO Edward N. Diliberto holds a B.A. and M.A. from California State University and the Credential of Bilingual Education, Spanish-English, (1980) from the California State Board of Education. He served in various educational positions in California, Central America and South America over the years. Most recently, he served for six years on the Advisory Board assigned to collaborate with the Center for Bahá’í studies in Beijing, where he presented various papers correlating Chinese philosophy with the Bahá’í teachings. He has been to 26 countries as a consultant on developing human resource for the Bahá’í Faith, and he served as a member of the Auxiliary Board of the Continental Board of Counselors for twelve years. PAULA DREWEK I’m a retired professor of humanities/religious studies active in many interfaith activities in the Detroit area as well as core institute activities. An On-line Bahá’í Learning Center Wilmette Institute Faculty DANIEL GROLIN Daniel Grolin is a Bahá’í living in Denmark, the most Lutheran of countries (or so they think). In High School, when he first encountered academic bibli- cal scholarship, he became gravely concerned with the implication of this science for Bahá’ís, in terms of the significance for reading as Scripture and effect on Bahá’í-Christian dialogue. He pursued this interest through service in the Holy Land and through most of his time at university. He published “Jesus and Early Christianity in the Gospels” through George Ronald as a means drawing together what he had learned and concluded from his studies. ROBERT HARRIS Bob Harris is a senior executive in a medical software company in Clearwater, Florida. He has studied and spoken about the Bahá’í Revelation for 41 years as a member of various institutions of the Faith, including the Continental Board of Counselors, the Auxiliary Board and a Regional Bahá’í Council of the Northeastern States. He has lectured extensively on the writings of Shoghi Effendi and the manifold aspects of the Covenant and Teaching. He has a particular interest in encouraging youth to immerse themselves in the Holy Writings. This is the first time that Bob is engaged with a course of the Wilmette Institute. KURT HEIN Kurt Hein holds a Ph.D. in Development Communication from Northwestern University. He pioneered in Ecuador, Kenya and Guinea. He worked as an international consultant and professor in 25 countries. He was on staff at the Baha’i National Center and WLGI. He has been on faculty for several Wilmette Institute courses. ELIZABETH HERTH Elizabeth Herth holds an MBA in strategic planning and business development from Davenport University and a B.S. from Central Michigan University, where at both she taught communications and business theory. In her current role at the national headquarters for the Bahá’ís of the United States, she studies and reports on the progress of the Bahá’í Faith in relation to national and international goals. An On-line Bahá’í Learning Center Wilmette Institute Faculty RICHARD HOLLINGER Richard Hollinger is an archivist and historian residing in Maine who has conducted research on the history of the Bahá’í Faith in North America and the Middle East. His recent publications include: “An Iranian Enclave in Lebanon: Baha’i Students in Beirut, 1906-40,” in H.E. Chehabi ed. Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 years (Oxford: Center for Lebanese Studies 2006); and “ ‘Wonderful and True Visions’: Magi Community,” in John Danesh and Seena Fazel ed. Search for Values: Ethics in Baha’i Thought, (Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 2004). WILLIAM HUITT Professor Emeritus at Valdosta State University teaching psychology and education courses. I have been Bahá’í for 39 years, now residing in Erlangen, Germany, where my wife is the Principal of the Middle School at Franconian International School.

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