Our Team

Jeffrey Scholes is Professor of Religious Studies, Chair of the Department of Philosophy, and the Director of the Center for the Study of Evangelicalism at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Dr. Scholes founded the Center with support from the Henry Luce Foundation, and leads the center in developing community dialogue and scholarly resources to support the study of evangelicalism both locally and globally. His research investigates the relationship between religion and sports in American life and the history and context of American political theology.

Paul Harvey is Distinguished Professor of History and Presidential Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Dr. Harvey is associate director of the Center for the Study of Evangelicalism, and is working on an edited volume of interdisciplinary scholarship on religion, race, and democracy along the Front Range supported by the Henry Luce Foundation. His research considers the complex historical intersections of religion and race in America, including its impacts on political thought, social movements, and the development of democracy.

George Wu Bayuga is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Dr. Bayuga is associate director of the Center for the Study of Evangelicalism, and is working to produce an ethnographic film on religious diversity, race, and democracy along the Front Range supported by the Henry Luce Foundation. His research focuses on transnational Asian Christianity, the spiritual lives of Chinese Catholic nuns, and the labor processes used to establish religious identities and practices.

Benjamin M. Slightom is the inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for the Study of Evangelicalism at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Ben supports the Center’s mission by organizing events, teaching religious studies courses, and connecting with community members and scholars alike to build the future of the center. He graduated from the joint program in sociocultural anthropology and African American studies at Yale University where his research focused on religious missions, homelessness, race, and gender within Detroit’s nonprofit aid economy.

Annika Johnson is a Master’s candidate in History at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Annika serves as a Research Assistant in the Center alongside Dr. Harvey, and is working to develop relationships with local archives that house under-examined works for the study of evangelicalism. Her research examines the history of a civil discourse group promoting religious-secular dialogue in Colorado Springs.

Meredith M.B. Henson is a Master’s candidate in History at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Meredith serves as a Research Assistant in the Center alongside Dr. Paul Harvey, and is working to discover archival resources related to religion in Colorado Springs. Meredith’s research considers public memory, evangelicalism and the rise of the religious right, the retrospective view of Vietnam in the 1980s and on, and women’s roles in religion, war, and social structures.

Seiva Cunningham is a graduate of the Anthropology program at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Seiva serves as a Research Assistant in the Center alongside Dr. Bayuga and manages both archival and ethnographic projects, as well as the Center’s public presence. Her research interests include maternal and child health, and race in community health.

Cindi Jeter is an undergraduate student in Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. Cindi serves as a Research Assistant in the Center alongside Dr. Bayuga, and is working on fieldwork related to an ethnographic film. Her research interests sit at the intersection of religion, race, and class.