Faculty Scholars
IHE Scholars form an extensive network of scholars at Catholic University and beyond. Through excellence in research and fidelity to the faith, our scholars bring the wealth of the Catholic intellectual tradition to key conversations at universities, think tanks, and publications throughout the world.

Ryan Anderson, Ph.D.

Patricia Andrasik, AIA

Mark Bauerlein, Ph.D.

J. Steven Brown, Ph.D.

Joseph Capizzi, Ph.D.

David Cloutier, Ph.D.

Daniel Burns, Ph.D.

Mark Clark, Ph.D.

Dennis Coyle, Ph.D.

Laurie DeRose, Ph.D.

Ross Douthat

Mario Enzler, Ph.D.

Flavio Felice

Jennifer A. Frey, Ph.D.

Monsignor Anthony R. Frontiero, S.T.D.

George Garvey, J.D.

Michael Gorman, Ph.D.

Jakub Grygiel, Ph.D.

Edward Hadas, Ph.D.

Nora Heimann, Ph.D.

Thomas Hibbs, Ph.D.

Mary Hirschfeld, Ph.D.

Reinhard Hütter, Ph.D.

Angela McKay Knobel, Ph.D.

V. Bradley Lewis, Ph.D.

Laura E. Masur, Ph.D.

James McCrery, AIA

Emmett McGroarty, J.D.

John McNerney, Ph.D.

Margarita Mooney, Ph.D.

James L. Nolan Jr., Ph.D.

Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, Ph.D.

Michael Pakaluk, Ph.D.

Chad C. Pecknold, Ph.D.

Jonathan Reyes, Ph.D.

Jay W. Richards, Ph.D.

Lloyd Sandelands, Ph.D.

Stephanie Saroki de García

William L. Saunders, J.D.

Frederic Sautet, Ph.D.

Paul Scherz, Ph.D.

D. C. Schindler, Ph.D.

Lucia Ann Silecchia, J.D.

Maximilian B. Torres Jr., Ph.D., J.D.

Erin Tuttle

Peter Ulrickson, Ph.D.

Brandon Vaidyanathan, Ph.D.

Adrian Walker, Ph.D.

David Walsh, Ph.D.

