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    Who We Are

    MISSION: To catalyze and empower thoughtful Christian presence and practice at colleges and universities around the world, in service of the common good.

    What is a Study Center?

    A Hub of Christian Community & Learning

    Christian Study Centers are hubs of Christian community, hospitality and learning—gathering places for students and scholars animated by the ancient ideal of faith seeking understanding.

    Located at (or adjacent to) secular colleges and universities, study centers support and complement their host institutions’ mission to discover and disseminate knowledge by providing co-curricular programming that leans into the enduring human questions of meaning, purpose and value. Programming typically consists of lectures, courses, reading or film discussion groups, and fellows programs, often in a residential or other hospitality-oriented facility.

    By aiming at deeply integrated and transformational knowledge and callings for Christian students, faculty, staff, and administrators who work within and serve pluralistic universities, study centers thus take up the historic mission of the college as an educational institution pursuing the moral and intellectual formation of persons.

    – Karl E. Johnson

    Most Christian Study Centers sponsor programming that consists of lectures, courses, reading or film discussion groups, and fellows programs, often in a residential or other hospitality-oriented facility. But that is not what a study center is. That is what a study center does.

    Promotion of a Christian World & Life View
    Christians believe that their faith best fits with the reality that God has created, and so we seek to see individuals transformed by that trust as individuals, as well as members of society, the family, and the Church. Christian Study Centers help students understand themselves and their place in God’s world and help them solve the problems that arise in the daily world of the university. Study centers are places for “bringing it all together,” for the development of a Christian perspective by which to make decisions that lead to a well-ordered life in the fullness of God’s revelation. Helping individuals along the road to formulating a properly comprehensive, cohesive, and Christian understanding of the meaning of things is a major task of many Christian Study Centers.
    Salt & Light in the University Community
    Christian Study Centers are also servants to the thought-life of the university. They can and do stand alongside university departments by providing lectures and discussions that add to the body of knowledge the university provides to society. Study Center staff love learning for its own sake and work with the university to achieve its educational goals and other benefits. More and more Christian Study Centers are being invited to participate fully in the life of the university, profoundly affecting individuals as well as structures and institutions.
    Servant & Unifier of the Church and the Parachurch
    Christian Study Centers also aim to gather and unite the parachurch and the Church. They often provide for both increased resources of Christian education, ministry and fellowship, as well as office space and meeting places for both. Churches and parachurch ministries that have a healthy respect and love for the university and its practices, while acknowledging the unique additions the Christian faith has to bring to those practices, find a welcome home in the Christian Study Center.
    Learn More

    Leadership

    Karl E. Johnson

    Executive Director
    Prior to becoming Executive Director in 2021, Karl served as Founder of Chesterton House at Cornell University for twenty years. He received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Cornell and served for ten years as the inaugural Dan Tillemans Director of the Cornell Team and Leadership Center. In 2008, Karl became a founding board member of the Consortium—he served on the board for ten years and as board chair for five years. In 2020 he helped launch the Octet Collaborative (MIT) in the capacity of Chief Strategist.
    Bio

    Team

    Frederick Barber

    Frederick Barber

    Director of Strategic Initiatives

    Frederick Barber has built several marketing strategy and analytics businesses, serving as CEO of Response:AI, a market research technology company, and as Chief Analytic Officer of Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, now part of Accenture. Fred earned a BA magna cum laude in Sociology from Cornell where he served on the Student Assembly. He holds a Masters in Demography (Georgetown), and a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership (Regent University), where his work focused on the role of spiritual disciplines in entrepreneurship. He teaches data analytics as an Adjunct Professor in the MBA program at LeTourneau University. Fred and his wife Alice have three daughters and attend Trietsch Memorial UMC in Flower Mound, TX. Dr. Barber has also advised the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell, overseen His People Africa Missions in South Africa and Namibia, and served as board chair of Chesterton House at Cornell.
    Bio
    Elaine Rollogas

