Dr. James R. Downey is the Executive Director, Office of Institutional Effectiveness for Regent University. In this capacity Dr. Downey provides oversight and guidance for all aspects of the continuous improvement efforts of the university including assessment, strategic planning, as well as related budgeting and program changes. Prior to this Dr. Downey served as the Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies. Dr. Downey joined Regent University after spending three years on the faculty of the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His primary focus at the War College was teaching leadership and national security policy as well as studying the security implications of emerging technologies such as robotics, biotechnology and nanotechnology. He also conducted research in national security policy with an emphasis on science and technology literacy for senior leaders. Previously Dr. Downey served as chairman of the Physics Department at Grove City College in Pennsylvania where he also taught a variety of physics courses. In 2008, Dr. Downey retired from the Air Force Reserve after a 27 year distinguished career, achieving the rank of Colonel. His assignments included research and development for advanced weapons systems as well as leadership in professional military education. In 2003 Dr. Downey was selected by the Air Force to attend the JFK School of Government at Harvard University as a National Security Fellow. Dr. Downey holds a graduate degree in nuclear physics from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois. His is a graduate of Squadron Officer School and Air Command and Staff College, as well as the AF Fellowship Program. He has a broad background in national security policy, nuclear physics, systems analysis, space systems engineering, and managing scientific research and development programs.

As of July 1, 2009, Dr. David J. Meyer will serve as Associate Professor of Government in the Department of Government, History and Criminal Justice in the School of Undergraduate Studies at Regent University. He received his BA in Russian Area Studies from Drew University (Madison, NJ), his M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University in the City of New York. He earned the graduate certificate of the W. Averell Harriman Institute for Advanced Studies of the Former Soviet Union, equivalent to a Masters of Russian Area Studies. He has taught as Full-Time Adjunct at Touro College (New York, NY), Visiting Docent at Saratov State University (Saratov, Russia), and Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Cedarville University (Cedarville, Ohio). In 2009, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies selected Dr. Meyer as an Academic Fellow to participate in an all-expense paid seminar, "Defending Democracy, Defeating Terrorism," in Israel from May 30 - June 10. The program features an intensive, 10-day course on terrorism and the threat it poses to democratic societies.

Dr. Meyer is considered an expert on Russia and the former Soviet Republics. He is also fluent in the Russian language. His specialties include international relations, comparative politics, ethnic conflict resolution, revolutions, federalism, and the history and politics of Africa, Western Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia. His most recent article is, "Collective Bail's War Against Learning: How an Instructor Can Combat Krugovaya Poruka." The Journal of Ethnographic and Quantitative Research in Education. 2 (October, 2007).

Dr. Moreno-Riano is Associate Professor of Government and Chair of the Department of Government, History and Criminal Justice in the School of Undergraduate Studies at Regent University. Dr. Moreno-Riano served as Academic Fellow in the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (2005) allowing him to travel to Israel for counter-terrorism education and training. He has been a fellow of the Center for Political Studies (Cedarville University) and the Center for the Study of Democratic Citizenship (University of Cincinnati). He is also recipient of a prestigious Templeton Enterprise Award granted by The John Templeton Foundation and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute for his scholarly article "Natural Law and Modern Economic Theory" which appeared in the Journal of Markets and Morality. In 2008, Dr. Moreno-Riano was selected as a Lehrman Fellow to participate in the Lehrman American Studies Center at Princeton University.  In the fall of that same year, Dr. Moreno-Riano was invited to deliver the inaugural Iwata Distinguished Lectures at Biola University- a set of lectures focusing on Christianity and politics, economics, and natural law.  His current research investigates the role of digital technologies within democratic politics and citizenship.  Dr. Moreno-Riano has published four books as well as several scholarly articles and book chapters in such areas as medieval political philosophy, democratic theory, and natural law.

Dr. Moreno-Riano holds a B.A. (cum laude) from Cedarville University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Cincinnati

Michael Patrick serves as Dean of the School of Communication & the Arts at Regent University. Patrick joined Regent University in 2002 after a 30-plus year career as a journalist, including stints at CNN International and CBN News. His journalistic background includes work in network television news, newspapers, radio, and the internet. As a journalist, Patrick directed news operations in the Middle East and covered conflicts in the region. Based on his travels and experiences, Patrick has trained journalists and taught courses related to newsgathering and terrorism. He holds a Masters degree in Communication, and he is completing work on a doctorate in Organizational Leadership at Regent University.

Professor Walid Phares is a Senior Fellow and the director for Future Terrorism Project at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington (2001-2009). He is also a Visiting Fellow with the European Foundation for Democracies in Brussels (2006-2009).

He is Fox News Terrorism and Middle East Expert since 2007 and has been MSNBC-NBC Terrorism Analyst from 2003 to the end of 2006.

Professor Phares has been an advisor to the US House of Representatives Caucus on Counter Terrorism since 2007 and to the Trans Atlantic Legislative Group on Counter Terrorism since 2008.

He teaches Global Strategies at the National Defense University in Washington DC since 2006 and he has been a Professor of Middle East Studies, Ethnic and Religious Conflict at the Department of Political Science at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) from 1993 to 2006. Professor Phares has also been a senior lecturer on the War on Terror and Global Conflicts at the LLS Program of FAU and the IRP Program at the University of Miami. Previously he taught at Florida International University and at Saint Joseph University in Beirut.