Andreas Widmer

W. Bradford Wilcox, Ph.D.

Andrew Yuengert, Ph.D.
Ryan Anderson, Ph.D.
Expertise: Political Philosophy, Law and Religion, Marriage, Family and Politics
Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D. in Political Philosophy, is the William E. Simon Senior Research Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, where he researches and writes about marriage, bioethics, religious liberty and political philosophy. Anderson is also the Founder and Editor of Public Discourse, the online journal of the Witherspoon Institute of Princeton, New Jersey. Anderson has written several books, including, What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense, Truth Overruled: The Future of Marriage and Religious Freedom, Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination, and When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Moment. His research was cited by two U.S. Supreme Court justices, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, in two separate cases.
Patricia Andrasik, AIA
Expertise: Building Analytics, Sustainability, Building Operations
Patricia Andrasik, AIA, is an Assistant Professor and the Head of Sustainability Outreach at the School of Architecture and Planning. Her practice and research is rooted in studying building performance analytics, human factors, and third party green certification as a means of improving sustainable building design potential.
Mark Bauerlein, Ph.D.
Expertise: English, Research and Analysis
Mark Bauerlein is Senior Editor at First Things and Emeritus Professor of English at Emory University, where he taught after earning his PhD in English at UCLA in 1989. He served as Director of the Office of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts 2003-05. He is the author of several books, including Whitman and the American Idiom (1991), The Pragmatic Mind: Explorations in the Psychology of Belief (1997), Literary Criticism: An Autopsy (1997), Negrophobia: A Race Riot in Atlanta, 1906 (2001), and The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (2008). His scholarly essays and reviews have appeared in PMLA, Philosophy and Literature, Wilson Quarterly, Partisan Review, and Yale Review. He has published reviews and commentaries in New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Weekly Standard, The Guardian, Chronicle of Higher Education, New Criterion, and other national periodicals. He has appeared on CNN, CBS News, Fox and Friends, BBC World News, All Things Considered, C-SPAN, ABC’s Nightline, PBS Frontline, and other national media outlets. He hosts The Conversation podcast at www.firstthings.com.
J. Steven Brown, Ph.D.
Expertise: Alternative Energy, Refrigeration
J. Steven Brown, Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, is the Senior Vice Provost, Dean of Graduate Studies, and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering. His research interests include refrigeration and air conditioning, alternative refrigeration cycles, alternative refrigerants, organic Rankine cycles, alternative energy, thermodynamic modeling, two-phase heat transfer, human thermal comfort modeling, and bioheat transfer.
Joseph Capizzi, Ph.D.
Expertise: Social Ethics, Moral Theology, Law and Religion
Joseph Capizzi, Ph.D. in Theology, is the Executive Director of the Institute for Human Ecology and an Ordinary Professor of Moral Theology at The Catholic University of America. He has published widely on just war theory, bioethics, the history of moral theology, and political liberalism. Dr. Capizzi worked as a research fellow at the VADM James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the U.S. Naval Academy from 2013 to 2014.
David Cloutier, Ph.D.
Expertise: Ethics, Economics, Theology
David Cloutier, Ph.D. in Religion, is an Associate Professor of Moral Theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. A graduate of Carleton College and Duke University, he is the author of The Vice of Luxury: Economic Excess in a Consumer Age (Georgetown) and Walking God’s Earth: The Environment and Catholic Theology (Liturgical), and the co-editor of Naming Our Sins: How Recognizing the Seven Deadly Vices Can Renew the Sacrament of Reconciliation (CUA Press). His writing has appeared in Commonweal, America, and US Catholic, among other popular publications, and he edits the academic group blog catholicmoraltheology.com. He is on the Board of Directors of the Society of Christian Ethics, was a 2019-20 Life Fellow of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, and will be giving a plenary address on ethics and work at the 2020 annual meeting of the Catholic Theological Society of America. He is particularly interested in the intersection between claims in the social sciences about agency and structure and Catholic accounts of moral agency.
Daniel Burns, Ph.D.
Expertise: Political Philosophy, Foreign Policy
