Faculty

The work of the Institute is carried out by Baylor University professors Dean Robyn Driskell, Interim Director, Institute of Church-State Studies; Dr. William Mitchell, Professor Emeritus & Graduate Program Director, Church-State Studies; and Dr. Jerold Waltman, editor of the Journal of Church and State.

Their training and experience in the disciplines of theology, church history, law, intellectual history, and social science provide the Institute with an interdisciplinary foundation essential to research, writing, and teaching in the broad field of church-state relations. The Institute was founded in 1957 and since that time has earned a recognized place as a leader in the field of church-state studies. In addition to its own initiatives, the Dawson Institute regularly cooperates with such institutions as the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, the International Center for Law and Religion at Brigham Young University, and the Berkeley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University.

Driskell Dr. Robyn Driskell serves as the Interim Director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, Divisional Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Professor of Sociology at Baylor University. She received her Ph.D. ('97) in sociology from Texas A&M University, and her BA ('91) and MA ('93) from Baylor. She has served as the SACS Coordinator for Academic Assessment for Baylor and Graduate Program Director for the Sociology Department. Her research interests include religion and community, demography, and community involvement. A recent journal article is entitled "Assessing The Role Of Religious Beliefs On Secular And Spiritual Behaviors." Other recent journal publications include topics on the political participation and religion, community in cyberspace, and Mexican American women in the work force. Her co-edited books include: "Discourse on Applied Sociology" (2007) and "Women's Encounter with Globalization" (2010). In 2002, she was designated as Outstanding Teaching Professor of the year at Baylor University. In 2008, she was awarded Outstanding Graduate Program Director. She was also elected the President (2007-08) of the Southwestern Sociological Association. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the Southwestern Social Science Association.
Berger William A. Mitchell, (B.S., M.A., PhD), is Professor of Political Science, Emeritus, and served in the Department of Political Science (1992-2007), Director of Middle East Studies, Director of Baylor Study Abroad in Turkey and Greece, and Joe Murphy Chair and Director of the Center for International Education at BU (2000-2007). Professor Mitchell joined the Institute in 2009. He teaches multidisciplinary courses on Middle East Studies, ethnopoltical conflicts, terrorism and religion, mitigation of humanitarian crises and international security. Professor Mitchell led academic teams to Iraq five times from 2003-2007 and was instrumental in creating a Center for Democracy in northern Iraq. He has published numerous articles in national and international journals and is writing his third book. Professor Mitchell has extensive field experience in the Middle East and has responded as a social scientist for NSF earthquake disaster research teams on many occasions. Dr. Mitchell was recognized for this research with the United States Air Force Humanitarian Service Award for Armenia, Iraq, and Turkey. He is also a veteran of the Vietnam and first Gulf war (Colonel, USAF, retired).

Affiliated Faculty
Beckwith Francis J. Beckwith, (B.A., M.A., M.J.S., PhD.), is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies and served as associate director of the institute from 2003-2006. Dr. Beckwith holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Fordham University, and the Master of Juridical Studies degree from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. Prior to arriving at Baylor, Dr. Beckwith was a James Madison Fellow at Princeton University. Dr. Beckwith's areas of research and expertise include bioethics, legal, religious and moral philosophy, and constitutional issues. He has published over one dozen books and over sixty articles and book chapters. His publications since arriving at Baylor have appeared in Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, American Journal of Jurisprudence, Journal of Law & Religion, Philosophia Christi, and Christian Bioethics.
Hankins Barry G. Hankins, (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) joined the Institute in 1996. He holds an M.A. in Church-State Studies from Baylor and a Ph.D. in History from Kansas State University. He has published numerous books and many articles in academic journals. As a Professor of Church-State Studies and of History, he possesses considerable expertise in religion and American culture, Protestant fundamentalism and evangelicalism, and the relationship of church and state in American history.
Glanzer Perry L. Glanzer, Ph.D., received his B.A. from Rice University in Religion, History and Political Science, a M.A. from Baylor in Church-State Studies, and his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. His first book, The Quest for Russia's Soul: Evangelicals and Moral Education in Post-Communist Russia (Baylor University Press, 2002) addressed post-communist moral education. More recently, his second book, Christianity and Scholarship in Higher Education (Jossey-Bass, 2007, coauthored with Todd Ream) reviewed recent developments in the integration of faith and learning in the academy. Prof. Glanzer currently teaches courses addressing church-state issues, the philosophy of education, moral and religious development in higher education, and character education.
Waltman Jerold Waltman, (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.) is the R.W. Morrison Professor of Political Science, having been at Baylor since 2003. Author or editor of eight books and numerous articles, Dr. Waltman specializes in public law, comparative law, British politics, minimum wage, and labor markets. At Baylor he teaches Constitutional Law, Public Law, Comparative Constitutional Law, and British Politics.