Dr. Burkholder says, “I enjoy working for Au Sable because we have students and faculty who are interested in learning about how to become good/better stewards of God’s creation.”

Scott enjoys the intense and intimate structure of Au Sable that allows him to concentrate not on only his course, but also learning from the other recognized experts around him.  Top that off with fantastic fellowship with the students, and he has found the Au Sable experience to be an absolutely wonderful time and amazing setting to explore our Creator's handiwork.

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Previously, he conducted environmental impact studies on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania as a Research Biologist and Director of Aquatic Research. Over the years, he has made about 60 trips to 20 countries for work on water-related projects, with special interest in community-based watershed stewardship.

He began teaching at the Au Sable Institute in the mid-1990s and has enjoyed the natural beauty and faculty camaraderie at the Great Lakes and Pacific Rim campuses, as well as the opportunity to explore faith-science integration with inquisitive students.

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Prior to teaching at Calvin College, he worked for 15 years at Syngenta Seeds, ultimately becoming Global Head of Seed Production Research. David’s research includes work on utilizing green space for carbon sequestration and understanding the characteristics that allow invasive shrub species to thrive, specifically glossy buckthorn and autumn olive.

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He has over fifteen years of experience serving churches and communities in poverty-stricken regions. His research has bridged creation care, poverty studies, sustainability, geography of religion and human/environment interaction. His publications include, among others, a sidebar in Senator John Edwards book Ending Poverty in America, a chapter on Sustainable Missions in the Evangelical Missionary Society’s 2010 Annual Volume, and numerous encyclopedia articles on creation care and the environment. His writing has appeared in Green Culture, Green Education, Environmental Politics, Annals of the Association of American Geographers,GeoCarto International, The American Religious Experience, The Canadian Geographer, Journal of Religion Nature and Culture,Geographic Education of the Islamic Culture Region, International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dictionary of Critical Realism, and the Encyclopedia of Geography. In the summer of 2010 Dr. Ferber was one of eight scholars selected for a Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) Seminar in Shanghai and Beijing, China. He has taught numerous courses at King’s and at West Virginia University including 'Humankind and the Biosphere,' 'Environmental Impact Assessment,' 'Natural Resource Management,' 'Human Geography,' 'Geographic Information Systems,' 'Urban Geography,' and 'Urban and Regional Planning.' He enjoys working at Au Sable for numerous reasons, but especially for the depth of conversation and understanding the Au Sable format provides for students and professors.

Orin completed his undergraduate degree at Calvin College, his Master’s at Western Michigan University, and his Ph.D. at Northwestern University. His research interests are in watershed analysis and ecology; floodplain and forest ecology; the migration, orientation, and navigation of birds; and science education.

Orin serves on the Board of Directors for Au Sable.

His research interests involve the movements and interactions of wildlife across landscape matrices with emphasis on the impact of white-tailed deer on other animal movements. He also works on developing ecological models for teaching ecology concepts to students and helping undergraduate students with their research.

Rob says, "My love for Au Sable goes back to 1982 when I was a student  here. The relationships that I developed and the things that I learned were a great part of who I became and what I am currently doing. The opportunity to now share that with this generation of Au Sable students is a true joy for me."

He received his B.S. in Biology from Yale University and his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985. His research includes stream assessment, macro-invertebrate assays, and the interface between faith and science.  

Dan says, “I love coming to Au Sable because of the setting and the people. I learn something new every time I go, and it gives me a chance to share my passion for the Creation and for our stewardship responsibilities.”

John was raised in Northern California and attended California Lutheran College at Thousand Oaks where he double majored in biology and geology. He went on to earn an M.S. at California State University and then his Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His current research is on developing biofuels from algae. Previously, he conducted aquaculture research in Norway as part of a Fulbright grant and Marshall Fund Award.

John, his wife Sally, and their four daughters enjoy traveling, fishing, hiking and scuba diving.

John says, “I love the whole concept of why Au Sable Environmental Institute exists– ‘…a Christian ministry that provides field-based, college-level courses to train and educate future leaders in environmental studies and inspire the greater Christian community to care for God’s Creation.’  I appreciate the collegiality that I’ve experienced among brothers and sisters in Christ from various Christian backgrounds. And I am committed to integrating practical, hands-on work that provides close interactions between our course and local lake property homeowners to learn about how they can care for, preserve, and protect their lakes.”

