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JAMIN A. HUBNER
Instructor in Bible and Theology
Director of Enrollment Services
B.A., Dordt College
M.A., Reformed Theological SeminaryTh.D., University of South Africa (In Progress)
Jamin Hübner was born and raised in southeastern South Dakota and currently teaches Bible and Theology at John Witherspoon College in the Black Hills. He has a B.A. in Theology from Dordt College, an M.A. in Religion from Reformed Theological Seminary, and is currently pursuing a Th.D. in Systematic Theology from the University of South Africa. He is the author of numerous books and articles, has participated in several public moderated debates, and regularly preaches and teaches on subjects relating to apologetics and theology. He is also an accomplished drummer, having performed in various contexts and taught percussion. In addition to living like Hobbits (enjoying plant life, a variety of teas, and reading books in their cottage between each day’s six meals), Jamin and his wife Jessica enjoy hiking, rock climbing, photography (blackhillsphoto.org), and exploring the beautiful Black Hills.
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RONALD J. LEWIS
Registrar and Academic Dean
Associate Professor of Biblical Studies
A.S., North Dakota State University
B.S., Kansas State University
B.S., South Dakota State University
M.Div., International School of Theology
S.T.M., Dallas Theological Seminary
D.Min., Trinity International University Evangelical Divinity School.
A long-time pastor, missionary, and educator, Dr. Ron Lewis has been involved in BHBI/JWC from the beginning both as professor and as administrator. For many years, Dr. Lewis served as a Team Leader of Campus Crusade for Christ in Swaziland, and as Country Coordinator for Campus Crusade in Lesotho, Africa. During his years of service in Africa, he taught Agricultural Education and Science, and Theological and Biblical Studies, and he remained active with Campus Crusade for Christ after returning to the States. As an ordained pastor with the Evangelical Free Church, Dr. Lewis pastored churches in Colorado and South Dakota.
Dr. Lewis is also a Certified Public School Teacher for Secondary Education and a certified Emergency Medical Technician. He and his wife, Sandi, have four adult children and three grandchildren.
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BRET J. SAUNDERS
Assistant Professor of Humanities
B.A., New Saint Andrews College
M.A., University of Dallas
Ph.D., Institute of Philosophic Studies, University of Dallas
Bret J. Saunders has recently been elected as the first full-time teaching faculty member of John Witherspoon College. A native of California, he grew up in Idaho, the eldest of eight children. A recognized young scholar, Dr. Saunders has numerous published articles and presentations to his credit and has a wide range of writing and teaching interests, from philosophy, theology, and literature to science, language, and music. His dissertation was a study of rhetoric and metaphor in modern philosophy, focusing on the thought of Descartes. Dr. Saunders enjoys stories and sports, and listening to and playing American and Irish folk/roots music. He is a long-time member of two bands: the Celtic, instrumental group, Dol Baran and the folk/roots/ alt-country quintet, Saticoy (with his siblings). Above all, Dr. Saunders loves the Lord God and his wife Katie and young son, Casper.
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DEBRA A. SHATTUCK
Special Assistant to the President
Assistant Professor of History
A.A., Lorain County Community College
B.A., Cedarville College
M.A., Brown University
M.S., Industrial College of the Armed Forces
Ph.D., University of Iowa (In Progress)
Debra Shattuck is a retired Air Force Colonel. Among numerous other military assignments, she spent four years as Instructor and Assistant Professor of History at the U. S. Air Force Academy, teaching world history, military history, and American history. After retiring, she spent a year as subject matter expert for National American University, writing and teaching its first American History distance learning course. Debra has published numerous articles on military logistics and on history. She is currently under contract with the University of Illinois Press to write a book on nineteenth-century women baseball players. Debra has won numerous awards and recognitions for her writing and professional accomplishments.
Debra was instrumental in the founding of John Witherspoon College, working closely with South Dakota legislators and government officials to draft legislation relative to new institutions of higher education in the state. The new law became effective in March, 2009.
Debra has been married to Cliff Shattuck for 29 years and the couple has three grown children.
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WILLIAM D. SHORT
Adjunct Professor of Mathematics
B.S., University of South Dakota
M.S., Bemidji State University
William (Will) Short has more than 40 years’ experience teaching mathematics in Texas, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota. A native of South Dakota, Will is a graduate of the University of South Dakota, and holds two masters degrees from Bemidji State University in Minnesota, where he later taught. For some sixteen years, he taught at Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and currently teaches in semi-retirement at the Rapid City campus of Black Hills State University.
Will and Joan, his wife of 43 years, have a married son and three grandchildren. Joan teaches Special Education in the Rapid City School District.
Will and Joan are avid “bikers.” They have travelled coast to coast and border to border on their BMW motorcycle/sidecar rig. They have also become very interested in Black Hills history and the ghost towns and ghost mines in the Hills.
Will and Joan are active members of Parkview Evangelical Free Church in Rapid City. They also are members of the Black Hills Retired Teachers.
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LOYAL G. TILLOTSON
Adjunct Professor of Science
B.A., Ohio Northern University
M.D., Harvard Medical School
Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
A native of Ohio, Dr. Loyal Tillotson, completed his medical training and went on to conduct graduate and postgraduate research on the cellular and molecular biology of colon cancer. His postgraduate clinical training included an Internal Medicine Residency at Duke University Medical Center and Gastroenterology Fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Subsequently, he has had faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Prior to moving to South Dakota, Dr. Tillotson conducted biomedical research in the area of genetic regulation of intestinal growth factors and oncogenesis. His interest going forward with John Witherspoon College is to structure the science courses so as to examine key discoveries within a classical education model. This will entail investigation of the history of science, methods employed by great scientists and the context of their discoveries within a Christian worldview.
In addition to these professional activities, Dr. Tillotson has been a long-standing member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association. He previously served on the Rapid City Christian School Board, and currently serves on the Board of John Witherspoon College. He is married to Emily Graebner Tillotson, and they have two children.
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C. RICHARD WELLS
President
Professor of Humanities
B.A., Florida Southern College
M.A., Stetson University
M.Min., The Criswell College
Ph.D., Baylor University
Ph.D., University of North Texas
D.D., honorary, The Criswell College
Additional study, Tyndale House, Cambridge
A pastor and educator for more than thirty-five years, Richard Wells serves as the founding President of John Witherspoon College. He previously served as Vice President and Professor of Christian Studies at Union University, as pastor in Florida, Texas, and South Dakota, and as President of The Criswell College. He was a member of the founding faculty of Beeson Divinity School, and has taught as a visiting professor at several institutions in the U. S., as well as in Canada, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, the Philippines, Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia. He is a frequent speaker in churches, conferences, seminars, and other venues and events throughout the U. S. and overseas.
Dr. Wells has written, lectured, and taught on topics ranging from psychology and counseling, to apologetics, biblical studies, theology, higher education, homiletics, world religions, media, culture, leadership, and more. He is the author of two books: Inspired Preaching: A Survey of the Preaching Found in the New Testament (with Boyd Luter), and most recently, Forgotten Songs: Reclaiming the Psalms for Worship (with Ray Van Neste).
Dr. Wells is married to his “Brown Eyed Baby,” Carol. They have three adult children and five grandchildren.