About the Cooley Center
Cooley Collection |
First, through the Center’s collection, there are numerous volumes and periodicals on anthropology, early Church history and archaeology in the Middle East during biblical times that are available to those interested in conducting research in these areas. |
Lectures Series |
Second, the Center’s annual lecture series brings scholars of note to Charlotte to address topics in Old Testament, New Testament and the Patristics, with the intent of correlating textual and archaeological evidence in all three of these areas. |
News and Research |
Third, the director, curator and fellow of the Center are involved in publication projects, the promotion of research and efforts to make scholarship accessible to a larger audience. |
Trips |
Finally, to make research “come alive,” the Center is involved in sponsoring trips to the lands of the Bible. |
Meet the Staff
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Director of the Cooley CenterDr. Rollin G. Grams, Associate Professor of New Testament (Ph.D., Duke University). He has serves with United World Mission in international theological education and has taught in Singapore, Kenya, Ethiopia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Russia, Austria and England. Dr. Grams has served as the assistant editor for Transformation, an academic journal on holistic mission published in the UK, and as the program director for the M.A. in Biblical Studies at the Evangelical Theological Seminary, Osijek, Croatia. He has been a doctoral supervisor with the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and the International Baptist Theological Seminary. He also lectures with TCMI (Austria) and Stellenbosch Theological Institute (South Africa). Publications by Dr. Grams
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 704.527.9909 |
Curator of the Robert C. Cooley CollectionDr. Timothy Laniak, Dean of the Charlotte Campus and Professor of Old Testament (Th.D., Harvard University). He works closely with the Cooley Fellow and the Gordon-Conwell librarian to oversee a balanced and robust growth of the collection’s books, journals, media and artifacts. Publications by Dr. Laniak
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Robert E. Cooley Professor of Early ChristianityDr. Donald Fairbairn (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) specializes in the development of Christian doctrine on the Trinity and Christ during the first six Christian centuries. He is particularly concerned with recognizing the Church’s consensus about Christian orthodoxy, in opposition to contemporary views that exaggerate the diversity within the early Church and thus undermine the very notion that there was such a thing as “orthodoxy.” He has lived and ministered in the Republic of Georgia and in Ukraine, and he has also taught in Russia, Belarus, Greece, Belgium, Hungary, England, and Canada. He and his wife Jennifer have two children, Trey (born in 2001) and Ella (born in 2003). Publications by Dr. Fairbairn
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Research Fellow for the Cooley CenterMark B. Poe is responsible for overseeing the quarterly newsletter, the content of the Center's website, conducting research for Center projects and staff, managing the logistics for the annual Cooley Lecture series and patron's lecture event, and will be working with the Center curator and the Gordon-Conwell librarian on acquisitions for the Center. He is also the contact person for those wishing to do research using the Center’s materials and new iMac computer. Mark has earned both an MA in Biblical Studies and an MA in Christian Thought from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary–Charlotte. His primary areas of interest are historical Jesus studies and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Mark is also a teaching fellow for BibleJourney and is an ordained minister in the Wesleyan Church and is currently the pastor of First Wesleyan Church, Cherryville, NC. He is married to Cynthia and has two children, Andrew and Matthew. |
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Senior Librarian and Director of the Gordon-Conwell librariesJoining Gordon-Conwell in 1997, Dr. Robert J. Mayer brings extensive experience in writing, publishing and research. Dr. Mayer, working with the Cooley Research Fellow and Curator, is responsible for acquiring current recent scholarly publications and resources, thus keeping the Cooley Collection up-to-date and growing. From 1982-1997, he served as the editor of the Advent Christian Witness magazine and as the director of publications for the Advent Christian General Conference in Charlotte. He also chaired the 1992 Evangelical Press Association convention committee and is currently serving as co-chair on the local host committee for the upcoming 2013 American Theological Library Association convention in Charlotte. In addition to his writing and publishing work, Dr. Mayer has taught in a variety of academic and church settings. He is ordained by the Evangelical Church Alliance. Dr. Mayer’s scholarly interests include American church history, Advent Christian church history and theology, and 20th century American evangelicalism. |
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