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WILMETTE INSTITUTE FACULTY

Faculty biographies follow. Faculty of Religion, Philosophy, and Theology

Muin Afnani
Ted Brownstein
Phyllis Chew
Susan Maneck
Dann May
Brian Miller
Moojan Momen
Anne Pearson
Habib Riazati
Julio Savi
Michael Sours
Robert Stockman

Faculty of the Study of Individual Development,
Marriage, and Family Life

Iraj Ayman
Lily Ayman
Saba Ayman-Nolley
Michael L. Penn
Mary K. Radpour

Faculty of the Study of Governance and Community

Arash Abizadeh
John S. Hatcher
Michael McMullen
Gayle Morrison

Faculty of the Study of Global Civilization

Jaleh Dashti-Gibson
Jena Khodadad
Brian Lepard
Iraj Poostchi
Farhad Saberan
Robert White

Faculty of Bahá'í History and Scripture

Iraj Ayman
Ghasem Bayat
William Collins
John S. Hatcher
Dann May
Heshmat Moayyad
Habib Riazati
David S. Ruhe
Robert H. Stockman
Jonah Winters

Skills Development Faculty

Roya Ayman
Phyllis Bernard
Keyvan Nazerian
Peter Oldziey
Phyllis Perrakis
David Rouleau
Ramsey Zeine

Faculty of the Study of the Persian Language

Lily Ayman

FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES

Mr. Arash Abizadeh received his Master of Philosophy in politics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Currently he is a Ph.D. candidate in political theory at Harvard University, where he has taught courses in ancient and modern political philosophy, and where he has been a Frank Knox Fellow, a Judith Shklar Fellow, and a fellow of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. His research interests currently focus on the treatment of discourse and diversity in democratic theory. He teaches political theory as it relates to Bahá'í administration for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Iraj Ayman received his Ed.D. from Edinburgh University in Scotland and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Southern California in 1958. He completed post-doctoral studies at Harvard University. He is professor emeritus of the University of Teacher Education in Iran and has been a visiting Professor of education and management at U.C.L.A. and at the University of the Philippines. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Religious Education Association of the United States and Canada and is coordinator of the Wilmette Institute. He teaches classes in spiritual development and the nature of education for the Wilmette Institute.

Ms. Lily Ayman completed her undergraduate studies in foreign languages at Moscow University and in philosophy and educational sciences at Tehran University. She has pursued graduate studies in education and psychology at London and Edinburgh Universities and in Children's Literature at Columbia University. She has been coordinator of programs on education and family life at Landegg Academy, Switzerland; Head of the Department of Life-long Education and Training, National Center for Adult Education and Training, Tehran, Iran; and Lecturer in Children's Literature at the College of Education, Tehran University. Most recently she has taught Persian at the University of Chicago. She has served as executive officer of a number of professional organizations. Lily Ayman has authored a number of books and has published extensively in the field of education. She teaches about parenthood and family life for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Roya Ayman received her B.A. (honors), M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Utah, the last in social and organizational psychology. She is Associate Professor and Director of the industrial and organizational psychology program at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She has published extensively in professional journals and has co-authored several textbooks in the field of leadership. She gives workshops for the Wilmette Institute on public speaking, consultation, and skills for organizing meetings.

Dr. Saba Ayman-Nolley received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. She is Associate Professor of psychology and international and intercultural studies and Chairperson of the Psychology Department of Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Her fields of specialization are developmental psychology and early childhood development and education. Her research areas include children's social development and their development of creativity. She has served as the coordinator of the special education program for the six Head Start programs at the Fort Peck Indian reservation in Montana. She teaches psychology, personal development, marriage, and family life for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Phyllis Bernard holds a B.A. in history from Bryn Mawr College, a Master's in history from Columbia University, and a J. D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She has been director of a mediation program in central Oklahoma since January 1996 and is professor of law at Oklahoma City University Law School, where she teaches alternative dispute resolution, administrative law, legal ethics, and health law. She also teaches in the Native American Legal Assistance Clinic. She teaches conflict resolution for the Wilmette Institute.

Mr. William Collins holds B.A. from Middlebury College in French and Russian, an M.S.L.S. in Library Science from Syracuse University, and an M.Sc. in history and political science from Syracuse University in 1995. He was director of the Bahá'í World Center Library, 1977 to 1990. He teaches classes on the life and writings of Shoghi Effendi for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. John S. Hatcher holds a B.A. and M.A. in English literature from Vanderbilt University and a Ph.D. in Old and Middle English literature and linguistics from the University of Georgia. He is professor of English literature at the University of South Florida. He is the author of numerous books about Bahá'í theology and scripture as well as Bahá'í poetry. He teaches about the divine nature of the Bahá'í Administrative Order and its relationship to the Most Great Peace for the Wilmette Institute.