Daniel Burns is Associate Professor of Politics at the University of Dallas. He spent AY 2018-19 here as a Research Associate, writing a book on Joseph Ratzinger’s understanding of “healthy secularity.” His research in political philosophy is on the relation between religion and citizenship, focusing on the meaning and limits of religious freedom. He has written on Augustine, Al-Farabi, Thomas More, John Locke, Sayyid Qutb, the Strauss-Kojève debate, Ratzinger, Samuel Huntington, and contemporary American foreign policy. He is a member of the Neuer Schülerkreis Joseph Ratzinger/Benedikt XVI., a Germany-based group of scholars dedicated to advancing Ratzinger’s intellectual legacy.
Mark Clark, Ph.D.
Expertise: Medieval Theology, Biblical Theology, Scholasticism
Mark Clark, Ph.D. in Medieval History, is an Ordinary Professor of Theology. Dr. Clark, who is jointly appointed to the Church History and the Historical and Systematic Theology areas in the School of Theology and Religious Studies, works on the formation of the scholastic tradition, biblical as well as theological, from 1150 to 1350.
Dennis Coyle, Ph.D.
Expertise: Constitutionalism, Political Culture, Catholic Social Thought
Dennis Coyle is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Politics Department. Dr. Coyle’s research interests include liberal constitutionalism, property rights and regulation, social science theory, and generally the interplay of institutions, culture, and values in law, policy, and administration.
Laurie DeRose, Ph.D.
Expertise: Population Studies, Family Demography
Laurie DeRose, Ph.D. in Sociology, is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at The Catholic University of America. She also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies, and serves as the Director of Research for their World Family Map project that investigates both the determinants of family strength and the outcomes stemming from family strength across the globe. She is currently studying the effects of family structure on education in the Global South, including the possibility that where single motherhood is prevalent, the gender gap in education may be smaller.
Ross Douthat
Expertise: Media, Church History, Theology
Ross Douthat is a Media Fellow at the Institute for Human Ecology. He joined The New York Times as an Op-Ed Columnist in 2009. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at the Atlantic and Blogger for theatlantic.com. He is the author of To Change the Church: Pope Francis and the Future of Catholicism (Simon and Schuster, 2018), Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, (Simon and Schuster, 2012), and Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class (Hyperion, 2005). He is the co-author, with Reihan Salam, of Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream (Doubleday, 2008). Mr. Douthat is also the Film Critic for National Review.
Mario Enzler, Ph.D.
Expertise: Financial Planning, Investment Banking, Business Leadership, Ecclesial Administration
Dr. Mario Enzler is a former Musician, former Swiss Guard, former Swiss Banker and Tax Fiduciary. He wanted to introduce authentic gelato in New England but instead he and his wife founded a classical-curriculum academy in New Hampshire after finding inadequate educational options for their five children. Now, he serves as the Dean of the Cameron School of Business at the University of Saint Thomas in Houston, Texas. He can also be found speaking at conferences or men’s retreats where he shares about the role Pope St. John Paul II had in helping him become a better man, executive, and leader.
Flavio Felice
Expertise: Political Theory, Economic Theory, Social Ethics
Flavio Felice is a Professor of the History of Political Thought at the University of Molise. From 2010 to 2017, he was Director of the International Research Area Caritas in Veritate, focusing on the social doctrine of the Church, at the Pontifical Lateran University. He is President of the Tocqueville-Acton Society.
Jennifer A. Frey, Ph.D.
Expertise: Philosophy of Action, Ethics
Jennifer A. Frey, Ph.D. in Philosophy, is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina, working at the intersection of the philosophy of action and ethics. She was recently a PI of a three year, 2.1 million dollar research project titled, “Virtue, Happiness, and Meaning of Life.” She is the author of many articles and recently co-edited a book titled, Self-Transcendence and Virtue: Perspectives from Philosophy, Psychology, and Theology. She runs a popular philosophy podcast, “Sacred and Profane Love.”
Monsignor Anthony R. Frontiero, S.T.D.
Expertise: Social Ethics, Moral Theology and Religion, Social Theory
Monsignor Frontiero, S.T.D., was born and raised in New Hampshire. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1991 for the Diocese of Manchester (New Hampshire), and has served in various assignments throughout the last 26 years, including: Parochial Vicar of Saint Joseph Cathedral in Manchester (1991-1994); Diocesan Vocation Director and Diocesan Master of Ceremonies (1994-1997); Diplomatic Attaché to the Holy See Mission to the United Nations in New York (1999-2002); Pastor of Saint Pius X Church in Manchester (2002-2006); Official of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace at the Vatican (2006-2011); Pastor and Rector of Saint Joseph Cathedral in Manchester (2011-2016). He currently serves as Vice Rector and Director of Human Formation at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where he also teaches social ethics. Monsignor Frontiero holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Administration from the University of New Hampshire; a Master of Divinity Degree and a Master of Arts Degree in Moral Theology from Seton Hall University, New Jersey; a Licentiate in Moral Theology from Catholic University of America, Washington; and a Doctorate in Moral Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum), Rome.