    Elaine Rollogas

    Operations Manager

    Elaine Rollogas is the Operations Manager of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers. Before coming to work with the Consortium, Elaine had several roles at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City since 1990, ending as the Managing Director of Operations and Volunteer Mobilization. She studied business in Nebraska and has training in grant writing, volunteer management and computer programming. She divides her time between an interest in Bible Study, photography, sports, and exploring new towns and communities around Charlottesville.
    Bio
    Marie Trotter

    Marie Trotter

    Bookkeeper

    Marie Trotter is the part-time Bookkeeper and Administrative Assistant of the Consortium of Christian Study Centers. She is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a degree in Secondary Education. Marie taught second graders for twenty-seven years at The Covenant School in Charlottesville and was honored by the school, naming the second-grade classroom after her when she retired. She is married to Drew and enjoys long walks, gardening, tending to the grandchildren when she gets the chance – and greatly mourns the completion of Downtown Abbey.
    Bio
    Charity Wahrenberger

    Charity Wahrenberger

    Internship Program Director

    Charity Wahrenberger is the Internship Program Director. Charity has spent the last 25 years directing programs and developing leaders as an independent consultant, as the Director of the Center for Public Justice’s CIE initiative, the Assistant Dean of Nyack College’s Washington, DC campus, and as an Area Director for CCO. Charity is actively engaged in the Pittsburgh Community. She has served as a volunteer for Pittsburgh Mercy’s homeless outreach program, Operation Safety Net, and as a member of the Executive Service Corp with the Covestro Center for Community Engagement. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Pittsburgh Urban Christian School and The Association for Public Justice. In her down time, you will find Charity out in the woods with her husband Todd and her dog Scout.
    Bio

    Board of Directors

    Eugene Habecker

    Eugene Habecker

    Chair

    Bio
    Eugene Habecker is the President Emeritus of Taylor University and previous Chairman of the Board for Christianity Today. He also served in presidencies at the American Bible Society (1991-2005) and Huntington University (1981-1991). Eugene received his bachelor’s degree from Taylor University, his master’s degree from Ball State University, and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. He is also a graduate of Temple University School of Law (JD) and is an inactive member of the Pennsylvania Bar. Eugene is the recipient of nine honorary degrees and has traveled in more than 90 countries.
    Laura Lynch

    Laura Lynch

    Vice Chair & Secretary

    Bio
    Laura Lynch serves as the Director of Development for the Christian Study Center of Gainesville at the University of Florida. Laura and her husband Jay had the privilege of launching the Christian Study Center of Gainesville in 2000. In the study center’s early days, Laura served as building manager, volunteer recruiter, prayer team leader, and publicity manager. Laura received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia where she was involved in many campus ministries, including the Center for Christian Study. Laura has experience serving on numerous boards, most recently with Gainesville Thrives, an educational non-profit.
    Patty Wolf

    Patty Wolf

    Patricia “Patty” Wolf is a seasoned ministry leader who brings extensive board leadership experience to the Consortium. She holds a B.A in Liberal Studies and an M.A in Professional Counseling. Prior to her counseling career, Patty worked in the semiconductor industry, developing working systems for the manufacture, marketing, and sale of products. Her board experience includes Thrive Ministry, Greater Europe Mission, Tenfold BPO, Restoring the Soul, and Denver Seminary and Mission Training International. Patty and her husband Don, who together are deeply committed to Christian Higher Education, enjoy their 4 married children, 13 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. Their pastimes include international travel, fly-fishing and golfing.
    Bio
    Mike Weaver

    Mike Weaver

    Treasurer

    Bio
    Mike Weaver is the Executive Director of the Bradley Study Center at Virginia Tech. Mike received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech, and he has earned master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Duke Divinity School. Currently, Mike is a doctoral candidate in theology at the University of Winchester in the UK. Prior to assuming his role at the Bradley Study Center, Mike served six years as a deputy commandant for the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, where he provided guidance, mentoring and education for cadets in a campus-based residential leadership development program. He also serves on the board of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Alumni, Inc.
    Karl Johnson