Professor Phares lectures on US campuses, nationwide, and internationally including in London, Stockholm, Brussels, Strasbourg, Mexico, Geneva, Paris, Lisbon, Sao Paolo, Montreal, Rome, Berlin, Madrid, Nicosia and Beirut. He published several books and articles including in the Middle East Quarterly, Global Affairs, Journal of Middle East and South Asian Studies, Journal of International Security Affairs, Journal of Intelligence and Counter Intelligence, Homeland Security Today, and other specialized journals. He has been interviewed by national and international networks including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CNBC, NBC, PBS, Discovery Channel, C-Span, BBC TV (English-Arabic), Sky News, France 24 (English, Arabic, French), CTV, CBC, Canada Global TV, al Jazeera, al Hurra, Abu Dhabi TV, al Arabiya, LBCI, Russia Today TV, Voice of America TV, as well as local ABC, CBS, PBS, NBC and others. He appears on European, Arab, South Asian and Latin American outlets and is a frequent contributor to many US and international radio programs including BBC English and Arabic and French Canadian Radio.

Dr Phares academic field covers comparative politics and conflict and strategic studies. His current research interest focuses on the Jihadist movements and strategies worldwide, Human Rights under Islamist regimes, ethnic minorities, women, and democratic processes within the Greater Middle East and the Muslim world, Terrorism, as well as the international relations of Civilizations.

He has served as an analyst to Governments, International Organizations, NGOs and media of the ongoing world conflicts, including the War on Terrorism and the War of Ideas particularly since September 11, 2001 with regards to al Qaida and Hezbollah's ideologies and strategies, regional and local Jihadic groups, as well as Islamist strategies within the West. Dr Phares analyses the surge and development of those movements within the West, as well as in other regions including the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

He testifies to and conducts briefings at the US Congress, the European Parliament and Commission, and the UN Security Council, as well as to US State Department and other foreign ministries worldwide and to officials on Counter Terrorism in Europe and the United States.

Dr Phares also lectures to and advise the US Departments of Justice, Defense, and Homeland Security on academic research on Terrorism. He has served as an expert on Terrorism with the US and European Governments since 2003. Dr Phares serves as an academic advisor to several Human Rights and minority groups.

Since 1979, Dr Phares has published ten books on Middle East Conflicts and International Terrorism. His first post 9/11 book with Palgrave St Martin, Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies against America, published in November 2005 was a Foreign Affairs best seller in 2006. The paperback Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies against the West was published in November 2006. The War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracy was published in March 2007. His most recent book, The Confrontation: Winning the War against Future Jihad was published in March 2008. Dr Phares books were featured on summer reading lists in the US Congress and the UK House of Commons in 2007

Born and raised in Lebanon, Dr Walid Phares was educated at St Joseph and the Lebanese Universities of Beirut where he obtained degrees in Law and Political Science as well as a certificate in Sociology. He obtained a Masters in International Law from the Universite de Lyons in France and a Ph.D. in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the University of Miami.

Prior to joining Regent University, Stephen was an adjunct instructor with the State University of New York-Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, NY for three years. Stephen's background is in law enforcement and he is passionate about the criminal justice discipline. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Law & Society from Skidmore College, working for several years as a police officer in Upstate New York before completing his Master's Degree in Criminal Justice at Boston University.

While working on his graduate degree, Stephen spent abundant time in South Africa studying their criminal justice system and unique crime challenges. It was in South Africa that he met his lovely wife. In addition, he spent a significant amount of time doing missions work in both urban townships and rural villages. Practically speaking, this consisted of planting sustainable vegetable gardens for the hungry and sharing basic hunger alleviation strategies. Many of the individuals he worked with were widows and orphans, a reality that made Isaiah 58 especially come alive for him. He and his wife still maintain close ties with South Africa and actively partner in relief efforts there.

A native of southeastern Wisconsin, Dr. Rolfs attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Whitewater where he graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in history and political science. He earned his Master of Arts in Public Policy at Regent University's School of government and a Ph.D. in nineteenth-century American history at Florida State University, where he also minored in the history of the Middle East. Dr. David Rolfs joined Regent University's School of Undergraduate Studies in the summer of 2009.

His research interests include early American history, the American Civil War, World War II, Holocaust studies, Middle East civilization, and the theme of conspiracy in American history. He has authored articles on just warfare, the Holocaust, and the religious history of the American Civil War. His book, No Peace for the Wicked: Northern Protestants and the American Civil War, examines Northern Protestants' religious worldview, their motivations for fighting, and why the most religious generation in U.S. history fought America's bloodiest war.

Dr. Rolfs teaching experience includes working as an adjunct at Florida State University, Tallahassee Community College, and Barry University; and serving as an upper school history instructor at Maclay College Preparatory School for seven years. He has served on professional panels for Florida State's Program for Instructional Excellence and as an academic fellow at Northwestern University's Institute on the Holocaust and Jewish Civilization. Dr. Rolfs is a member of the American Historical Association, the Florida Conference of Historians, Phi Kappa Phi, Pi Sigma Alpha, Phi Alpha Theta and the National Council for the Social Studies. When he is not teaching or writing, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and four-year old twins.