George Garvey, J.D.
Expertise: Economic Regulatory Law and Policy, History and Application of Catholic Social Doctrine, Catholic Education
George Garvey, J.D., is an Emeritus Ordinary Professor of Law at The Catholic University of America. His expertise includes economic and regulatory law and policy, the interdisciplinary study of Catholic Social Doctrine as it relates to socioeconomics, human development and culture, and the education of Catholics and others regarding the application of Catholic Social Teaching to issues of contemporary life. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Fondazione Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice, a lay led Vatican foundation committed to the promotion of Catholic Social Doctrine, particularly to professional and business leaders. Garvey was primarily responsible for the creation of a CUA/CAPP certificate program offered yearly in Washington; and participated in the creation of an online course on Catholic Social Doctrines for Professionals.
Michael Gorman, Ph.D.
Expertise: Metaphysics, Human Nature
Michael Gorman, Ph.D. in Theology and in Philosophy, is an Ordinary Professor of Philosophy. His philosophical research focuses on questions of metaphysics and human nature, and he has a special interest in the idea that concepts in these areas are irreducibly normative. Dr. Gorman is also a Scholar with the Templeton Foundation’s Virtue, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life Project.
Jakub Grygiel, Ph.D.
Expertise: Foreign Policy
Jakub Grygiel is an Associate Professor of Politics at The Catholic University of America (Washington, DC). In 2017-2018 he was a Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State in the Office of Policy Planning working on European affairs. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis and on the faculty of SAIS-Johns Hopkins University in Washington DC. He is the author of Return of the Barbarians (Cambridge University Press, 2018), Great Powers and Geopolitical Change (JHU Press, 2006), and co-author with Wess Mitchell of The Unquiet Frontier (Princeton University Press, 2016). His writings on international relations and security studies have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The American Interest, Security Studies, Journal of Strategic Studies, Orbis, Commentary, Parameters, as well as several U.S. and foreign newspapers. He earned a Ph.D., M.A. and an MPA from Princeton University, and a BSFS Summa Cum Laude from Georgetown University.
Edward Hadas, Ph.D.
Expertise: Economic Theory, Financial Markets, Social Ethics
Edward Hadas is a freelance journalist and independent scholar. He is currently writing regularly for Reuters Breakingviews and the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Canadian think tank. He is also a Research Scholar at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University.
Nora Heimann, Ph.D.
Expertise: Art History, Art and Religion, Art and National Identity
Nora Heimann is an Associate Professor and the Chair of the Art Department. Dr. Heimann is a specialist in European and American modern and contemporary art history, and in the relationship between art, religion, and national identity.
Thomas Hibbs, Ph.D.
Expertise: Philosophy, Ethics, Culture
In March of 2019, Thomas Hibbs was selected to be the President of the University of Dallas. Before his appointment, Dr. Hibbs was the Dean of the Honors College and Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Culture at Baylor University, where he taught in the Great Texts Program, the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core, and the graduate program in Philosophy. He received his B.A. and M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Dallas and an M.M.S. and Ph.D. from Notre Dame. He was a tutor at Thomas Aquinas College for three years before moving to Boston College, where he taught for thirteen years and where he was Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Philosophy.
In addition to two books on film (Shows About Nothing and Arts of Darkness) and a book co-authored with the contemporary painter, Makoto Fujimura (Soliloquies: Rouault/Fujimura), Hibbs has written three books on Thomas Aquinas: Dialectic and Narrative in Aquinas: An Interpretation of the Summa Contra Gentiles (University of Notre Dame Press, 1995); Virtue’s Splendor: Wisdom, Prudence, and the Human Good (Fordham University Press, 2001); and Aquinas, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion: Metaphysics and Practice (Indiana University Press, 2007). He wrote the “Introduction” to Augustine’s Enchiridion on Faith, Hope, and Love (Regnery, 1996); edited and wrote an introduction for Aquinas on Human Nature (Hackett , 1999); with John O’Callaghan, edited and wrote the introduction for Recovering Nature: Essays in Natural Philosophy, Metaphysic, and Ethics (University of Notre Dame Press, 1999); and with Peter Candler, edited, Contemporary Thomisms, The American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 83 (2009).
