“...what is virtue if not the free choice
of what is good?” Alexis de Toqueville
Acton University 2007 Faculty
Dr. Anthony Bradley Assistant Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, Covenant Theological Seminary
Dr. Anthony Bradley, a former high school teacher and administrator, holds a BS in biological sciences from Clemson University, a Master of Divinity from Covenant Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Westminster Theological Seminary. As a research fellow, Dr. Bradley lectures at colleges, universities, business organizations, conferences, and churches throughout the U.S. and abroad. His writings on religious and cultural issues have been published in a variety of journals, including: the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Detroit News, and World Magazine. Dr. Bradley is called upon by members of the broadcast media for comment on current issues and has appeared on CNN/Headline News, Fox News and Court TV Radio, among others. He studies and writes on issues of race in America, hip hop, youth culture, issues among African Americans, the American family, welfare, education, and modern international forms of social injustice, slavery, and oppression. His dissertation explores the intersection of black liberation theology and economics. Dr. Bradley is Assistant Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, MO.
Rev. Chanshi Chanda Founder and Chariman, Institute of Human Dignity and Economic Freedom
Rev. Chanshi Chanda is the founder and chairman of the Institute for the Study of human dignity and economic freedom in Zambia. He is a business entrepreneur and an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene and serves as the French Equatorial field assistant strategy coordinator in Africa (Congo DR, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo Brazzaville, Madagascar and Reunion Island). He has served in different capacities as leadership development coordinator in Central Africa (Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi), as assistant district superintendent for the Southeast district in the DRC, as the extension education coordinator on the Zambia North district as well as the Mission treasurer. He holds a master of art degree in Religion from the Africa Nazarene University in Nairobi, Kenya.
Dr. Fred DeJong Professor of Sociology and Social Work, Calvin College
Dr. Fred De Jong, Ph.D. (University of California, Los Angeles), M.S.W., M.A.P.A. (University of Minnesota); has taught and done funded research for 30 years in health, mental health and social services. Dr. De Jong has authored 15 peer-reviewed original research articles and frequently presents research at national conferences. He teaches social science statistics and social research methods at Calvin College while serving as principal investigator in several federal, foundation and locally-funded projects. Using data from Samaritan Award applicants for the last 3 years, Dr. De Jong, with colleagues, is conducting research to identify how organizations' faith-related characteristics or faith-based program components may or may not influence clients' outcomes.
George Gilder is Editor of the Gilder Technology Report and Chairman of Gilder Publishing, LLC
A graduate of Harvard University, Gilder co-authored The Party That Lost Its Head, and served as a speechwriter for Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney, and Richard Nixon. In the 1970s, Gilder began an excursion into the causes of poverty, resulting in his books Men and Marriage (1972); Visible Man (1978); and Wealth and Poverty (1981). His later investigation into wealth creation led to a deeper examination of the lives of entrepreneurs, culminating in The Spirit of Enterprise (1986) and Microcosm (1989). A subsequent book, Life After Television, was a prelude to his book on the future of telecommunications, Telecosm (2000).
In his latest book, The Silicon Eye (2005), Gilder shares his inside knowledge of Silicon Valley and illustrates how the unpredictable mix of genius, drive, and luck that can turn a startup into a Fortune 500 company.
Dr. Stephen J. Grabill (Ph.D., Calvin Theological Seminary) is research scholar in theology and editor of the Journal of Markets & Morality. He is the general editor of The Stewardship Resource Bible: ESV, which is currently in production. He is the author, most recently, of Rediscovering the Natural Law in Reformed Theological Ethics, and is currently editing a collection entitled Sourcebook of Late Scholastic Monetary Theory.
Dr. Samuel Gregg is Director of Research at the Acton Institute. He has written and spoken extensively on questions of political economy, economic history, ethics in finance, and natural law theory. He has an MA in political philosophy from the University of Melbourne, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in moral philosophy from the University of Oxford, which he attended as a Commonwealth Scholar. He is the author of several books, including Morality, Law, and Public Policy (2000), On Ordered Liberty (2003), and his prize-winning The Commercial Society (2007), as well as monographs such as Ethics and Economics: The Quarrel and the Dialogue (1999), Morality, Law, and Public Policy (2001), A Theory of Corruption (2004), and Banking, Justice, and the Common Good (2005). Dr. Gregg also publishes in journals such as the Journal of Markets & Morality, Law and Investment Management, Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines, Economic Affairs, Evidence, Oxford Analytica, and Policy. He is a regular writer of opinion-pieces which appear in newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal Europe, the Washington Times, the Australian Financial Review, and Business Review Weekly. In 2001, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and a Member of the Mont Pelerin Society in 2004. In 2008, he was elected a member of the Philadelphia Society, and a member of the Royal Economic Society.
Mr. Stephen Haessler Endowed Chair in Economics, Marquette University High School
Mr. Stephen Haessler is the endowed chair in Economics at Marquette University High School. He teaches AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Statistics, and AP Geography. Mr. Haessler earned a master's degree in history and is currently working on a doctorate in Urban Education with a minor in economics at the University of Wisconsin.
