Tyndale University is pleased to announce four academic promotions and four appointments, effective July 1, 2024:
Dr. James Robertson, promoted to Associate Professor (History).
Dr. Robertson's research and publishing explores the Canadian context of the Christian faith. His focus on Church and War has brought him into dialogue with the military, interfaith groups and various peace organizations. He also serves as the Director of Tyndale's Distributed Learning Department. In this role, he oversees the development of online content and pedagogy for the entire University. In this capacity, Dr. Robertson looks for innovative and creative ways to bring video content and interesting tools to online education in this increasingly digital world. He has been teaching at Tyndale since 2015.
Dr. Ashoor Yousif, promoted to Associate Professor (History).
Dr. Yousif, who graduated from Tyndale Seminary with an MTS in 2008, joined the Seminary faculty as an Assistant Professor of Christian History a decade later. His areas of specialization include Middle Eastern Christianity, Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations. The value of his research has been recognized numerous times by scholarly granting agencies, including the prestigious Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGSD-SSHRC) and the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS).
Dr. Helen Noh, promoted to full professor (Counselling program).
Dr. Noh’s area of specialization in both clinical practice and research is in the area of marriage and family therapy. She completed her internship at Glen Roberts Child Study Center and Verdugo Mental Health in Southern California. She has worked with children, adults and families dealing with mental health issues, including depressive and anxiety disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as well as family system issues, such as marriage and parenting. Her areas of research interest include applied psychology and counselling with an emphasis on the integration of psychology, theology and spirituality.
Rev. Dr. James Pedlar, promoted to full professor (Bastian Chair).
Dr. Pedlar has served Tyndale University as the Donald N. and Kathleen G. Bastian Chair of Wesley Studies and Associate Professor of Theology from 2018 to the present. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor of Wesley Studies and Theology at Tyndale Seminary from 2013 to 2018, and as an Instructor of Systematic Theology at Tyndale Seminary in 2012. Each spring, he convenes Tyndale’s Wesley Studies Symposium, an event that fosters Canadian scholarship on the Wesleyan tradition.
Dr. Gordon Oeste, appointed as Old Testament Lecturer.
Dr. Oeste served Tyndale Seminary for the past 21 years as an Instructor/Adjunct Professor. His areas of specialization include warfare in the Bible and Ancient Near East, The Book of Judges, narrative criticism, Old Testament theology and historical books. He is currently the Teaching Pastor of Cedar Creek Community Church in Cambridge. He has published reviews, articles and books, including: Legitimacy, Illegitimacy, and the Right to Rule: Windows on Abimelech’s Rise and Demise in Judges 9 (Bloomsbury, 2011), and Bloody, Brutal, and Barbaric?: Wrestling with Troubling War Texts (InterVarsity, 2019).
Dr. John Moon, appointed as New Testament Lecturer.
Dr. Moon arrived at Tyndale Seminary in 2023 as an Adjunct Professor at the undergraduate level after graduating from Durham University in England earlier that year. His thesis, The Children of Promise: Constructing the Identity of Abraham’s Seed in Romans 9:1-29, the traces the reception of this passage from Origen onward and develops a reading of it by examining how Paul uses the Abrahamic narrative in his letters. He is passionate about equipping the next generation of Christian leaders for ministry in an increasingly secular and pluralistic context.
Charmain Brown, appointed as Assistant Professor of Education.
Professor Brown, MEd, York University, has taught for nearly 30 years with the York Region District School Board and has taken on extensive leadership roles within the board. In addition to her experience with the YRDSB, she has also served as Coordinator and Course Director at OISE, Course Director at York University, and as an Instructor at Toronto Metropolitan University. This experience in higher education is supplemented by her previous work in Tyndale’s BEd program. She began teaching individual courses in the BEd program in 2016 and was Adjunct Professor since 2020.
Dr. Murray Stiller, appointed as Adjunct Professor (new Media Arts program).
Dr. Stiller’s appointment will support the rollout of Tyndale University’s new Bachelor of Arts (& Honours) degrees in the Media Arts, which were announced earlier this year. He comes with 25 years of experience teaching in post-secondary institutions, and his notable film credits include work as a director, editor and an award-winning sound designer. The former Director of the Bosa Centre for Film and Animation at Capilano University in Vancouver now helps Christian universities, businesses and non-profit organizations produce media as the President of Toolkit Media and Education.
Congratulations to Drs. James Robertson, Ashoor Yousif, Helen Noh, James Pedlar, Gordon Oeste, John Moon and Murray Stiller, and Professor Charmain Brown.