    Karl Johnson

    Executive Director

    Bio
    Mia Chung-Yee

    Mia Chung-Yee

    Mia Chung-Yee is the Executive Director of the Octet Collaborative at MIT. Mia has enjoyed great success internationally as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. In 1993, she won first prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition, and in 1997 she received the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the highest recognition for young concert artists in the United States. Mia graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, a master’s degree from Yale University, and a doctorate from The Juilliard School. She served as Professor of Music and Artist in Residence at Gordon College from 1991 to 2011 and joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music as Professor of Musical Studies in 2012. Mia’s introduction to the Christian study center movement occurred in 2018 when she was a guest lecturer at Cornell’s Chesterton House.
    Bio
    David Hobbet

    David Hobbet

    David Hobbet is an Associate Partner with McKinsey and Company where he helps mission-driven organizations and leader deliver significant and sustainable impact. Much of his work focuses on higher education, including strategy development, new program design and launch, enrollment management, organizational design, and transformational change. Prior to McKinsey, David served as the Executive Director of the Veritas Forum and he also has significant experience in global economic development and social sector leadership more broadly.
    Bio
    Bryan Bademan

    Bryan Bademan

    Bryan Bademan is Executive Director of Anselm House. Raised in Minnesota, he has a B.S. from the Carlson School of Management. As an undergrad he was especially inspired by the study of the Christian past, and continued his historical studies at Wheaton College (M.A.) and the University of Notre Dame (Ph.D.). His interests are in the history of Christianity with a focus on American Protestantism. Prior to joining the Anselm House team, Bryan taught history at universities in New Jersey, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. He speaks regularly on a range of topics including religion and American higher education; religion and emerging adults; Christianity and secularization in America; and a theology of work and vocation. Bryan also serves as Assistant Secretary for Finance for the American Society of Church History.

     

    Bio
    Mike Weaver

    Mike Weaver

    Chair

    Mike Weaver is the Executive Director of the Bradley Study Center at Virginia Tech. Mike received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Virginia Tech, and he has earned master’s degrees from Johns Hopkins University, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Duke Divinity School. Currently, Mike is a doctoral candidate in theology at the University of Winchester in the UK. Prior to assuming his role at the Bradley Study Center, Mike served six years as a deputy commandant for the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, where he provided guidance, mentoring and education for cadets in a campus-based residential leadership development program. He also serves on the board of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Alumni, Inc.
    Bio
    Eugene Habecker

    Eugene Habecker

    Vice Chair

    Eugene Habecker is the President Emeritus of Taylor University and previous Chairman of the Board for Christianity Today. He also served in presidencies at the American Bible Society (1991-2005) and Huntington University (1981-1991). Eugene received his bachelor’s degree from Taylor University, his master’s degree from Ball State University, and his doctorate from the University of Michigan. He is also a graduate of Temple University School of Law (JD) and is an inactive member of the Pennsylvania Bar. Eugene is the recipient of nine honorary degrees and has traveled in more than 90 countries.
    Bio
    Laura Lynch

    Laura Lynch

    Secretary

    Laura Lynch serves as the Director of Development for the Christian Study Center of Gainesville at the University of Florida. Laura and her husband Jay had the privilege of launching the Christian Study Center of Gainesville in 2000. In the study center’s early days, Laura served as building manager, volunteer recruiter, prayer team leader, and publicity manager. Laura received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia where she was involved in many campus ministries, including the Center for Christian Study. Laura has experience serving on numerous boards, most recently with Gainesville Thrives, an educational non-profit.
    Bio
    Karl Johnson

    Karl Johnson

    Executive Director

    Bio
    Mia Chung-Yee

    Mia Chung-Yee

    Mia Chung-Yee is the Executive Director of the Octet Collaborative at MIT. Mia has enjoyed great success internationally as a solo recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. In 1993, she won first prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition, and in 1997 she received the Avery Fisher Career Grant, the highest recognition for young concert artists in the United States. Mia graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard College, a master’s degree from Yale University, and a doctorate from The Juilliard School. She served as Professor of Music and Artist in Residence at Gordon College from 1991 to 2011 and joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music as Professor of Musical Studies in 2012. Mia’s introduction to the Christian study center movement occurred in 2018 when she was a guest lecturer at Cornell’s Chesterton House.
    Bio
    David Hobbet