Very Rev. Paul Hartmann is the Judicial Vicar of the Metropolitan Tribunal, Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He holds a Licentiate in Canon Law from the Catholic University of America, and received his M.Div from St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee. His undergraduate studies at Marquette University included philosophy and broadcasting. The focus of much of Fr. Hartmann's current research and writing has been the theology and structure of marriage, canonical penal procedures, and constitutional law.
Mr. Ismael Hernandez Executive Director, African Caribbean American Catholic Center
Ismael Hernandez is the executive director of the African Caribbean American Catholic Center in Fort Myers, Florida. He has a masters degree in Political Science and was a Cook Fellowship Recipient with Acton in 2001. A former active Marxist, Ismael leads a unique Catholic ministry based on the principles of effective compassion and subsidiarity. Since 2003, Ismael has spoken at Acton conferences on the need for personal responsibility and against the evils of victimization and dependency.
As director of Istituto Acton, Mr. Jayabalan organizes the institute's educational and outreach efforts in Rome and throughout Europe. He has worked as an international economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington, D.C., was appointed to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in New York, and returned to Rome to work for the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Mr. Jayabalan holds an M.A. in political science from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Jo Kwong Vice-President of Institute Relations, Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Jo Kwong is the Vice President of Institute Relations at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. Prior to joining Atlas in 1989, Kwong worked at free market organizations including the Institute for Humane Studies, Capital Research Center, Property and Environment Research Center. Kwong received her doctorate in Natural Resource Economics from the University of Michigan. She has lectured internationally on topics including free-market environmentalism, markets and morality, and globalization and women.
Fr. Peter Laird Vice Rector and Prof. of Moral Theology, St. Paul Seminary
Fr. Peter A. Laird, vice rector and assistant professor of moral theology at St. Paul Seminary, has worked in the fields of business, politics, and law. He holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin, and licentiate and doctoral degrees in sacred theology from the John Paul II Institute and Alphonsian Academy at the Lateran University in Rome, Italy.
Mr. Michael Miller has a master's degree from Nagoya University's Graduate School of International Development (Japan) and a master's in philosophy from Franciscan University. He also holds an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird and a bachelor's from Notre Dame. Before coming to Acton, he spent three years at Ave Maria College of the Americas in Nicaragua where he was the chair of the philosophy and theology department. He has lived and traveled in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, Senior Fellow in Economics at the Acton Institute and regular contributor to National Review Online and The National Catholic Register, received her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Rochester. Until recently, she was a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. She has been on the faculty of Yale University and George Mason University, and is the author of Love and Economics: Why the Laissez-Faire Family doesn't work.
Rev. John Nunes is the President and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization promoting sustainable development by helping the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves. For over 25 years Nunes has worked as a speaker, musician, writer, youth director, pastor and professor. A research associate for Urban Ministry to Wheat Ridge Ministries and author of Voices from the City, he is a prominent Lutheran leader known for applying theological insight to matters from global vocation to urban ministry in the United States.
Dr. Jay Richards Director of Acton Media and Research Fellow, Acton Institute
Jay W. Richards (Ph.D., Princeton) is Research Fellow and Director of Acton Media at the Acton Institute. He is the author of many scholarly and popular articles, as well as several books. He is author, most recently, of The Privileged Planet with astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez, and is currently writing a book entitled Mirrors of God: The Christian Case for Capitalism.
Jeff Sandefer is an entrepreneur whose passion is teaching at the Acton School of Business. Princeton Review ranked Acton’s students the “most competitive” MBAs in America and rated the faculty in the top three in the nation. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Texas and the Harvard Business School. He serves on Harvard’s Visiting Committee, is a director of National Review magazine, is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society and was recently elected to the Texas Business Hall of Fame.
Dr. John Schneider is professor of theology at Calvin College, the author of Godly Materialism: Rethinking Money and Possessions (InterVarsity), and a contributing editor to Religion & Liberty. He received his Ph.D. at Cambridge University in 1987. Dr. Schneider's areas of teaching and research interests include Systematic Theology and Theories of Revelation.
Fr. Robert Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute regularly lectures both in the United States and around the world. His writings have appeared in various journals, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, National Review, The London Financial Times, and Crisis. He has served in parish ministries in Michigan, and most recently the founding of a new community, St. Philip Neri House in Kalamazoo, MI.
Mr. Jeffrey Tucker is editor of the Austrian Economics Newsletter and The Free Market, two publications of the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama, where he serves as Director of Research. His work has appeared in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, The Wall Street Journal, The Journal of Commerce, National Review, The Freeman, Catholic World Report, Crisis, Chronicles, and a host of other secular and religious venues. He received his training in economics from Texas Tech University, The MacArthur Academy of Howard Payne University, and George Mason University.
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the Study of Religion and Liberty
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