Symposium -- October 1-3, 2026

Host, Emcee, Conversation Leaders, Keynotes, & Musicians

Host

Jon S. Kulaga is President of Indiana Wesleyan University.  Prior to his appointment as Indiana Wesleyan’s President in 2022, he served as president of Ohio Christian University, the chief academic officer and chief operating officer at Asbury University, and in academic affairs, advancement, and student life at Spring Arbor University. An ordained minister of the Wesleyan Church, Kulaga’s numerous books include Edward Payson Hart: The Second Man of Free Methodism, and the editor of Cornerstones of Spiritual Vitality: Toward an Understanding of Wesleyan Spirituality in Christian Higher Education.

Emcee

Jerry Pattengale is University Professor at Indiana Wesleyan University, Director of the Lumen Research Institute, and founding scholar of the Museum of the Bible.  He serves on various boards including Yale University’s Jonathan Edwards Center,  Christianity Today, Africa New Life, Changing Destiny, and the National Press Club’s Membership Committee.  Pattengale holds various research appointments and is the author and editor of numerous books including, most recently, The New Book of Christian Martyrs (with Johnnie Moore), The World’s Greatest Book: The Story of How the Bible Came to Be (with Lawrence H. Schiffman), and The Anxious Middle: Planning for the Future of the Christian College (with Todd C. Ream).

Conversation Leaders

Heather Templeton Dill is Director of the Templeton Prize, one of the main programs of the John Templeton Foundation. Dill served as president and CEO of the Foundation from 2015 to 2025. Prior to assuming this role in 2015, she served as executive liaison to the president under her father, the late Jack Templeton. Dill is currently a member of the board of the Templeton World Charity Foundation and a member of the Templeton Religion Trust steering committee. She also serves on the board of Vanguard Charitable, the board of Philly House, a men’s homeless shelter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the vestry at the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, Pennsylvania.

Andrea Summers is Dean of Spiritual Formation and Campus Pastor at Indiana Wesleyan University.  She is an ordained minister of the Wesleyan Church and serves on the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities’ Commission for Campus Ministry Directors.  Annually, Summers speaks in churches and on college and university campuses across the country.  Prior to serving at Indiana Wesleyan, Summers served as University Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Religion at Southern Wesleyan University.

Jeremy Summers is Pastor of Ministry Development at College Wesleyan Church and the Director of Mission Driven Leadership at Indiana Wesleyan University. An ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church, he engages in scholarly and pastoral work across ecclesial, academic, and non-profit contexts. He serves on various boards and regularly addresses audiences at churches and universities throughout the United States. Summers has written seven books, including his most recent, How to Plant an Orchard: Seven Seeds for Growing in Jesus (with Matt LeRoy), and contributes to a wide range of publications, including The New York Times, The Indianapolis Star, and The State.

Keynotes

Kathleen Byrnes is Vice President for Student Life at Villanova University.  In that role, she oversees efforts to advance the university’s Augustinian and Catholic mission in all areas beyond the classroom as well as create points of integration between curricular and co-curricular experiences.  An attorney by training, Byrnes served on a host of other efforts on the Villanova campus including regional accreditation committees, a presidential inauguration committee, and committees and task forces related to the prevention of sexual violence.  Beyond the Villanova campus, Byrnes previously served as board chair of the Association of Student Affairs at Catholic Colleges and Universities.

Barry H. Corey is president of Biola University. Prior to his 2007 appointment as Biola’s president, Corey served as chief academic officer and chief development officer at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Beyond the Biola campus, he has served on several boards, including the Museum of the Bible, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the Pedro Martinez Foundation, Christianbook International Outreach and the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities. He was appointed a Fulbright Scholar in Bangladesh, where he conducted research on educational systems. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, National Review, Relevant, and Converge, and he is the author of several books including Make the Most of It: A Guide to Loving Your College Years, Love Kindness: Discover the Power of a Forgotten Christian Virtue and The Treasurer: A Biography of Herbert Stewart Gray.

Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C. is Professor of Political Science and President of the University of Notre Dame. Prior to his appointment as president in 2023, Dowd served as an associate provost, an assistant provost, and as a member of the political science faculty.  A member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Dowd founded Notre Dame’s Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity and served as a fellow with the Ansari Institute for Global Development, the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies.  He is also the author of Christianity, Islam, and Liberal Democracy: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Jim Gash is President of Pepperdine University.  Prior to his appointment as president in 2019, Gash served as the associate dean for strategic planning and external relations for Pepperdine’s Caruso School of Law, served with Kirkland and Ellis, LLP. in Los Angeles and Washington, DC, clerked for the Honorable Edith H. Jones, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston, Texas, and served with DeSimone and Tropio, LLP.  An expert in advancing the rule of law in developing nations, Gash is the author of Divine Collision: An African Boy, An American Lawyer, and Their Remarkable Battle for Freedom which then led to the making of the documentary REMAND.

