Core Faculty
Dr. Douglas R. Cullum
Vice President and Dean and Professor of Historical and Pastoral Theology
Dr. Cullum holds four graduate degrees and is an ordained clergyman. His earned degrees include: Ph.D., M.Phil., Drew University; Th.M., Duke University; M.Div., Asbury Theological Seminary; B.A., Asbury College.
Dr. Cullum’s teaching ministry emphasizes the seamless relationship between the academic and practical aspects of Christian theology. His desire is to assist the local church in finding renewal along biblical and classical lines. Having been active in ministry since 1978, Dr. Cullum served pastorates until 1994 when he was invited to come to Roberts Wesleyan College to serve as college chaplain and faculty member in the religion department. In 1998, Dr. Cullum became one of the founding faculty members of Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan College. Areas of special interest include Wesley and the Methodist tradition, Reformation theology and history, liturgy and liturgical theology, 19th century American religion, and 20th century neo-orthodoxy. Professionally, Dr. Cullum participates in the North American Academy of Liturgy and the Wesley Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion.
Dr. David Basinger
Professor of Philosophy and Ethics
Dr. Basinger holds two graduate degrees in philosophy. His earned degrees include: Ph.D., University of Nebraska at Lincoln, 1975; M.A., University of Nebraska at Lincoln, 1974; B.A., Bellevue College, 1972; B.A., Grace College of the Bible, 1969. A distinguished scholar, both in ethics and the philosophy of religion, he is actively involved in publishing books, articles, and reviews. Dr. Basinger currently serves as the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Chief Academic Officer, and professor of philosophy at Roberts Wesleyan College.
Kristen Brown
Executive Director of Seminary Administration, Assistant Professor of Church and Mission
Ms. Brown's earned degrees include: Ph.D. ABD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; M.Div., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2009, B.A. Taylor University, 2005. Ms. Brown's doctoral research focuses on changes taking place in the worldwide Christian church in the late 20th and early 21st centuries and the implications for theological education. Additional research interests include innovation in theological education, contextual theologies and world Christianity, mission and the local church, and intergenerational Christian formation. She is a member of the Evangelical Missiological Society and the Society for Professors in Christian Education.
Dr. F. David Carr
Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies
David Carr teaches and researches New Testament and biblical interpretation. His interests are in selfhood, identity, and moral agency in the New Testament and how insights into these matters can inform contemporary discourse and practice. He earned a B.A. from Georgia College, and M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from Candler School of Theology, and a Ph.D. from Emory University. He is a candidate for ordained ministry in The United Methodist Church and a John Wesley Fellow. He and his wife, Maria, have two children--Isiah (Zay) and Joshua (Jojo).
Dr. Scott Brenon Caton
Professor of History and Culture
Dr. Caton, an alumnus of Roberts Wesleyan College, received a B.A. in philosophy and religion there in 1986. He went on to receive a Master of Arts in Religion (M.A.R.) at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1988. He earned the Ph.D. in history (major field: American history; minor fields: British history and British literature) from the University of Rochester in 1998. Dr. Caton is professor of history at Roberts Wesleyan College, where he has been teaching since 1990. He is a founding faculty member of Northeastern Seminary. His research interests include American and British Puritanism, the English Reformation, 19th and 20th century American evangelicalism, the lives and writings of John Henry Newman and Hilaire Belloc, and the work of American cultural critic Orestes Brownson. He is a founding member of the Rochester Chapter of the American Chesterton Society. Dr. Caton is one of the few men in the world who has received permission from Rome to be ordained a priest in the Roman Catholic Church although he is married. He was ordained in June, 2011. He presently serves part-time as Assisting Priest at St. Lawrence Parish in Greece, N.Y.
Dr. Elizabeth L. Gerhardt
Professor of Theology and Social Ethics
Dr. Gerhardt’s earned degrees include: Th.D., Boston University School of Theology; Masters of Sacred Theology (STM), Boston University School of Theology; M.S.W., Rhode Island College; M.A., Religious Studies, Providence College; B.A., State University of New York at Geneseo.
Dr. Gerhardt has extensive background in the areas of theology, church history, and social ethics. Dr. Gerhardt’s research interests focus on the application of the theology of the cross to contemporary global justice issues and church response. Other topics of interest include: Martin Luther’s theology of the cross, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s ethics and theology, women in church history, spirituality and social justice, and global violence against women. Dr. Gerhardt’s most recent publication is titled The Cross and Genocide: A Theological Response to Global Violence against Women and Children (InterVarsity Press, 2014).
Dr. Nelson J. Grimm
Professor of Applied Theology
Dr. Grimm’s earned degrees include: Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo; M.S., Canisius College; M.Div., Asbury Theological Seminary; B.A., Roberts Wesleyan College. His doctoral research considered the relationships between religiosity, spirituality, and life satisfaction.