    David Hobbet

    David Hobbet is an Associate Partner with McKinsey and Company where he helps mission-driven organizations and leader deliver significant and sustainable impact. Much of his work focuses on higher education, including strategy development, new program design and launch, enrollment management, organizational design, and transformational change. Prior to McKinsey, David served as the Executive Director of the Veritas Forum and he also has significant experience in global economic development and social sector leadership more broadly.
    Bio

    History

    Directors met in St. Paul, MN in 2008 to formally form CCSC. From left to right: Drew Trotter, David Mahan, Randy Bare, Karl Johnson, & Bob Osburne.
    First Annual Meeting in 2011
    2011 Symposium
    2016 Vocation Project students with Drew Trotter
    2019 Annual Meeting in Chicago
    CCSC staff Fall 2022

    1970s & 1980s

    The Consortium of Christian Study Centers grows out of the grassroots Christian Study Center movement. University-based study centers, influenced by destination study centers such as L’Abri and the lay theological education movement led by Regent College (Vancouver, BC), first emerged in North America in the 1970s and 1980s. The earliest centers include the Center for Christian Study (UVA, Charlottesville, 1975), New College Berkeley (UC Berkeley, 1977) and the MacLaurin Institute (UMN, Twin Cities, 1982).
     

    1990s

    The 1990s was a fertile decade for Christian scholarship generally and the study center movement in particular. Taking to heart the message of manifestos for Christian learning such as Mark Noll’s Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1994) and George Marsden’s Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship (1997), combined with the creative and catalytic periodical Books & Culture: A Christian Review, new centers began popping up, mostly at research universities. By the end of the decade, these included Rivendell Institute (Yale, 1995), the Christian Study Center of Gainesville (UF, 2000) and Chesterton House (Cornell, 2000). In 1998, when Drew Trotter was invited to give the Francis Schaeffer Memorial Lectures at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, a handful of center directors intentionally gathered to discuss their common vision for the first time.

    2000s

    Similar informal gatherings of center directors continued intermittently for about a decade. In July 2007, a dozen directors gathered at Chesterton House and resolved to formalize their collective endeavor. In July 2008, representatives of six centers met in St. Paul, MN, and officially formed the Consortium of Christian Study Centers. The founders were Randy Bare of Westminster House (UC, Berkeley), Rick Howe of the Dayspring Institute, (CU Boulder), Karl Johnson of Chesterton House, Dave Mahan of Rivendell Institute, Bob Osburn of the MacLaurin Institute (now Anselm House) and Drew Trotter of the Center for Christian Study. They crafted a mission statement, adopted by-laws and appointed Drew Trotter as full-time Executive Director, to begin Jan. 1, 2009.

    2010s

    With the mission of service to member centers, in 2011 the Consortium held its first Annual Meeting—an opportunity for center staff to engage one another in workshops and seminars related to all aspects of center management and programming, as well as to hear keynote addresses from invited scholars. Twenty-two representatives attended. Karl Johnson, David Mahan and Drew Trotter led a panel discussion, sharing insights on what they had learned in a combined fifty years of study center experience. Attendees included several recent center founders, including Missy DeRegibus of Cogito (Hampden-Sydney College, 2010), Rimes McElveen of Mere Christianity Forum (Furman, 2001), Ben Sanders of Arizona Center for Christian Studies (ASU, 2011) as well as Edward Dixon, who would soon start the Center for Christianity and Scholarship (Duke, 2012).

     

    Also in 2011, the Consortium held its first Symposium—an opportunity for center staff and board members to meet for discussion with an author of a recent book over a 24-hour retreat. Eighteen center staff and board members representing nine centers met with James Davison Hunter to discuss To Change the World (2010). Hunter’s notion of faithful presence soon became an influential complement to the movement’s earlier emphasis on Christian scholarship.

     

    In 2016, the Consortium rolled out The Vocation Project, which allows center-affiliated students to attend two weeks of summer school at Regent College in Vancouver, BC, and engage in discussions of vocation and Christian life and study with Drew Trotter and various visiting scholars.

