Biblical and Theological Studies Department Appoints New Associate Dean

Wheaton College’s largest academic department has announced the appointment of a new associate dean of biblical and theological studies.

Jeffrey Bingham, the current department chair and professor of theological studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, has accepted the post and will “assume all of the duties of a department chair,” Jill Baumgaertner said in an email. “Dr. Bingham will be a full-time administrator with the faculty rank of professor of theology.”

Baumgaertner explained that Bingham will fill the vacancy left by the current associate dean, professor of Christian ethics Jeffrey Greenman, who has accepted the position as dean of Regent College in Vancouver, Canada.

According to provost Stan Jones, a search committee chaired by Baumgaertner “conducted a national and international search resulting in the unanimous recommendation to appoint Dr. Bingham.”

Typically, faculty members who serve as department chairs reduce their teaching loads to have more time for administrative tasks.

Jones and Baumgaertner said that the associate dean positions were created specifically for the biblical and theological studies and psychology departments, which have a higher number of faculty members, general education courses and degree programs than other departments and thus require greater administrative attention than is expected of the typical department chair.

“We have reformulated the role of the chair as an associate dean to lead the faculty in that (biblical and theological studies) department,” Jones said in an email.

According to Baumgaertner, Bingham demonstrated qualities that the department sought in a dean.

“What we were looking for is a person to both handle tasks and create vision for the department, someone who does not shy away from controversy but who demonstrates maturity and wisdom in dealing with others … who will represent us well in the evangelical world and who can continue to lead the department to a position of prominence in it,” Baumgaertner said. “Dr. Bingham will be able to succeed in all of these areas.”

Bingham is a scholar of patrology, the study of early Christian writers, with a record that includes the publication of two books and several peer-reviewed articles and an edition of a dictionary. Bingham also serves as the president of the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies.

Bingham said that he looks forward to serving and developing relationships with the faculty, staff and students of the biblical and theological department.

“I look forward to freeing, supporting and equipping the faculty so they might more successfully minister forth with their gifts,” Bingham said. “I look forward to walking alongside our students, to guiding and mentoring them, to easing their trials and rejoicing with them as they reach their goals.”

He expressed gratitude for the ways his current position at Dallas Seminary has equipped him in academic administration and added, “I am wholly dependent upon the strength of Christ and the gifted people he has brought together in Wheaton. … I pray that what the godly community in Dallas invested in me will now bear eternal fruit in Wheaton.”

Having spent the first 17 years of his life in various countries, including Venezuela, Qatar, Nigeria, Thailand and Italy, Bingham demonstrates “a strong global commitment and interest,” according to Baumgaertner.

Bingham also said he shares Wheaton’s “internationally known” commitments, including the commitment to liberal arts education.