Mary Hirschfeld, Ph.D.
Expertise: Economic Theory, Economic Justice, Moral Theology
Mary Hirschfeld, Ph.D. in Economics and in Moral Theology, is an Associate Professor of Economics and Theology at Villanova University. Dr. Hirschfeld works along the boundary between economics and theology, specifically by developing an approach to economics that is grounded in the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas, with applications to questions of consumption economics, economic justice, the common good, the nature of practical reason, and economic methodology.
Reinhard Hütter, Ph.D.
Expertise: Theological Anthropology, Systematic Theology, Thomistic Thought
Reinhard Hütter, Ph.D. in Theology, is an Ordinary Professor of Fundamental and Dogmatic Theology in the School of Theology and Religious Studies. Much of Dr. Hütter’s research and writing in recent years has focused on theological anthropology — the human being created in the image of God — and on the closely related topics of nature and grace, divine and human freedom, faith and reason, theology, and metaphysics.
Angela McKay Knobel, Ph.D.
Expertise: Moral Philosophy, Thomistic Ethics, Virtue Ethics
Angela McKay Knobel, Ph.D. in Philosophy, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dallas. She has published extensively on medieval and contemporary ethics. Her work focuses primarily on Aquinas’ theory of infused virtue, virtue ethics and applied ethics. Her book Aquinas and the Infused Moral Virtues is forthcoming from the University of Notre Dame Press.
V. Bradley Lewis, Ph.D.
Expertise: Political Philosophy, Jurisprudence, Ethics
V. Bradley Lewis, Ph.D. in Government and International Studies, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at The Catholic University of America. Dr. Lewis specializes in political and legal philosophy. He has written articles on the political thought of Plato and Aristotle and on some figures in the neo-Thomist tradition, as well as on the topics of public reason and religious freedom.
Laura E. Masur, Ph.D.
Expertise: Historical Archaeology, Anthropology of Religion, Ethics
Laura E. Masur, Ph.D. in Anthropology, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology. Her current project, Priestly Plantations: An Archaeology of Jesuit Missions in Maryland, explores the complex material worlds of Jesuit priests, enslaved Africans, and American Indians. The project synthesizes archaeological collections from southern Maryland and central Pennsylvania, integrated with historical and architectural evidence of landscape development and labor management, to show connections between plantations and Catholic communities.
James McCrery, AIA
Expertise: Classical Architecture, Church Architecture, Urbanism Architecture
James McCrery, AIA, is a Professor and Chair of the Search Committee for the new Classical Concentration Faculty at the School of Architecture, where he directs the Classical Architecture & Urbanism Concentration of studies at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Mr. McCrery is a practitioner of classical and traditional architecture and is Founder and Principal of McCrery Architects.
Emmett McGroarty, J.D.
Expertise: Education Policy, Federalism Issues
Emmett McGroarty, J.D., is the Director of Research and Planning at the Institute for Human Ecology. He studies public policies that undermine the constitutional structure and the principle of subsidiarity. He is the co-author of Deconstructing the Administrative State: The Fight for Liberty. He is also co-author ofControlling Education from the Top: Why Common Core Is Bad for America, Pioneer Institute, No. 87 (May 2012); and Cogs in the Machine: Big Data, Common Core, and National Testing, Pioneer Institute, No. 114 (May 2014). Mr. McGroarty is Co-Founder of truthinamericaneducation.com, a nationwide network of individuals and organizations that sheds light on the Common Core system and the collection of private data on children and their families. His published works have appeared in, among others, Breitbart, Christian Post, Crisis, Daily Caller, The Federalist, FoxNews.com, New York Post, Public Discourse, The Hill, Townhall, USA Today, and The Washington Times. He has testified before state and federal committees and commissions. Mr. McGroarty received an A.B. from Georgetown University and a J.D. from Fordham School of Law.
John McNerney, Ph.D.
Expertise: Philosophical Anthropology, Business Ethics, Social Ethics
