| James M. Lepkowski President | Jim Lepkowski is Research Professor Emeritus at the Institute for Social Research and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biostatistics, University of Michigan. He has a BS in mathematics from Illinois State University, and a Master of Public Health and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. He teaches graduate level courses in survey methodology and is an active researcher. He and his wife Alicia have three adult sons and daughters-in-law and five grandchildren. Jim has a passion for the study of the Bible and is dedicated to serving the University of Michigan. |
| John F. Brent Secretary | John Brent is an attorney residing and practicing in Ann Arbor, Michigan. John has a deep interest in the fields of Early Christian Studies and the Ancient Near East, having majored in Biblical Studies at Geneva College (Beaver Falls, PA), and having earned a Master of Divinity degree at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia, PA), and a Master of Arts in Ancient Near Eastern Languages and Literature at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI). John also possesses an undying love for and dedication to the University of Michigan and is honored to serve as a member of the board of the Michigan Center of Early Christian Studies. |
| Richard R. Steiner Treasurer | Rich Steiner is a retired Division Controller from the University of Michigan. An Ann Arbor native he obtained his bachelors in business administration from Western Michigan University where he majored in accounting. He worked at various positions for eight years in the U of M accounting department and then twenty five years managing the finances for the physical plant. He is also chair of the audit committee for the Yankee Air Museum. He and his wife Jennifer have three married adult children and seven grandchildren. Rich is involved with Chinese students at the university teaching them English and western culture. He also studies the bible with them locally and in China via the internet. |
| Aloma Bardi | Aloma Bardi is a music historian, musicologist and translator. She is an American music specialist, and taught “History of Music in the United States” at the University of Florence from 2007 to 2011. She is the founding director of ICAMus-The International Center for American Music (www.icamus.org). She is also a scholar of opera theaters, and has co-authored the Directory of Events of the Florence Opera Theater (Teatro Comunale di Firenze – Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 1928-2007; 3 vols. and a CD-Rom). As a translator, she has worked on books, articles, opera and musical comedy librettos, and plays. In 2014 she published her book on musical adaptations of S. An-Ski’s Yiddish play Der Dybuk (1914). Since 2013, she has been a constituent member of the National Artistic Council of the American Classical Music Hall of Fame. Her interest in early Christian studies also provides inspiration for her study of early sacred and traditional American music (hymns, psalms, spirituals) of which she has been a scholar for many years. |
| Scott Hanoian | Scott is the Music Director and Conductor of the University Musical Society Choral Union and is active as an organist, accompanist, continuo artist, conductor, choral adjudicator, and guest clinician. Scott is also the Director of Music and Organist at Christ Church Grosse Pointe, where he directs the church’s four choirs and oversees the yearly concert series. As an organist, he has recorded the complete organ works of Johannes Brahms for the JAV label. Scott has also served on the faculty of Wayne State University and Oakland University, and was the artistic director and conductor of the Oakland Choral Society from 2013–2015. Before moving to Grosse Pointe, Scott was the Assistant Organist and Assistant Director of Music at Washington National Cathedral where he played the organ for many services, including the funerals for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. |
| Jayne M. Verlee | Jayne VerLee is a retired RN with a BSN in nursing from Nazareth College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Her interest in life-long learning has motivated her to partake in tours to sites of Christian antiquity in Israel and Turkey. As a result, she has led women’s Bible studies on the topics of first century Christianity and on exploring the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. She lives in Holland, Michigan, and has four adult married children. |
| James Waddell | James Waddell is Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Director of the Masters Programs at the Ecumencial Theological Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. He has 25 years experience as a Lutheran pastorand also serves in parish ministry in an urban setting. His congregation hosts the Huron Valley Urban Farm in Ypsilanti Township, empowering residents of the surrounding neighborhoods to increase their food security and to develop stronger community relationships. He holds a Ph.D. in Second Temple Judaism and Christian Origins from the University of Michigan and has taught Biblical Studies, Classics, Religious Studies, World Religions, and Liturgical Theology at several institutions, including the University of Michigan and the Ecumenical Theological Seminary. His teaching highlights early Jewish and early church views of wealth, economic exploitation and oppression of the poor, and justice in biblical and extra-biblical sources, and postmodern/post-colonial appropriation of biblical justice regarding wealth, poverty, endurance, and liberation. |
| J. Daniel Clifford Emeritus | Dr. Clifford graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 1962. He went on to the United States Army as a Captain from 1963 to 1965. Dr. Clifford spent 45 Years in private practice before he went on the receive his Masters in Biblical Studies from the Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Clifford and his wife Barbara have seven grown children and live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. |
| Lynne Kogel Emerita | The Reverend Dr. Kogel received her Bachelors degree at UCLA and graduate degrees from Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, and the McCormick Theological Seminary. She is an ordained Presbyterian Church (USA) minister and a member of the Detroit Presbytery. She served as Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit and Adjunct Faculty in Humanities at Wayne State University and Macomb County Community College. An author and photographer, Lynne has published Christianity in Stained Glass, and her photos have appeared in several books and magazine covers. She is a founding member of the Michigan Center for Early Christian Studies. Captain Kogel holds a 100 ton near coastal license issued by the U.S. Coast Guard and is a descendant of William the Conqueror, and a Prelate General for the Order of the Norman Conquest. |
| Jefferson P. Williams Emeritus | Jeff Williams is a Lecturer of Accounting at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Tennessee and from the University of Michigan. He also is licensed in Tennessee as a Certified Public Accountant. Jeff and his wife, Debbie, have five children, and they live in Ann Arbor. |
Board of Directors
Square