Honors program faculty
Cynthia Westerbeck
Professor of English
Honors General Studies Program Director
(509) 527-2370
cynthia.westerbeck@wallawalla.edu
Education
- MA Washington University in St. Louis
- PhD Washington University in St. Louis
Teaching Areas
English major seminars in Restoration and Enlightenment, Romantic British Literature, Victorian Literature, Honors Western Thought, composition, Literature and the Arts and Environmental Literature
Research/Interests
She has a particular interest in the intersection between literature and the arts as reflected in her dissertation, "Jubal's Journey: The Musician as Exile in Victorian Literature."
Nineteenth- century British literature
Hobbies
Playing viola and piano, hiking, mountaineering
Other
- Joined the faculty at WWU in 2017
- Served as Chair and Professor of English at Pacific Union College and Columbia Union College
Education
- PhD Washington State University, 1999
- MSEE Washington State University, 1990
Teaching Areas
Digital logic, embedded system design, digital design, VLSI design, analog system design, computer architecture and instrumentation
Experience
- School of Engineering, Walla Walla College, 1987, 1989-Present
- Biomedical Engineering, Loma Linda University Medical Center, six years
Research/Interests
- Active research in medical instrumentation: Tissue Water Monitoring
Hobbies
Audio, acoustics and time domain relectometry
Other
Professional Associations
- Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE)
- Audio Engineering Society (AES)
Room
Chan Shun Pavilion 265
Education
- BA Walla Walla University, 1993
- PhD University of Oregon, 2002
Teaching Areas
Literature, Composition and Honors Western Thought
Experience
- Joined the Walla Walla English Department in 2004
- Served as College Writing Coordinator from 2005-2009
Research/Interests
Modern poetry is the focus of her research, as it was at the University of Oregon—specifically the work of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Carl Sandburg, and Sterling Brown.
Nineteenth- and twentieth-century American literature, modern literature, poetry, composition
Hobbies
Basketball, cats, reading novels and reading poems
Education
- MA University of Notre Dame
- PhD University of Notre Dame
Teaching Areas
Biblical, medieval, and Renaissance literature, composition and Honors Western Thought
Research/Interests
"Remembering the Sabbath: Law, Labor, and Liberty in Milton and His Contemporaries"
English Renaissance literature, and interactions between religion and literature
Education
- PhD Washington State University, 2011; U.S. History
- MA Washington State University, 2004; American Studies
Teaching Areas
History of the U.S., Modern East Asian History, Spain and Latin America, History of the Pacific Northwest and Western Thought
Research/Interests
Cultural exchanges between Japan and the U.S. from the 1920s-1950s, particularly focused on the lives on Nobuo Tatsuguchi and B.P. Hoffman
Twentieth Century American History; Japan, particularly from the Meiji-Era to the American Occupation; America during World War II and the Cold War; US foreign policy
Other Activities: Member-at-Large, Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast Board.
Hobbies
Family, travel, literature, camping and cooking
Other
Room
Administration Building 232
Education
- PhD Claremont Graduate University, 2004; History
- MBA Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, 2000
Teaching Areas
Medieval and early modern Europe, History of Christianity, Science and the Enlightenment, women and society in early modern Europe, History of England, Western Thought and summer study tours in England
Research/Interests
The Common People and Religious Toleration in Restoration England
Early Modern Europe, the History of Christianity, Desiderius Erasmus, post-reformation England
Hobbies
Family, travel, golf and water sports
Other
Titles
- Chair of the community council for the Walla Walla Children's Home Society
- Executive officer of the Erasmus of Rotterdam Society
Room
- Administration Building 227
- @gddodds
(BA, Walla Walla College; MDiv, Andrews University; PhD, Andrews University)
Paul Dybdahl was born in Thailand and spent the first eight years of his life in Asia before moving to the Walla Walla Valley. He attended grade school and high school in College Place, and graduated from Walla Walla College in 1992. He then accepted a call to be a pastor in the Oregon Conference, where he served for nearly five years. His time as a pastor included a sojourn to Andrews University, where he earned his MDiv in 1995. Paul later returned to Andrews for his doctorate and received his PhD in Missiology in 2004. His academic interest centers on the issues related to the effective communication of the gospel, especially across cultural barriers. Paul has been teaching at Walla Walla University since 2001.
Paul and his wife, Kristyn (also a graduate of Walla Walla College), have three children: Noah, Alyssa, and Sarah.