John McNerney is a researcher and lecturer in business ethics and philosophy. He has been Head Chaplain/Student Adviser at University College in Dublin, Ireland. He recently published a book, Wealth of Persons: Economics with a Human Face, that investigates how the wealth of nations is best measured in the “ wealth of persons” who make up and maintain human communities. He is currently a visiting scholar at The Catholic University of America.
Margarita Mooney, Ph.D.
Expertise: Philosophy of Social Science, Religion and Social Theory, Religion and Immigration
Margarita Mooney, Ph.D. in Sociology, is a scholar, author, educator and mentor with interests in happiness, virtue, and the common good. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she teaches courses on research methods for studying religion, philosophy of social science, religion and social theory, religion and immigration, intentional communities and religion and resilience.
Margarita is currently working on a book manuscript tentatively entitled Living a Broken Life, Beautifully that explores the religious lives of young adults who have experienced traumatic life events. Her main claim is that the traditional tools of social science need to be brought into conversation with moral philosophy and theology in order to provide a framework for civic, social and church leaders to work together to promote communities of resilience that are attentive to both the social and spiritual realities of the human experience.
Dr. Mooney explains why she thinks sociology cannot do its best work without considering moral, normative and practical questions. She also explains how she thinks people who work in theology, philosophy or pastoral leadership would do even better work if they understood how to apply some of the tools of sociology.
James L. Nolan Jr., Ph.D.
Expertise: Law and Society, Culture, Technology and Social Change, and Historical Comparative Sociology
James L. Nolan, Jr., Ph.D. in Sociology, is the Washington Gladden 1859 Professor of Sociology at Williams College. His current book project, Delivering Little Boy: Doctoring History at the Dawn of the Nuclear Age is a unique look at the role of the medical doctors on the Manhattan Project and the early years of the nuclear age. He is the author of a number of books, including, What They Saw in America: Alexis de Tocqueville, Max Weber, G.K. Chesterton, and Sayyid Qutb (Cambridge University Press, 2016).
Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, Ph.D.
Expertise: Applied Microeconomics, Economics of Education, Family Studies
Catherine Ruth Pakaluk, Ph.D. in Economics, is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Busch School of Business. Her primary areas of research include economics of education and religion, family studies and demography, Catholic Social Thought and political economy. Dr. Pakaluk is the 2015 recipient of the Acton Institute’s Novak Award, a prize given for “significant contributions to the study of the relationship between religion and economic liberty.”
Michael Pakaluk, Ph.D.
Expertise: Virtue Ethics, Natural Law, Professional Ethics
Michael Pakaluk, Ph.D. in Philosophy, is a researcher in ancient philosophy. Dr. Pakaluk’s deeper concern is the recovery of a just appreciation of the classical mind, but his interests span many areas of philosophy, including political philosophy, philosophy of psychology, and professional ethics.
Chad C. Pecknold, Ph.D.
Expertise: Fundamental Theology, Theological Anthropology, Theological Politics
Chad C. Pecknold, Ph.D. in Systematic Theology, is an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology. He teaches in the areas of fundamental theology, Christian anthropology, and political theology, with a particular interest in Saint Augustine’s City of God. As a commentator on the Church and contemporary politics, Dr. Pecknold has appeared on a wide variety of other news programs from NPR and PBS, to FOX, CNBC, Voice of America, and the BBC
Jonathan Reyes, Ph.D.
Expertise: Catholic Social Teaching, Intellectual History
Dr. Jonathan J. Reyes, Executive Director of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, was educated at the University of Michigan, where he studied European History as a Rackham Fellow. He earned a Ph.D. in European History at the University of Notre Dame, writing his dissertation on the historical vision of Christopher Dawson. In 2009, Dr. Reyes became the President/CEO of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Denver. In 2005, Dr. Reyes helped found the Augustine Institute of Denver, a graduate program devoted to Catholic theological studies and leadership training, and served as its first President. Dr. Reyes also served as Vice President for ministry and formation for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students and also taught in the History Department at Christendom College, in Front Royal, Virginia where he served two years served as Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Jay W. Richards, Ph.D.
Expertise: Political Philosophy, Moral Theology, Economic Theory
Jay W. Richards, Ph.D. in Philosophy and in Theology, is an Assistant Research Professor at the Busch School of Business, Executive Editor of The Stream, and a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute. Dr. Richards’ articles and essays range from culture, economics, and public policy to natural science, technology, and the environment.
