EMU is proud to announce that four of its esteemed faculty members have been appointed as endowed chairs, effective fall 2026. The appointments were confirmed by the EMU Board of Trustees during its March meeting.
Those faculty members are:
- Dr. Katherine Evans: Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education
- Dr. James Leaman: Longacre Endowed Chair in Business and Leadership
- Dr. Peter Dula: Myron S. Augsburger Endowed Chair of Theology
- Dr. James Yoder: Daniel B. Suter Endowed Chair of Science
Dr. Tynisha Willingham, provost and vice president of academic affairs for EMU, said these faculty members were chosen as endowed chairs because of their demonstrated leadership, service, teaching, and research, as well as their capacity to be champions of their programs at EMU.
“Endowed chairs are a critical component of EMU’s academic vitality,” she said. “Our goal is to elevate the recognition of our faculty who hold this honor and to celebrate the donors whose generosity helps to support academic excellence in this way.”
The endowed chair positions provide funding for each faculty position within a particular discipline, along with scholarships for students in the discipline and funds for program initiatives. Chairs receive professional development funds to support their research and scholarship. An endowed chair appointment is one of the highest honors a faculty member can receive at EMU, supporting their continued excellence in scholarship and teaching, said the Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler, dean of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
Keep reading for bios of each professor.
Dr. Katherine Evans
Professor of Teacher Education and director of the Undergraduate Teacher Education program
Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education
Kathy Evans is a professor of Teacher Education at EMU, teaching courses in educational psychology, special education, and restorative justice in education. She earned her PhD from the University of Tennessee in educational psychology and research. Her research, teaching, and scholarship focus on ways in which educators participate in creating more just and equitable educational opportunities for all students, including those with disability labels, those who exhibit challenging behavior, and those who are marginalized for a variety of reasons, including race, ethnicity, language, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
During her eight years at EMU, Evans has helped develop EMU’s graduate program in Restorative Justice in Education (RJE), which supports educators as they create learning environments that promote relational approaches to teaching and learning, justice and equity in schools and classrooms, and transformational approaches to conflict and harm. She is the co-author of The Little Book of Restorative Justice in Education and has published several articles and book chapters related to restorative justice in education, school culture and climate, and school discipline practices, focusing on the ways in which restorative justice is applied to educational contexts.
How do you feel to be granted this position?
It’s an honor to be appointed as the Jesse T. Byler Endowed Chair in Education. The Byler endowment has historically been such a gift to the Teacher Education Program at EMU, providing support for pre-service teachers in the way of fee waivers for testing and licensure, conference registration for networking with other pre-service teachers, scholarships, and resources that support their success through their EMU program. We are in a season of growth and expansion and I am grateful for the opportunities I will have in this position to support that growth, both in the recruitment of talented and dedicated teachers and in the ongoing professional development for our faculty. At this moment in time, we need teachers who are committed to justice and peacebuilding. Embedding restorative justice within our teacher education program at both the undergraduate and graduate levels opens up spaces to support educators who want to not only excel as educators, but to be educators who nurture the well-being of each student. The Byler endowment helps us to do that work better.
What do you love about EMU?
This is my 15th year at EMU and I am more hopeful about EMU’s future today than I have been since I arrived. The commitment to peacebuilding and justice—even when we don’t fully live into that commitment—means that there is a unifying set of values that guide our collective work. I see our students, staff, and faculty working to honor those values and that mission. Our students are amazing and they remind me every day that the work of justice is ongoing, intergenerational, and worth it.
What is a fun fact about you?
When I’m not working, I might be fishing—bass fishing at Silver Lake or fly-fishing at Dry River. I find the water so peaceful.
Dr. James M. Leaman
Associate Professor of Business and director of the Business and Leadership program
Longacre Endowed Chair in Business and Leadership
Jim Leaman chairs the Business and Leadership Program, where he teaches undergraduate courses in management, finance, and economics, and graduate courses in organizational and leadership studies. His industry experience spans both private business and nonprofit administration, including 12 years of service with an international non-governmental organization (INGO) in Kenya. The EMU alumnus has a PhD in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh.
The perspective Leaman adds to his field is analyzing and teaching about the role and impact of business and organizations within ecological limits and dynamic social systems, resulting in an integrated lens of sustainability, stewardship and justice. Leaman researches and publishes in the areas of sustainable housing and energy, and his most recent scholarly work is a management textbook, with which he collaborated with an international team of authors to publish in the creative commons, resulting in lower resource costs for students.
How do you feel to be granted this position?
It is an honor to hold the endowed chair position in business and to steward the gifts and vision of the Longacre family as the program serves and prepares the next generation of business leaders.
What do you love about EMU?
The EMU mission to prepare students to serve and lead in a global context becomes more relevant with each new innovation and global integration.
What is a fun fact about you?
In awe of the vastness and complexity of the universe, I’ve gained an avocational interest in learning as much as I can about the cosmos.
Dr. Peter Dula
Professor of Religion and Culture
Myron S. Augsburger Endowed Chair of Theology
Peter Dula is the professor of Religion and Culture at EMU. The EMU alumnus received a PhD from Duke University in theology and ethics in 2004. He is the author of Cavell, Companionship, and Christian Theology (Oxford, 2011). Before coming to EMU in 2006, he was the Mennonite Central Committee Iraq Program Coordinator. He has taught at Lancaster Mennonite High School and at the Meserete Kristos College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he was a Fulbright scholar in 2001-02.
This is his 20th year at EMU. He teaches primarily in the undergraduate program, as well as one class each year at the seminary and the Bioethics course in the MA in Biomedicine program. He is married to Ilse Ackerman and they have two children, Simon (17) and Nina (15).
What do you love about EMU?
Two things I love about EMU are its smart and interesting faculty colleagues and its location in the Shenandoah Valley.
What is a fun fact about you?
I planted 500 trees over the last couple of years. The latest Weather Vane issue has an article about that. Along with Trina Trotter Nussbaum at the Center for Interfaith Engagement, I organized last month’s consultation on Judaism, the Bible, and Anabaptism. The Weather Vane also has an article about that.
Dr. James Yoder
Professor of Biology and director of the Natural Sciences programs
Daniel B. Suter Endowed Chair of Science
Jim Yoder is the chair of EMU’s Department of Natural Sciences, advising environmental science and biology majors and teaching evolution, ecology, and conservation biology. A 1994 alumnus of EMU, he earned his PhD from The Ohio State University, where he studied the effects of habitat fragmentation on ruffed grouse movements at large spatial scales. His research interests include conservation, landscape and behavioral ecology, animal movement, invasive species, stream restoration, nitrogen and carbon footprint tracking, and insect movement using harmonic radar. He has also led multiple intercultural programs to New Zealand, the Navajo Nation, and Washington D.C. (upcoming), as well as three research trips with undergraduates to Australia. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, traveling, and hiking with his wife Kathy.
How do you feel to be granted this position?
I’m honored to be named the Suter Endowed Chair of Science and work to continue the level of scholarship and teaching Daniel Suter established in the natural sciences at EMU. Coordinating the long-running Suter Science Seminar Series with a diverse array of speakers and increasing collaborative research among our science faculty and undergraduate students are two aspects of being Suter Chair that I’m most excited to focus on.
What do you love about EMU?
Wonderful colleagues, a diverse student body, and the beautiful Shenandoah Valley—it’s a great place to be a field biologist!
What is a fun fact about you?
My wife and I recently moved into a loft apartment in the heart of downtown Harrisonburg above Ruby’s Arcade. It keeps us young at heart! And we are soon to be grandparents for the first time!
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