(BA, Seminar Marienhoehe, Darmstadt, Germany; PhD, Andrews University)
Mathilde Frey comes to Walla Walla University with a European background. She grew up in communist Romania where she attended elementary and high school, and graduated with the Baccalaureate. In 1984, she immigrated to West Germany, studied Theology in Austria and Germany, and served as a pastor in the South German Conference for five years. In 2003, she moved to Berrien Springs, Michigan, and earned a PhD in Old Testament from Andrews University. Her dissertation is titled, The Sabbath in the Pentateuch: An Exegetical and Theological Study.
In 2008, Mathilde accepted a call to teach Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Hebrew Language at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, in the Philippines. She also served as the editor of the Journal of Asia Adventist Seminary (JAAS) and as chair of the Master of Arts in Theology Program until 2014, when she moved to Walla Walla together with her husband Marcus and their two children, Delia and Eva.
Mathilde's academic interest is focused on close reading of the Hebrew Bible. She has written articles and book chapters on the Sabbath, has authored the Deuteronomy commentary for the Andrews Study Bible, and is currently writing a commentary on the book of Judges for the Seventh-day Adventist International Bible Commentary. Her international experience combined with pastoral ministry and academic work enriches her teaching in the classroom and her other contributions to the Walla Walla University campus.
Education
- PhD University of Utah, 1977
Teaching Areas
General sociology, sociological theory, sociology seminar, social research methods, social policy and advocacy
Research/Interests
The Social Transformation of Seventh-day Adventist Medicine and Health Care, Church and Sect in Postmodern America, Navajo Health Disparities
Hobbies
Traveling, indigenous art, reading, skiing and golf
Other
Professional Memberships/Affiliations
- Pacific Sociological Association
Service
- Walla Walla University Seventh-day Adventist Church
Education
- BA Walla Walla University
- MA Claremont Graduate University; literature and film
- PhD Claremont Graduate University; textual studies
Teaching Areas
Literature, film and writing
Research/Interests
He uses film (a) as an effective way to examine narrative structure, (b) as the focus of College Writing Research papers, and (c) as a dialogue base toward understanding whole-person care for medical students. His recent publications include two research volumes on gospel sources published by Peeters Press, Leuven, Belgium.
Other
- Directs the campus Film Studies minor
Dan Lamberton
Assistant Professor of English
Humanities Program Director
(509) 527-2123
dan.lamberton@wallawalla.edu
Education
- MFA University of Washington; creative writing
Teaching Areas
Humanities Program Director, Fulbright adviser and Oxford (CMRS) year abroad program adviser
Other
- Author of On the River through the Valley of Fire: The Collaborative Ceramics of the Frank Boyden and Tom Coleman (American Museum of Ceramic Art, 2008)
- Contributing editor to Poetry Northwest
- Delivered over 100 lectures on Washington’s poets and artists for Humanities Washington’s state speaker’s bureau
- Lectured for the Teachers as Scholars program
- Taught at the University of Washington
- Created a northwest literary history anthology in cooperation with the University of Washington history department
Timothy Golden
Professor of Philosophy
Director, Legal Studies
(509) 527-2217
timothy.golden@wallawalla.edu
Education
- PhD University of Memphis, 2011; Philosophy
- MA West Chester University of Pennsylvania 2006
Teaching Areas
Intro to Philosophy, Essentials of Critical Reasoning, History of Philosophy, Existentialism, Phenomenology, African-American Philosophy, Philosophy of Law, Social/Political Philosophy and Philosophy and the Bible
Experience
- Practiced law in the Federal Court of Appeals
Research/Interests
Constitutional Law, Individual Rights and Critical Race Theory
Kant and 19th/20th Century Continental Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion/Philosophical Theology, African-American Philosophy/Critical Race Theory
Hobbies
Acting and cooking
Other
Room
Administration Building 235
Education
- PhD University of Chicago, 2016; Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Teaching Areas
Ancient Near East, Classical Greece and Rome, Western Thought, Middle Eastern History, African History, The West and the World, World Geography
Research/Interests
Iron Age Households at Khirbat al-Balua, Jordan (co-director of the Balua Regional Archaeological Project)
History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East; Households and Communities of the Iron Age Southern Levant (circa 1200 BC)
Hobbies
Travel, knitting and cooking
Other
Titles
Vice President of the Walla Walla Society of the Archaeological Institute of America
Publications Manager for the Center for Near Eastern Archaeology, La Sierra University
Room
Administration Building 233