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During his career, he has published or been cited for his work in animal ecology by the Smithsonian Institute, Journal of Mammalogy, Journal of Wildlife Management, Copeia, Southwestern Naturalist, Texas Journal of Science, and Herpetological Review. His passion for helping students learn includes assisting them in writing papers of publishable quality to be submitted to journals for publication.

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Prior to coming to Au Sable, he was a biology professor at Western Michigan University and a Field Representative for the Michigan Field Office of the Nature Conservancy. These educational and occupational experiences helped him acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to teach courses at Au Sable and nurtured his life-long commitment to the conservation and restoration of land and water resources.

Dave says, “It has been a privilege to work with the students, professors, staff and board members who have been part of this effort. Because Au Sable is a relatively small organization, all our staff wear multiple hats. In my case I have managed finances and people, taught multiple courses, recruited students to our program, developed relationships with many in the academic community all over North America, done some foundational ecological research, and been privileged to be a learner in many different settings. As our participants discover, Au Sable is more than people, buildings and the natural world. It is the synergy (and energy!) that develops when these elements are all brought together in concert with the grace of God.”

His research focus is exposure assessment and environmental epidemiology with a particular focus on health effects related to air pollution. Luke has current research projects on exposures related to wood smoke in Peru (pregnant women) and the southeastern U.S. (forest firefighters). He teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in environmental science, environmental health science, and air pollution at UGA, and is currently the major professor for several MS, PhD, and DrPH graduate students.

Luke has taught at Au Sable (Pacific Rim) since 2007, where he deeply enjoys:

• introducing students to the important, fascinating, complex, and multi-disciplinary field of environmental health;
• providing students with the tools needed to understand how environmental systems function, how human activities impact these systems, and in turn how the altered systems affect humans;
• enabling students to identify and discuss current environmental health-related problems, as well as solutions to the problems;
• challenging students to reflect on the role their faith has in all these issues, and considering how their individual actions and lifestyle choices impact the environment;
• teaching students in the amazingly beautiful and diverse outdoors classrooms available in the Pacific Northwest – from rocky coastlines, to alpine meadows, and everything in between.

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Rafe received a B.A. in Biology from Westmont College and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska where he studied parasites of ducks (M.S.) and gill parasites of marine fishes (Ph.D.). He taught at Biola University for 38 years teaching: Marine Mammals, Marine Biology, Ecology, Ornithology and Parasitology. He also directed and taught Biola's Baja Program for 31 years. In addition to his academic work, he has served as shipboard naturalist on the M/V Searcher for 20 years on their long-range whalewatch/natural history trips off Baja California, Mexico.


Rafe has been married to his wife, Jan, for 47 years. They live in Buena Park, California. They have one son, Luke, a photographer, and one dog, Pancho, a Parson Jack Russell, and a house in Baja California, Mexico.

Rafe says, “I love teaching Marine Mammals for Au Sable at the Pacific Rim campus. The students are enthusiastic scholars and dedicated to stewardship of creation with a passion. Teaching in a place where we can actually observe orcas, porpoises, and seals is very exciting.”

Ken earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Dordt College and Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University. His research investigates the relationships between various land use patterns and bird diversity and abundance.  

Ken says, “I count my time at Au Sable as one of God’s richest blessings to me. Au Sable affords the delicious pleasure of exploring many beautiful corners of the creation alongside a delightful mix of energetic young men and women.”

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Sam received his B.A. in Biology from Asbury College, M.S. in Environmental Studies from Baylor University, and Ph.D. in Zoology from Michigan State University. His research interests are in multi-function landscapes, landscape ecology, agricultural ecology, biology of birds & dragonflies, and technology in education.


Sam says, “Au Sable’s a great place because of the opportunity to intentionally integrate faith and science and the personal interactions with like-minded faculty and students.”