Aquinas Guilbeau, O.P. is University Chaplain and Vice President of Ministry and Mission at Catholic University of America.  Prior to his appointment at Catholic University of America, Guilbeau served on the faculty of the Dominican House of Studies where he also served as prior of the community. A member of the Order of Preachers or Dominicans, he has published articles in journals such as Nova et Vetera, in periodicals such as the Claremont Review of Books, and served as the editor of the English edition of Aletia.

John I. Jenkins, C.S.C. is President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.  A member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Jenkins served as president from 2005-2024.  Prior to his appointment as president, Jenkins served as the religious superior of Holy Cross priests and brothers at Notre Dame, director of the Old College program for Holy Cross seminarians, and as a member of the philosophy faculty.  A member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Jenkins serves on the board for the United States Commission on Presidential Debates.  He is the author of editorials in periodicals such as the New York Times and articles in journals such as the Journal of Philosophy, the Journal of Nietzsche Studies, and Medieval Philosophy and Theology.  Jenkins is also the author of Knowledge and Faith in Thomas Aquinas.

Karen An-hwei Lee is Professor of English and Provost at Wheaton College. Prior to her appointment as Wheaton’s chief academic officer in 2020, Lee served as vice provost at Point Loma Nazarene University and on the faculty at Vanguard University.  An accomplished poet, Lee received the Kathryn A. Morton Prize and the Norma Farber First Book Award from the Poetry Society of America. Lee is the author of numerous books including Duress, The Maze of Transparencies, Phyla of Joy, Ardor, and In Medias Res.

Linda A. Livingstone is President of Baylor University.  Prior to her appointment at Baylor as president in 2017, Livingstone served as dean of the George Washington University School of Business, dean of Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, and as a faculty member with Baylor’s Hankammer School of Business.  As a scholar of organizational behavior, she has contributed articles to journals such as the American Business Review, the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the Journal of High Technology Management Research, and to books such as Business and Corporate Integrity.  Livingstone presently chairs the board of governors for the National Collegiate Athletics Association and serves on the board for the American Council on Education.

Edward A. Malloy, C.S.C. is President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame.  A member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, Malloy served as president from 1987-2005.  Previously, he served as vice provost, an associate provost, and as a member of the theology faculty.  In addition to his service at Notre Dame, Malloy served in various leadership roles with the American Council on Education, the Association of Governing Boards, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the International Federation of Catholic Universities, the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and Campus Compact.  He is the author of numerous books including, most recently, Monk’s Notre Dame and People First: Reflections on Leadership.

Dave Pivonka, T.O.R. is President of Franciscan University.  Prior to his appointment as Franciscan’s president, Pivonka served as the coordinator of Franciscan Pathways, director of Post-Novitiate Formation for the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, and in several roles at Franciscan including study abroad coordinator in Austria, chief mission and planning officer, director of youth outreach conferences, and assistant to the president.  A member of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, Pivonka is the author of numerous books including Rocked by God, Spiritual Freedom, Hiking the Camino, Encounter Jesus, and Breath of God.

Molly A. Schaller is Professor of Higher Education and Associate Dean of the School of Education at Saint Louis University.  Prior to her appointment at Saint Louis in 2017, Schaller served on the faculty and administration at the University of Dayton.  The author of numerous articles in popular periodicals and academic journals, Schaller is also the author of The Faculty and Staff Guide to Sophomore Student Success (with Julie Tetley).

Beck A. Taylor is President of Samford University.  Prior to his appointment as Samford’s president in 2021, Taylor served as president of Whitworth University, dean of Samford’s Brock School of Business, associate dean for research and faculty development of Baylor University’s Hankammer School of Business, and a member of Baylor’s economics faculty.  His research has been published in journals such as the Review of Economics and Statistics, Journal of Labor Economics, Journal of Human Resources and Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking and cited in periodicals such as the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the Christian Science Monitor.

Musicians

Wycliffe Gordon is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of the Jazz Studies Program at Augusta University.  Previously, Gordon served on the faculty at the Julliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University, Temple University, Arizona State University, and Michigan State University. He is an award-winning jazz trombonist, composer, arranger, and band leader.  Gordon served as a member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet, an original member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, and as a featured guest artist for the “Jazz at the Kennedy Center” series.  Gordon performed with David Sanborn, Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Natalie Merchant, Rene Marie, Dianne Reeves, Anat Cohen, Ricky Skaggs, Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinsen, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Tommy Flanagan, Shirley Horn, Joe Henderson, Eric Reed, Randy Sandke, and Branford Marsalis.  He is a Yamaha performing artist and his compositions have been performed by groups including the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and the Brass Band of Battle Creek.

Todd Williams is Assistant Professor of Music Education and Director of the Jazz Studies Program at Indiana Wesleyan University.  Previously, he served as Assistant Professor of Music at Queens College and as the Music Director of Times Square Church.  Williams is widely recognized for his saxophone and clarinet work with the Wynton Marsalis Quintet and Septet as well as the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.  He has performed in the most prestigious venues including the White House, Carnegie Hall, and the Hollywood Bowl.  Over the course of his career, Williams has recorded performances with Wynton Marsalis and made guest appearances with artists including Sir Roland Hanna, the Newburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Christian McBride.

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