Lloyd Sandelands, Ph.D.
Expertise: Organizational Psychology, Management, Social Ethics
Lloyd Sandelands, Ph.D. in Organization Behavior, is a Professor of Management and Organizations and of Psychology at the University of Michigan. His research focuses on the social and spiritual dimensions of life in organizations. He teaches courses in social and organizational psychology and management to graduate and undergraduate students in business administration and psychology.
Stephanie Saroki de García
Expertise: Education Philanthropy, Academic Leadership, Public Policy
Stephanie Saroki de Garcia helped launch Seton in 2009 to give every child, regardless of background, an opportunity to have an academically excellent, character-building, and vibrantly Catholic education. Recently, Stephanie launched and directed the Philanthropy Roundtable’s K-12 education programs, where she spearheaded a series of conferences, strategy sessions, and publications on breakthroughs in education philanthropy. She co-wrote Saving America’s Urban Catholic Schools: A Guide for Donors and also served on the strategic planning committee for the Archdiocese of New York’s school system, chairing the committee on school leadership. Stephanie attended Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government as a dean’s fellow. While completing her Master’s degree in Public Policy at the Kennedy School, Stephanie worked at the Office of Management and Budget. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley.
William L. Saunders, J.D.
Of Counsel | Americans United for Life | Chair of Religious Liberties Group, The Federalist Society | President, The Fellowship of Catholic Scholars
Expertise: Bioethics, Religious Liberty, Human Rights
Bill Saunders, J.D., is a graduate of the Harvard Law School who has been involved in issues of public policy, law and ethics for thirty years. A regular columnist for the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, Mr. Saunders has written widely on these topics, as well as on Catholic social teaching. He has given lectures in law schools and colleges throughout the United States and the world. He is the Director of the Program in Human Rights for the Institute for Human Ecology.
Frederic Sautet, Ph.D.
Expertise: Political Economy, Entrepreneurship Theory
Frederic Sautet, Ph.D. in Economics, is an Associate Professor of Political Economy and Entrepreneurship Theory at the Busch School of Business. His primary areas of research and teaching include market process theory, Austrian economics, organization theory, 19th century Political Economy, and Catholic Social Thought. Dr. Sautet is the Director of the Röpke-Wojtyła Fellowship and a Co-Founder of the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship. He is the Co-Editor of The Collected Works of Israel Kirzner published by Liberty Fund, and the author of An Entrepreneurial Theory of the Firm (Routledge, 2000).
Paul Scherz, Ph.D.
Expertise: Bioethics, Religion and Science, Technology Ethics
Paul Scherz, Ph.D. in Moral Theology and in Genetics, is an Assistant Professor of Moral Theology and Ethics. Dr. Scherz researches the moral theology of biotechnology. He examines how the daily use of biomedical technologies shapes the way researchers, doctors, and patients see and manipulate the world and their bodies.
D. C. Schindler, Ph.D.
Expertise: Metaphysics, Anthropology, Philosophy of Work
David C. Schindler, Ph.D. in Philosophy, is an Associate Professor of Metaphysics and Anthropology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute. A focus of Dr. Schindler’s research is the philosophy of work. A number of themes in human ecology converge in this domain, such as those of man’s pursuit of happiness, especially in his embodied condition, and man’s relationship to God in the original commandment to till the earth and to fulfill his role as image of the Creator.
Lucia Ann Silecchia, J.D.
Expertise: Environmental Law and Ethics, Catholic Social Thought and Law, Catholic Higher Education
Professor Silecchia has taught at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law since 1991. She has been an Ordinary Professor since 2004, and served as the law school’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 2004 and 2005. She also directs Catholic University’s Summer Law Program in Rome. From September 2015 to August, 2017, she served as Catholic University’s Vice Provost for Policy.
Professor Silecchia recently wrote the book chapter, The When and the Where of Love: Subsidiarity as a Framework for Care of the Elderly, and was published in the newly released book Agape, Justice and Law: How Might Christian Love Shape Law published by Cambridge University Press (Robert F. Cochran & Zachary Kelo, editors). The chapter explores the practical and moral challenges of providing loving care to the elderly.
Maximilian B. Torres Jr., Ph.D., J.D.
Expertise: Virtue Ethics in Business, Ethical Decision-Making in Organizations, Catholic Social Teaching