Jamie received his B.S. in Environmental Science from Wheaton College, then received his M.S. in Theology from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and his Ph.D. in Natural Resource Policy from Cornell University. Prior to teaching at Calvin College, Jamie taught at Valparaiso University in Indiana. His research interests are in federal land and resource policy and the American west, focusing specifically on the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

His research areas are paleontology, biogeography, and the history of geological and evolutionary thought. More specifically, his past and present research includes studies of rock-boring marine invertebrates in the intertidal zone of the Gulf of California in Sonora, Mexico, Neogene fossil fishes from western North America; anatomy and systematics of salmonid fishes, analysis of fish remains from archaeological sites in New Mexico and west Michigan, and assisting in developing a computerized database of Pleistocene mammalian fossil sites for North America. One of his most exciting and unique experiences was directing the excavation of a full Mastodon skeleton at Ada Bible Church in Cascade, Michigan.

Eric received his B.S. in Forestry from the University of Illinois followed by a M.S. in Forest Management from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Ph.D. in Forest Science from Colorado State University. Most recently, he received his Master of Divinity from Assembly of God Theological Seminary. His research focuses on Alpine Ecology of the Cascade Mountains and sustainability and transformational development.

He served as Acting Director of the University of Wisconsin Herbarium (1993-1997), Acting Director of the Wisconsin State Herbarium (2006-2007), chair of the Botany Department (1998-2001), chair of the Biology major (2004 -2008), and Associate Editor of the Journal of Botany (2008-present). Ken received his B.S. in Biology from Calvin College. He then earned his M.A. in Botany and Ecology from Western Michigan University and his Ph.D. in Systematic and Evolutionary Biology from Washington University (St. Louis). His research interests include the phylogenetics of flowering plants; floristics and biogeography of Great Lakes flora; adaptive radiations of island, tepui, and Andean flora; molecular and morphological evolution of Myrtales, Ericales, Brassicales, Campanulales and commelinoid monocots with emphasis on Onagraceae, Combretaceae, Capparidaceae, Bromeliaceae, Rapateaceae, Lobeliaceae; biogeography of disjunctions; phylogeography of rare or invasive species; pollination biology; and theory of evolution – biological, philosophical, and religious implications.

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Dave’s research includes work on plants affecting hepatitis B virus and virus resistance in tropical crops. He also serves as a consultant to Christian missions organizations involved in tropical agriculture and has served on the board of ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization). He has also written a book on biology, Christianity, and race: Shattering the Myth of Race: Genetic Realities and Biblical Truths.

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Tim received his B.S. in Biology from Calvin College, M.S. in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana, and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from Michigan State University. His research focuses on red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), coyotes, and white-tailed deer populations.

His research is in plant phylogenetics, taxonomy, and biogeography of both tropical species of the Euphorbiaceae family and plants from the upper midwest of North America. Ben worked as an Environmental Education Intern, and other jobs, at Au Sable before going to graduate school and is greatly looks forward to returning as a faculty member in summer.

He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Geography at Calvin College. He received a double major in Geography and Political Science from Indiana University, continuing his work in geography with a Master’s degree from Texas A&M University and Ph.D. from Ohio State University. His research interests are in GIS, cartography, remote sensing, and the geography of terrorism.

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Dr. Wakefield has worked on a variety of research projects including the symbiotic relationship between algae and cnidarians, Orca whale behavior, and freshwater stream ecology. 

Tim says, “I love working for Au Sable because it gives me the opportunity to teach Marine Biology in the field.  I love to spend time with students exploring low tide areas and introducing them to the huge varieties of life that can be found there.”

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His research interests focus on sustainable agriculture, including cropping systems to reduce nitrogen leaching, bioenergy and diversity in sustainable crop systems, and cover crops/green manures. In addition to North America, he has agricultural experience in Honduras, Hungary, Kenya, Russia, Ukraine, and Zambia.  He and his wife also live on and operate a small farm where they raise sheep, alfalfa, corn, and soybeans.  They also restored and now steward a large prairie on their land.

Ron says, "I love to teach at Au Sable (and have done so regularly since 1999) because of the enthusiasm, interest, and interaction with students as we explore God’s world!"

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Dave has spent time overseas in Tanzania, Costa Rica, Belize and New Zealand. He has been teaching ecology, botany and research courses at Calvin for 16 years while doing research with students in the areas of conservation, restoration and plant evolution. Recently he has been involved in a community initiative in Grand Rapids to help churches become involved in improving the health of an urban stream, work that has included reintroducing native habitats into urban and industrial areas. Dave has taught several classes at Au Sable and loves the opportunity Au Sable courses afford to facilitate experiential learning while developing a nurturing, mutually encouraging community of Christians dedicated to tending God's world.