Mr. Dann May received has Master's degree in philosophy from Northern Texas University in 1993. He has taught classes in philosophy, logic, ethics, Christian ethics, the philosophy of religion, Asian religions, the history of religion, and religious dialogue at various universities in Texas and Oklahoma. He has considerable familiarity with Christian theology. Currently he teaches at Oklahoma City University. He teaches Buddhism, Chinese religion, and Christianity for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Michael McMullen received his Bachelor's degree in sociology and mathematics from the University of Kansas and his Ph.D. in sociology from Emory University. His revised doctoral dissertation, The Atlanta Bahá'í Community: On the Religious Construction of a Global Identity is forthcoming from Rutgers University Press. He teaches sociology of communities and organizations for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Heshmat Moayyad received his doctorate in Persian literature from the University of Frankfurt. He has taught Persian literature at Harvard University, the University of Naples, the University of Frankfurt, and since 1966, at the University of Chicago. He is the author, translator, or editor of several works on modern Persian literature in English. He teaches the life and writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá for the Wilmette Institute.

Ms. Gayle Morrison received her Bachelor's degree in history from the University of California at Santa Barbara in1967. She has done graduate study in Southeast Asia Studies at Yale University and received an M.Ed. from the University of Massachusetts in 1970. She is the author of To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982). From 1985 to 1995 she was a member of the Continental Board of Counselors for Australasia and an Auxiliary Board member for Protection from1981 to 1985. Currently she is coordinating editor of the Bahá'í Encyclopedia project. She teaches about the institutions of the learned for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Keyvan Nazerian has a doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from University of Tehran and a Master's degree and Ph.D. in microbiology from Michigan State University. He pioneered to Italy, 1960-63 and Sweden 1972-73. He was associate professor of microbiology at Michigan State University, 1975-85. He served on the National Teaching Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, 1980-86, and has been a staff member in the National Teaching Committee Office since 1995. He gives classes and workshops on teaching the Faith for the Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization.

Dr. Peter Oldziey has an Ed.D. in Education from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He wrote and helped publish The Garden of Bahá'u'lláh: Visual Lessons for Study of the Bahá'í Faith (New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1988), a work based on theories he developed in his doctoral thesis on development of educational materials that symbolize spiritual concepts in a way that permits dialogue with a nonliterate population. Dr. Oldziey has also written a case study of the Hoosick Falls, N.Y., teaching project. He teaches workshops on teaching the Faith for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Anne Pearson received her Ph.D. in religious studies with a specialization in Hinduism from McMaster University in 1993. She has been a lecturer on Hinduism, women and religion, and world religions at McMaster University and Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario. She teaches women in religion and Hinduism for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Michael L. Penn is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Temple University in clinical psychology. He has won awards for academic excellence and was nominated for a teaching award. His research and teaching areas include developmental psychopathology, culture and psychopathology, social psychiatry, public health, race relations, and violence against women and girls. In June 1998 he became Assistant Rector of Landegg Academy. He teaches individual development for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Phyllis Perrakis holds a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of California at Berkeley. She teaches writing at the University of Ottawa and serves as an editor for the Journal of Bahá'í Studies. She teaches writing skills for the Wilmette Institute.

Ms. Mary K. Radpour has a Master of Science degree in social work from the University of Tennessee. She has taught English at Morehouse College and the Community College of Baltimore and taught psychology and social work at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Currently she is a practicing counselor. She teaches about marriage and family life for the Wilmette Institute.

Mr. Habib Riazati is a researcher and lecturer who has traveled widely across North America and is known for his courses on Bahá'í scripture. He teaches Qur'án and Islamic thought for the Wilmette Institute.

Mr. David Rouleau is coordinator of the Office of Bahá'í Administration at the Bahá'í National Center and is one of the most experienced local spiritual assembly trainers in the country. He teaches local spiritual assembly skills for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. David S. Ruhe was a member of the Universal House of Justice from 1968 to 1993 and is the author of two books, The Robe of Light (a biography of Bahá'u'lláh through the year 1853) and The Door of Hope (a description of Bahá'í holy places in Israel). He teaches about the life and writings of Bahá'u'lláh for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Julio Savi is a physician residing in Bologna, Italy. He has translated many Bahá'í scriptures and works about the Bahá'í Faith into Italian. He is the author of several books and articles, among them The Eternal Quest for God, a work about Bahá'í theology. He teaches Bahá'í theology for the Wilmette Institute.

Dr. Robert H. Stockman received his doctorate in the history of religion in the United States from Harvard University in 1990. He is an instructor of religious studies at DePaul University, where he teaches world religion. He is also Coordinator of the Institute for Bahá'í Studies in Wilmette and Administrator of the Wilmette Institute. He teaches primal religions, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Old and New Testaments for the Wilmette Institute.

Mr. Jonah Winters received his bachelor's degree in religious studies from Reed College in Portland, Oregon in 1994. He completed a Master's degree in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Toronto in 1997, with a focus on Shi'i and Bábí concepts of martyrdom. He assists with Wilmette Institute courses in Bahá'í scripture and world religions.

Mr. Ramsey Zeine is an architect and chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of Lebanon. He has extensive experience in fostering efforts to teach the Faith and helping Bahá'ís to teach more joyfully and effectively. He teaches workshops on teaching the Faith for the Wilmette Institute.