     

    By the end of the decade, the Consortium had 29 member centers and 32 partner organizations. The Consortium office in Charlottesville had 2.5 staff members including Elaine Rollogas, who joined the Consortium as its first full-time Operations Manager in 2014, and Marie Trotter, who became Administrative Assistant in 2016. The 2019 Annual Meeting in Chicago drew over 80 participants. At the meeting, a letter from Karl Johnson, Board Chair, was read indicating that Drew Trotter would step down as Executive Director in December 2020.
     

    2020 & Beyond

    Despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement continued to grow and thrive. Five new centers joined the Consortium in 2020 and 2021, and several existing centers embarked on multi-million-dollar capital campaigns related to the purchase and remodeling of physical facilities. At the end of 2021, a survey found that two-thirds of centers own their own facility, the largest of these being Upper House (UW Madison).

    In January 2021, Karl Johnson succeeded Drew Trotter as Executive Director, while Trotter assumed the new role of Senior Scholar. The 2021 Annual Meeting, held virtually over five days spread throughout the month of July, included over 40 workshops and was attended by over 100 staff and board members. In the fall of that year, the Consortium held a well-attended webinar featuring New Testament scholar N.T. Wright.

    During the winter of 2021-2022, the Consortium added two new positions. Kim Glass joined the staff team as Communications and Development Manager, and Charity Wahrenberger became the ministry’s Internship Program Director. Kim promptly redesigned the webpage and also the e-newsletter, now called Periscope. The new Internship Program was made possible by grants from three foundations totaling more than $500,000. In the summer of 2022, we finally resumed normal in-person programs. The Vocation Project at Regent College was led by Dr. Fred Barber, and the 2022 Annual Meeting was hosted by Upper House, the study center at UW Madison.

    In 2023, the Annual Meeting was held at the brand new Anselm House facility in Minneapolis, MN with 120 attendees. Executive Directors enjoyed a pre-conference with philosopher Oliver O’Donovan, and on the last evening we honored Drew Trotter for his many years of service to the Consortium and the movement. In other news, the Consortium received a two-year continuation grant for the Internship Program.

    2024 was another year of healthy and steady growth for the Consortium. Two new centers joined up—the NC State Study Center in Raleigh, NC, and the Saviourgate Study Centre in York, England. In addition to formally receiving our first international center into the network, we are in contact with a dozen or so other emerging centers in Argentina, Germany, Hungary, South Africa, and elsewhere. The Annual Meeting, hosted by the North Carolina Study Center, reached new heights with nearly 150 attendees. The meeting was anchored by keynoters Greg Jones, president of Belmont College, and Chris Clemens, UNC provost. The Internship Program also continued along its growth trajectory—from five to eight full-time interns. Three former interns (and soon a fourth) are now serving in full-time staff roles at study centers.

    Kim Glass moved on for an excellent professional opportunity, and we hired Dr. Fred Barber into a new (part-time) role as Director of Strategic Initiatives. Fred’s role is closely related to the newly adopted strategic plan and the Consortium’s first Capital Campaign. With Fred’s expertise in organizational design and program planning, we aim to speed up the process of starting new hubs of Christian community, hospitality and learning at strategically located secular universities.

     

    Statement of Faith

    Christian Study Centers seek to inhabit and serve the academic campuses and communities of which we are a part – and to do so as Christians. While welcoming persons of all faiths to events and programming, the Consortium and its members affirm the historic, orthodox beliefs of the Christian faith as summarized in the Apostles’ Creed.
    Christian Study Centers seek to inhabit and serve the academic campuses and communities of which we are a part, and to do so as Christians. While welcoming persons of all faiths to events and programming, the Consortium and its members affirm the historic, orthodox beliefs of the Christian faith as summarized in the Apostles’ Creed.

    Impact

    36

    Christian Study Centers located in the US & United Kingdom

    136,263

    square feet of space dedicated to serving students at Study Centers

    20%

    increase in Annual Meeting attendance from 2023 to 2024

    Our Member Centers

    Since our inception in 2008, the Consortium has grown from four to more than 30 member centers.