Jon Manning is the Director of Academic Student Retention and Advising at Point Loma Nazarene University. Since 2016, he has also directed the LEAP program at PLNU, which provides a select group of incoming first-year students with academic support and shared learning experiences as a foundation for future academic success. Jon's primary area of scholarly training is New Testament studies, with particular focus on Paul, Luke, Acts, and the history of the canon.
Dr. Mark H. Mann has a passion for helping PLNU express its Wesleyan heritage and core values in ways that are meaningful to faculty, staff, students, and the broadening community. An ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene, Mann has previous experience in editing, student development, chaplaincy, and staff ministry at the local church level. Mark and his wife, Melissa, have four children: Naomi, Nathaniel, Madeleine, and Norah.
Dr. Kara Lyons-Pardue has taught New Testament and Greek courses at Point Loma Nazarene University since 2011. Dr. Lyons-Pardue earned her Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary and an M.Div. from Nazarene Theological Seminary. Her research interests in the Gospels, particularly Mark, and women in Scripture combined in her 2020 book Gospel Women and the Long Ending of Mark (T&T Clark). She contributed the commentary on Philemon in the New Beacon Bible Commentary on Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon. Dr.
Dr. Michael Lodahl has been a professor at PLNU since 1999. Prior to that, he taught 11 years at his alma mater, Northwest Nazarene University, in Idaho. Born and raised in agricultural settings of Eastern Washington, Lodahl loves the outdoors — especially the beautiful Sunset Cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean very near the campus. He most especially loves to watch for pelicans, his favorite birds by far!
Dr. Rebecca Laird teaches Christian formation and pastoral ministry courses. She had a first career in publishing while she was actively involved in urban church planting in San Francisco. An ordained minister, she has served churches in New Jersey and California and led more than 40 spiritual retreats. She has written or co-written seven books including Ordained Women in the Church of the Nazarene: The First Generation and four books on the writings of Henri Nouwen: Spiritual Formation, Spiritual Direction, Discernment, and The Heart of Henri Nouwen.
Dr. Brad E. Kelle, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew, has served at PLNU since 2004. His academic work focuses on the Old Testament prophets, warfare in ancient Israel, trauma studies, moral injury, and the history of ancient Israel and Judah.
Dr. John Wu has taught at PLNU since 2001 in the developmental and clinical areas of psychology. His research interests center on improving relational satisfaction and stability. Prior to joining PLNU, Wu worked for over a decade in university counseling centers, providing counseling to undergraduate and graduate students at UCSD and Northeastern University. He received his master's and doctorate degrees in counseling and consulting psychology from Harvard University.
Dr. Diana Sjostrom has 32 years of experience in private practice treating people struggling with depression, anxiety, and stress-related illnesses. She also has been counseling couples, families, and pre-marital relationships. Sjostrom is a certified bioenergetic analyst; she understands how the body is the outer expression of the unconscious and how this can be related to health and relationship issues in marriage. She works with individuals and couples to find resolution to unresolved emotional and thinking conflicts.
Dr. Kim Schaeffer has served in PLNU's Department of Psychology since 1989, as department chair from 1996 to 2001 and acting-chair during 2006. He completed his Ph.D. in biological psychology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and his Ph.D. equivalent in clinical psychology from Oklahoma State University (OSU). Prior to joining PLNU, Schaeffer completed his clinical psychology internship at the VA Medical Center in Memphis, TN.
