Many of you know we conducted an international search for an opening in our Department (Biblical and Theological Studies) this year, and some may recall that we had over 165 applicants and inquiries. Really quite amazing. What we discovered in the process is that there are too many qualified people. In the process, which began with our favoring a person in Theology, we discovered that we needed a Bible person, and we are happy to announce that Joel Willitts has agreed to terms and will assume teaching responsibilities next Fall. Here’s a picture:

Joel’s is about to finish his Ph.D. at Cambridge, under Markus Bockmuehl, and was on the short list at two others schools — and Friday I got a phone call from another school to ask if we hired Joel at NPU. We’re glad we got him, and I’m happy to give him a shout-out on this blog.