Honors program faculty

 

Contact info and brief biography of our Honors faculty.

The honors general study program brings together top faculty from many Walla Walla University academic departments. Many honors courses are interdisciplinary and team-taught by faculty from different areas.


Sara Kakazu

Professor of English
Honors Co-director

 

sara.kakazu@wallawalla.edu

Education

  • MA Western Washington University 
  • PhD University at Buffalo, SUNY 

Teaching Areas

Poetry and creative nonfiction, composition, early American and 19th-century American literature 

Research/Interests

Poetry and American narratives, particularly 19th-century travel narratives and their role in identity formation, slave/liberation narratives, and captivity narratives   

Other 

  • Served as Chair and Professor of English at Pacific Union College  
  • PUC Educator of the Year, 2021 

    Monique Roddy

    Associate Professor of History
    Honors Co-director

    (509) 527-2863
    monique.roddy@wallawalla.edu

    Education

    • PhD University of Chicago, 2016; Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations

    Teaching Areas
    Ancient Near East, Classical Greece and Rome, Western Thought, Middle Eastern History, African History, The West and the World, World Geography

    Research/Interests

    Iron Age Households at Khirbat al-Balua, Jordan (co-director of the Balua Regional Archaeological Project)

    History and Archaeology of the Ancient Near East; Households and Communities of the Iron Age Southern Levant (circa 1200 BC)

    Hobbies
    Travel, knitting and cooking

    Other

    Titles

    Vice President of the Walla Walla Society of the Archaeological Institute of America

    Publications Manager for the Center for Near Eastern Archaeology, La Sierra University

    Room

    Administration Building 233


    Kellie Bond

    Associate Professor of English
    College Writing Coordinator
    (509) 527-2825 | kellie.bond@wallawalla.edu
    Administration Building 222


    Education: Ph.D., University of Oregon; M.A., University of Oregon 

    Research interests: Modern literature; modern poetry; poetics 


    Mathilde Frey

    Professor of Hebrew Bible, Old Testament

    (509) 527-2379

    mathilde.frey@wallawalla.edu

    (BA, Seminar Marienhoehe, Darmstadt, Germany; PhD, Andrews University)

    Mathilde Frey comes to Walla Walla University with a European background. She grew up in communist Romania where she attended elementary and high school, and graduated with the Baccalaureate. In 1984, she immigrated to West Germany, studied Theology in Austria and Germany, and served as a pastor in the South German Conference for five years. In 2003, she moved to Berrien Springs, Michigan, and earned a PhD in Old Testament from Andrews University. Her dissertation is titled, The Sabbath in the Pentateuch: An Exegetical and Theological Study.

    In 2008, Mathilde accepted a call to teach Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and Hebrew Language at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, in the Philippines. She also served as the editor of the Journal of Asia Adventist Seminary (JAAS) and as chair of the Master of Arts in Theology Program until 2014, when she moved to Walla Walla together with her husband Marcus and their two children, Delia and Eva.

    Mathilde's academic interest is focused on close reading of the Hebrew Bible. She has written articles and book chapters on the Sabbath, has authored the Deuteronomy commentary for the Andrews Study Bible, and is currently writing a commentary on the book of Judges for the Seventh-day Adventist International Bible Commentary. Her international experience combined with pastoral ministry and academic work enriches her teaching in the classroom and her other contributions to the Walla Walla University campus.


    Lauren Peterson 

    Assistant Professor of English

    (509)-527-2861

    lauren.peterson@wallawalla.edu

    Education

    • BA Walla Walla University, 2012
    • MA Western Washington University, 2015
    • PhD University of California, Davis, 2022

    Teaching Areas

    Victorian literature, medieval literature, composition, literary and critical theory, and film studies.

    Research/Interests

    In addition to her teaching areas, her research and interests include nineteenth-century transatlantic literature, empire studies, environmental humanities, medical humanities, science fiction, folklore, Middle English, and Old English. Her dissertation is titled Industrial Specters of Nineteenth-Century Literature: Mills, Ports, and Mines; selections have been published in Literary GeographiesVenti, and Gothic Nature.

      Jody Washburn

      Associate Professor of Social Work and Sociology

      (509) 527-2479

      jody.washburn@wallawalla.edu

      Education 

      • PhD – Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, UCLA, 2016
      • MA – Religion—Old Testament, Andrews University, 2010
      • MA – Religion—Religious Education, Andrews University, 2010
      • BA – Theology, Walla Walla University, 2005

      Research/Interests

      • Interdisciplinary study of ancient tombs and inscriptions
      • Intersections between psychological science and theology, particularly in the area of compassion and spirituality
      • Creative pedagogy, particularly in the areas of Bible and archaeology
      • Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible

      Hobbies
      Camping, hiking, playing ragtime on the piano, reading, and going out with friends.


      Cynthia Westerbeck

      Professor of English, Chair
      (509) 527-2370 | cynthia.westerbeck@wallawalla.edu
      Administration Building 209 


      Education: Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis; M.A., Washington University in St. Louis 

      Research interests: The intersection between literature and the arts; environmental literature; general studies and curriculum development; Renaissance literature and 18thCentury British literature