Teacher of Archaeology
Chris was born and raised in South Texas, where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Mindy. In 1999, Chris and his family went on a 10-day tour of Israel. This initial visit led to a fascination with the land of the Bible, which culminated in longer stays with IBEX and Jerusalem University College. Currently, Chris is pursuing a Ph.D. at Bar Ilan University where he is researching Israelite geo-politics and Iron Age archaeology. Chris, Mindy and their son, Samuel, currently live in the Judean Hills near the IBEX campus.
David W. Schmidt
Professor of Jewish History & Thought
Diploma in Agriculture, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
B.Th., London Baptist Bible College, Ontario, Canada
M.A., Middle East Studies, Jerusalem University College
Post Graduate Research Studies, Middle East Political History, Keele University, England
Ph.D., Middle East History, University of the Holy Land, Jerusalem
David and his wife Susan have lived in Israel for most of the time since 1989. David has pastored both in Canada and in Israel. Both David and Susan have taught at IBEX when needed.
Benjamin Foreman
Assistant Professor of the Bible, IBEX Program
B.A., Bible Exposition, The Master’s College
Graduate work at Jerusalem University College in Israel
M.A., The Bible and Its World, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the Old Testament
Ph.D., Old Testament, The University of Aberdeen
Benj has lived most of his life outside the United States. He was born in France and spent his early years there as an MK. When he was ten he moved to the States. His interest in the Old Testament took him to Israel, where he completed his Master’s degree, and where he met his wife Yael. His doctoral work was done in Scotland on the use of metaphor in the Old Testament. He has recently begun working on a project which examines the earliest Hebrew translations of the New Testament. Benj and Yael live at the IBEX campus and have one son named Yair (Hebrew for “Let him shine the light”).
William Schlegel
Associate Professor of the Bible, IBEX Program
B.S., Education and Bible, Christian Heritage College
M.A., Hebrew Language, Jerusalem University College
Bill has lived in Israel since 1984. He served on the administrative staff and faculty of Jerusalem University College (formerly the Institute of Holy Land Studies) from 1987-1995. He has been with The Master’s College – IBEX since 1995. Bill’s teaching interests include biblical history, geography, satellite mapping and Hebrew. He lives at the IBEX campus with his wife, Stephanie, and their five children: Rachel, Zach, Isaiah, Eitan and Sarah.
Wendy Simpson
Administrative Assistant
B.A. in Biblical Studies – Counseling, The Master’s College
M.A. Linguistics – English Language Teaching and Learning, University of Liverpool
Wendy is originally from Indiana, but with a name that means “wanderer” it should come as no surprise that she has done a fair amount of world travel…with Israel as a recurring theme. A graduate of The Master’s College, she worked with IBEX for the ‘97-‘98 school year, and returned again to Israel in 2001-2003 for a master’s degree and teaching internship in Tel Aviv. After completing her degree, she taught at an international school in the Philippines for 7 years, taking every opportunity to explore that area of the world. She is excited to be back in Israel working with IBEX, perhaps the greatest semester study-abroad program in existence. J
Natalie Turner
Administrative Assistant
B.A., Hebrew, The Ohio State University
Natalie grew up in Southern California and first came to Israel in the spring of 2007. She has always had a love and passion for the land of Israel and has made several return trips, including studying for a semester at IBEX. She went on to study Hebrew in the Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department at The Ohio State University. She is pleased to be back in Israel working as one of the Administrative Assistants.