Maximilian B. Torres, Ph.D. in Business Ethics, is the Centesimus Annus Della Ratta Family Endowed Professor and a Clinical Associate Professor at the Busch School of Business. His research focuses on the reciprocal natures of personal virtue and organizational culture, with an eye towards harnessing organizational intangibles through managerial decision-making capable of creating conditions for human flourishing.
Erin Tuttle
Expertise: Federalism, Education
Erin Tuttle is a public policy analyst specializing in the underlying mechanisms employed by the administrative state to expand federal control over state and local policy. Her published works include co-author of Deconstructing the Administrative State: The Fight for Liberty (Sophia Institute Press/Liberty Hill, 2017), co-author of the white paper Common Core Does Not Equal Excellent, and numerous op-eds. She has drafted model legislation and has presented her invited testimony before the legislatures of several states. In 2011, Ms. Tuttle led the successful legislative effort in her home state of Indiana to pass legislation to end Common Core and her efforts are widely considered by commentators, activists, and state legislators as contributing to the launch of the national grassroots pushback against Common Core and the further centralization of education policymaking. She is a regular contributor to media outlets and guest on television and talk radio programs. Ms. Tuttle received her BA in Political Science from Indiana University.
Peter Ulrickson, Ph.D.
Expertise: Algebraic Topology, Quantum Field Theory, Category Theory
Peter Ulrickson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics. His research interests include algebraic topology, mathematical formulations of quantum field theory, and generally how mathematical models describe physical phenomena and human interactions.
Brandon Vaidyanathan, Ph.D.
Expertise: Work and Professions, Religion and Globalization, Religion, Science, and Health
Brandon Vaidyanathan, Ph.D. in Sociology, is an Associate Professor of Sociology. His research spans several countries and examines the cultural dimensions of religious, commercial, medical, and scientific institutions. His ongoing work aims to improve the ability of faith communities to better recognize and respond to mental health needs.
Adrian Walker, Ph.D.
Expertise: Natural Philosophy, Technology Theory, Science and Religion
Adrian Walker, Ph.D. in Philosophy, is a Professor of Theology at Saint Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, CA. His interests include science and religion, the philosophy of nature, and the question of technology. He is also a professional translator. His best-known translation is the first volume of Pope Benedict’s Jesus of Nazareth. He is an Editor of Communio: International Catholic Review.
David Walsh, Ph.D.
Expertise: Political Theory, Liberal Democracy, Modernist Thought
David Walsh, Ph.D. in Government, is an Ordinary Professor of Politics. His teaching and research are in the field of political theory broadly conceived. His focus has been on the question that the modern world poses for itself at its deepest level: Does our civilization possess the moral and spiritual resources to survive?
Andreas Widmer
Expertise: Entrepreneurship, Economic Development, Business Leadership
Andreas Widmer is Director of Entrepreneurship Programs at the Busch School of Business. Mr. Widmer works closely with top entrepreneurs, investors, and faith leaders around the world to foster enterprise solutions to poverty and promote virtuous business practices.
W. Bradford Wilcox, Ph.D.
Expertise: Demography, Sociology of Religion, Marriage, Family and Politics
W. Bradford Wilcox, Ph.D. in Sociology, is Director of the National Marriage Project, and Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. In his latest work, Soul Mates: Religion, Sex, Love, and Marriage Among African Americans and Latinos, Dr. Wilcox shines a much-needed spotlight on the role that faith plays in the lives of strong and happy minority couples. He is now studying the class divide in American family life.
Andrew Yuengert, Ph.D.
Expertise: Economic Theory, Labor Economics, Choice Theory
Andrew M. Yuengert, Ph.D. in Economics, is a Professor of Economics at Pepperdine University. Dr. Yuengert has made research contributions in several fields: economic philosophy, Catholic Social Teaching, the empirical study of religion, labor economics, and finance. He is a former President of the Association of Christian Economists, and currently serves as Editor of its journal, Faith & Economics.
About the IHE
The Institute for Human Ecology (IHE) at The Catholic University of America is the nation’s leading academic institute committed to increasing scientific understanding of the economic, cultural, and social conditions vital for human flourishing.

Contact Us
The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Avenue NE
339 Caldwell Hall
Washington, DC 20064
202-319-5892
ihe@cua.edu
The Institute for Human Ecology
The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Avenue NE
339 Caldwell Hall
Washington, DC 20064
202-319-5892
ihe@cua.edu