Dr. Grimm brings to Northeastern Seminary extensive ministry experience — pastoring, conference superintendent within the Free Methodist Church of North America, and chaplain — as well as interacting with other pastors, churches, and organizations in leadership/advisory capacities. He has served as a member of the Ministerial Education and Guidance Board of the Genesee Conference of the Free Methodist Church, is a clinical member of the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, and a member of the Evangelical Association of Theological Field Educators. Such expertise provides the Seminary with a strong internship program. Dr. Grimm teaches a variety of courses in the area of applied theology.
Rev. Dr. Fred Johnson
Director of Field Education
D.Min., Northeastern Seminary, 2007; M.A., Northeastern Seminary, 2001; M.B.A., Rochester Institute of Technology, 1994; B.S., Delaware State University, 1988. Rev. Johnson is an ordained clergyman in the Baptist Church. Rev. Johnson is the executive director for the Southwest Area Development Corporation (SWADCO), which is a not-for-profit economic development organization of the Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church. Professionally, Rev. Johnson is employed in corporate finance and has been recognized by the Rochester Business Journal as a “40 under 40” honoree. His areas of special interest: church administration and finances, economic and community development.
Dr. Rebecca S. Letterman
Professor of Spiritual Formation
Dr. Letterman holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics, Cornell University; an M.A. in Linguistics, Syracuse University; an M.Div., Northeastern Seminary; and a B.A. in English, Roberts Wesleyan College. In addition, she holds an advanced Certificate in Formative Spirituality from the Epiphany Academy of Formative Spirituality, Pittsburgh, PA, where she also serves as an adjunct faculty member. Dr. Letterman was ordained through Covenant Church of Pittsburgh, 2004. Dr. Letterman’s current pastoral ministry at Community of the Savior Free Methodist Church provides an ongoing context for her interests to serve the church through the seminary academy. She regularly serves as a retreat leader and workshop leader in local churches. Dr. Letterman's research interests include the intersection of spiritual formation and theology; formative influences of language; formative treasures of the early church and what they have to offer the contemporary church; and the interrelationship between what the church has traditionally conceived of as “spirit” and the “body.” Dr. Letterman’s ministerial focus includes a special interest in serving as a bridge between various Christian communities and formation traditions. She is the co-author of Understanding Our Story," which explores within Adrian van Kaam's eleven-volume text the many ways God continually shapes us into His image--a concept that connects us to a deeper formative spirituality than those of our own faith traditions.
Dr. J. Richard Middleton
Professor of Biblical Worldview and Exegesis
Dr. Middleton holds the following degrees: Ph.D., Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam (in a joint-degree program with the Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto); M.A. in Philosophy, University of Guelph, Canada; B.Th., Jamaica Theological Seminary, Kingston, Jamaica. He has done additional graduate studies in the Old Testament at Colgate Rochester Divinity School, and in religious studies and philosophy at Syracuse University.
Dr. Middleton serves as adjunct professor of theology at Roberts Wesleyan College and adjunct professor of Old Testament at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Kingston, Jamaica. He is past president of the Canadian Evangelical Theological Association (2011-2014).
Dr. Middleton is the author of A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (Baker Academic, 2014) and The Liberating Image: The Imago Dei in Genesis 1 (Brazos, 2005). He coauthored (with Brian Walsh) The Transforming Vision: Shaping a Christian World View (IVP Academic, 1984) and Truth is Stranger than It Used to Be: Biblical Faith in a Postmodern Age (IVP Academic, 1995), and has co-edited (with Garnett Roper) A Kairos Moment for Caribbean Theology: Ecumenical Voices in Dialogue (Pickwick, 2013).
Dr. Middleton is widely published in religious periodicals and journals. His current research includes Old Testament theology; the doctrine of creation; lament prayer and the problem of suffering; the dynamics of human and divine power in the books of Genesis, Samuel, and Job; and the relationship of biblical faith to contemporary science. His books have been published in Korean, French, Indonesian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Dr. Josef Sykora
Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program, Assistant Professor of Biblical Interpretation
Dr. Sykora’s earned degrees include Ph.D. from Durham University in the United Kingdom; M.A. in biblical studies and M.A. in theological studies from Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky; and Masters in Law from Masaryk University in Brno, the Czech Republic.
Dr. Sykora’s doctoral research focused on the topic of election in the Bible. In particular, he was trying to see what can be said about God’s favor for certain individuals and groups in the Old Testament, and what this means for those who are unfavored. Dr. Sykora has served in senior and assistant pastoral roles in Bratislava, Slovakia, and as a missionary responsible for theological training.
Dr. Christopher Zoccali
Visiting Assistant Professor of New Testament
Dr. Zoccali holds the following degrees: Ph.D., New Testament Studies, University of Wales, Trinity St. David, 2009; M.A., Religious Studies, Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, 2002; B.S., Biblical and Pastoral Studies, Baptist Bible College, 2000. Dr Zoccali is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian-American Theological Review and has taught Biblical and Religious Studies at several institutions, including Roberts Wesleyan, Nazareth, and Empire State Colleges. He is the author of two books, including Reading Philippians After Supersessionism: Jews, Gentiles, and Covenant Identity (2017), as well as a number of other publications on the New Testament.