Faculty
Jeffrey L. Tanner, M.Ed.
Tanner is Chair of Entrepreneurial Thought at Hildegard College. He is a founder, leader, and teacher in multiple organizations.
“We’re trained from birth that learning is evidenced by regurgitation of information, but co-creation is actually our birthright. My goal as a leader and teacher is to reinstate curiosity, guiding people into co-creating solutions to challenging problems, all with a focus for the common good.”
He created The Formation Method, a coaching pedagogy for leader development, and FLDWRK, a social good incubator and work collective in Orange County. Tanner also serves as VP of Strategy for Standing Stone Ministry and as an Elder at Redemption Church.
He is the author of Best Workday Ever: A Guide to Meaningful Productivity. Read more of his work at jltanner.com.
Caleb Spencer, Ph.D.
Dr. Spencer is Chair of Humanities at Hildegard College.
“The richest conversations I have with students are about how the contemporary meets the classical—for instance how the films of Christopher Nolan or the fiction of Marilynne Robinson are indebted to the writings of Plato, Calvin, and Shakespeare.”
Spencer studies the stories that define the modern and postmodern eras, especially what is called the “secularism hypothesis,” the popular but suspect theory that religion has become less relevant to modern society than it used to be.
He is editor of several journal issues and essay collections as well as Associate Editor of Christianity & Literature.
Matthew Smith, Ph.D.
Dr. Smith is Founding President at Hildegard College, where he teaches classic texts in literature, philosophy, theology, geometry, and science.
“What I love about discussing great texts around a common table is that every meeting is unrepeatable. Even more than subject knowledge, I hope that my students will build memories of coming together in trust, friendship, and relentless curiosity to explore questions they couldn’t or wouldn’t ask on their own.”
His favorite books to teach are the tragedies of Sophocles, Augustine’s Confessions, Shakespeare’s comedies, Euclid’s Elements of Geometry, and The Book of Psalms.
Smith is author and editor of several books, including Performance and Religion in Early Modern England and Face to Face in Shakespearean Drama. Read more about his work at www.matthewjsmith.net.
Joel West, Ph.D.
Dr. West is Professor of Entrepreneurship at Hildegard College, and has worked as a professor of innovation & entrepreneurship at Keck Graduate Institute and San José State University.
“A new business is an experiment; a key activity for an entrepreneur is to learn by gathering data and testing hypotheses.”
West is co-founder of startup firms in the computer software and pharmaceutical industries, as well as two industry trade associations and an innovation conference. A globally cited innovation scholar, he is the author of 40 journal articles and co-editor of three books on open innovation.
Christof Meyer, MBA
Christof Meyer is Visiting Professor of Strategy and Economics at Hildegard College.
“At its most basic level, I believe Business Education is not about money, or management, or even leadership. Learning how to improve a business is mostly about the art and science of paying attention to the things that matter. The disciplines of Accounting, Marketing, Finance, and even Organizational Behavior are united by the pursuit of properly valuing the things that really matter… and maybe also learning to devalue things that don’t. In this regard, finding the meaning in a difficult text is wonderful preparation for business.”
A graduate of UVA’s Darden School of Business, Meyer is CEO of Square Method Consulting and recently served as Strategy Consultant and Chief Revenue Officer for mental health startup, Mindfuli. He is also an Infantry Officer and Company Commander in the Colorado National Guard.
Verónica Gutiérrez, Ph.D.
Dr. Gutiérrez is Professor of History at Hildegard College.
“History teaches us about brokenness and sin, but it also reveals our redemption. We see God’s work and grace in the world illustrated in the great texts, including the pre-Christian works. Coming together to discuss these books means that we learn together – my favorite part of teaching. No matter how many times I have discussed the material, students inevitably ask questions I never thought to ask, or push the conversation in directions I had not thought to explore.”
A historian specializing in Franciscan-indigenous partnership in the development of local Christianity in sixteenth-century Mexico, Gutiérrez holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Nonfiction and a doctoral degree in Colonial Mexican History. She has lectured widely in the U.S. and Mexico, has led faculty development tours to Mexico, and has published in English and Spanish.
Timothy Buchanan, M.A.
Tim Buchanan is a Professor of Great Works and Quadrivial Arts at Hildegard College.
“What I find interesting about ancient philosophy is it tends to assume a deep connection between knowing what is true, on the one hand, and loving what is good, on the other. This way of thinking about knowledge presents a serious challenge to many familiar forms of education because it implies that you can’t learn the things you most need to know without also growing in virtues like justice, faith, and love.”
Buchanan holds an M.A. in Philosophy from Northern Illinois University and is a doctoral candidate in philosophy at UCLA. His dissertation is on the relationship between formal logic, knowledge, and virtue in Aristotle. He is also a luthier at Kevin Ryan Guitars.
Jonathon Murillo, M.Div.
Murillo is a Visiting Professor of Theology at Hildegard College.
“I find the work of Theology and Leadership to hold a common focus. They both are about the facilitating of moments of epiphany, divine moments where the path becomes clear within us and before us and the weight of clarity compels us to respond in meaningful ways, for the flourishing of all.”
Creating and leading at the intersections of theology, spirituality, leadership, and social change, Murillo is a certified Formation Guide and Director of Strategy and Content at the Ignite Institute. Find more of his work, including his articles and audio devotional, here.
Thomas Ward, Ph.D.
Dr. Ward is a Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Hildegard College, and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Baylor University.
“I think of Philosophy as our effort to organize knowledge and experience for the sake of gaining wisdom. This is why I believe in education that takes both great books and discussion seriously.”
Ward teaches the history of philosophy, the history of Christian theology, and the philosophy of imaginative literature.
He is the author of Divine Ideas (Cambridge University Press, 2020), as well as the forthcoming Ordered by Love: An Introduction to John Duns Scotus (Angelico Press), and Duns Scotus’ Treatise on the First Principle: A Translation and Commentary (Hackett Publishing Co.). You can read more about his work at his website.
Hayden Butler, M.A.
Fr. Butler is a Professor of Theology and Literature at Hildegard College and the Associate Rector of St. Matthew’s Church in Newport Beach, CA.
“Theology is the Church thinking deliberately on its experience of prayer, which is its communion with God over centuries. Literature forms our imagination for how the human experience reveals its meaning if we are patient and attentive enough to seek it. These two ways of knowing help us to find our place with what is above and around us; they have always spoken in dialogue, and we do well to listen in on their conversation.”
Butler holds graduate degrees in English Literature and Theology. He co-founded Pacifica Christian High School in Orange County, where he taught Literature, History, and Theology. He is parish priest at St. Matthew’s Church and the head of the diocesan commission for pastoral formation. You can learn more about him and see some of his writing here.
Keith Buhler, Ph.D.
Dr. Buhler is a Professor of Liberal and Quadrivial Arts at Hildegard College.
“The Christian faith is the most wise and rational way to understand our cosmos, our history, and our contemporary world. And Christian ethics shows us the most inspiring, joyful, and virtuous way to live. Together, we unite mind and heart to achieve our highest calling of loving God, loving our neighbors, and being truly human.”
Dr. Buhler’s work bridges philosophy and entrepreneurship, with a particular academic interest in ethics and a professional focus on real estate. He is the Founding Headmaster of St. Andrew Academy (a classical K-12) and the owner/operator of a real estate investment business. You can follow him here.