Scholar, researcher, author and speaker, Jerry Pattengale, Ph. D., brings his passion for innovation in teaching and learning his work leading Museum of the Bible’s education initiatives. He oversees an international team of academics, writers, researchers, convergent media specialists and editors developing a Bible curriculum for high school students.
After graduating from high school homeless at the age of 16, Pattengale earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Indiana Wesleyan University, master’s degrees from Wheaton (Illinois) and Miami University (Ohio), and a doctoral degree in Ancient History from Miami under the tutelage of eminent historian and biblical scholar Edwin Yamauchi, Ph. D.
Since 1997, Pattengale has served 16,000-student Indiana Wesleyan University in administrative leadership, currently as the first-ever to earn IWU’s title of University Professor. He is a senior fellow at the Sagamore Institute, a regional policy think tank, an honorary senior research associate at Tyndale House, Cambridge, and is a research scholar at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Pattengale won international acclaim in the mid-1990s for his work on the “Odyssey in Egypt” program, connecting U.S. middle-school students via the Internet with their archeological excavation of an early Egyptian monastery.
Pattengale is frequently tapped as a speaker on education issues and is the author or editor of numerous books. In 2000, the National Resource Center (University of Southern Carolina) and Houghton Mifflin recognized him with the National Student Advocate Award, which recognizes faculty who enhance the lives of first-year college students. Pattengale has also held a National Endowment for the Humanities award to Greece and was twice named Professor of the Year by the Azusa Pacific University student body. He also directs NationalConversations.com, is an associate publisher for Christian Scholar’s Review and serves on the boards of Religion News Service and Yale’s Jonathan Edwards Center.
Pattengale and his wife, Cindy, have four sons and two grandsons.
Quick Facts
- Executive Director: Museum of the Bible’s education initiatives
- Senior Editor: Elective Bible curriculum for high school students
- Expert: Education and pedagogy; student advocacy, mentoring and research
- Scholar: University professor, Indiana Wesleyan University; senior fellow, the Sagamore Institute, research scholar, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, honorary senior research associate, Tyndale House, Cambridge
- Speaker: Nationally recognized lecturer on education innovation and biblical studies
- Author: 11 published books on higher education, history and student motivation; newspaper columnist; regular contributor, Books & Culture