Rev. Dr. Joseph Anthony DeFrancisco has been a professor of Sacramental and Spiritual theology, as well as Comparative Religions at St. Ambrose University for eighteen years.  He likewise teaches in the university’s adult education program known  as ACCEL (accelerated course program). 

Fr. Joe completed his undergraduate studies in philosophy, psychology, and theology at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. , where he also received his Master in Liturgical Theology. He did his doctoral studies at the University of St. Thomas in Rome and completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of Paris-Sorbonne.  His doctoral thesis was on the mystical theology of St. Augustine of Hippo, a fourth century Christian bishop in northern Africa and a prolific writer in Christian catechesis and theology. His areas of specialization are sacraments, liturgy, comparative religions, and spirituality. 

Office: Lower Chapel 109    

Rev. Dr. Robert “Bud” Grant is an Associate Professor and has been at Saint Ambrose since 1995. He earned a B.A. in Philosophy and History from Saint Ambrose, and did an S.T.B  in Theology, a Certification in Latin, and one year of an S.T.L. in Scripture at the Gregorian University in Rome. He also holds an M.A. in Christian Spirituality from Creighton University and a Ph. D in environmental ethics from the University of Iowa.  

Fr. Bud’s publication record includes 20-25 reviews of environmental ethics texts and a recently published book on his dissertation: A Case Study in Thomistic Environmental Ethics.   He has presented papers on environmental ethics at several national conferences. Commendations for his work on environmental ethics include a “Special Recognition” award given by the Scott Soil and Water Conservation District, and the “Eddy Award” for environmental education from RiverAction.  Aside from environmental issues his areas of interest include social justice, particularly in the Developing World. 

Fr. Bud has also served and continues to serve Saint Ambrose and its neighboring communities in various leadership capacities. These include being head coach for the men’s soccer, coordinator of GREENLIFE (an environmental group), and Director of General Education for St. Ambrose University.

 Born and raised in Southwest Iowa Fr. Bud enjoys hiking/backpacking, canoeing, snow skiing, soccer, reading, carving, prairie gardening/restoration, horseback riding, and tending his livestock made up of  horses, sheep, goats, poultry, fish, cats, and a dog named Mary.

Office: Lower Chapel 108  

Dr. Mara Adams is an Associate Professor in the area of historical theology, with a PhD in religious studies from the University of Iowa. Her dissertation, entitled "Poor Relief as Catalyst: Female Activism and Confessional Identity in Seventeenth-Century France," examined how Catholics in post-Reformation France responded to the religious confusion of the era by engaging in charitable work on behalf of the poor. Dr. Adams earned a Master of Pastoral Studies and a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Sociology, Philosophy, and Theology from St. Ambrose University.  

Dr. Adams has been at St. Ambrose University since 1988. Courses that she teaches include Introduction to Theology, Celtic Spirituality, Church History, Theology of Marriage, and Theological Anthropology. She also has courses on spirituality and healthcare as part of the university's National Institute for Health HRSA grant in partnership with Genesis Hospital. She had previously taught high school in both Ottawa, IL and Rock Island, IL.  

Dr. Adams is a member of the American Catholic Historical Association, the College Theology Society, the Catholic Theological Society of America, the American Association of University Women and the National Association of Women in Catholic Higher Education. She is the 2007-2008 Chair of the Faculty Assembly and a member of the University Strategic Planning Committee.

Office: Lower Chapel 106     

Dr. Keith Soko is an Associate Professor in the area of Moral Theology and Chair of the Theology Department. He has a Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Marquette University in the area of Ethics. His dissertation was on “Human Rights and Ecological Duties in Buddhism and Roman Catholicism: Test Case for a Global Ethic.” He has an M.A. in Religious Studies from Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles, and a B.A. in Religious Studies with a minor in Education from Marquette University.  

Dr. Soko has been at St. Ambrose since 2004. Courses that he regularly teaches include Theology 219: Introduction to Moral Issues, Theology 401: Bioethics, and Theology 101: Introduction to Theology. He previously taught at colleges in Toledo, Ohio and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has also been involved in parish ministry and high school teaching in Pasadena, California and Milwaukee. While most of his career has been in religious education, he once worked at a music publisher in Hollywood, California. Hobbies still include music, singing and songwriting.

He is a member of the Society of Christian Ethics, the College Theology Society, the Catholic Theological Society of America, the American Academy of Religion, and the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies.

Office: Lower Chapel 111  

Dr. Gemma Cruz is an Assistant Professor in the area of Systematic Theology. She has a Ph.D in Intercultural Theology from Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen in the Netherlands. Her dissertation “Into the Deep: A Theological Exploration of the Struggle of the Filipina Domestic Workers in Hong Kong” focuses on the articulation of an intercultural feminist theology of migration.

Dr. Cruz has been a member of the Faculty of Theology at Saint Ambrose since 2006. Courses that she regularly teaches include an introductory course in theology (Theo 101), a course on women theologians (Theo 340), and a course on contemporary theological issues (Theo 300). An educator for more than ten years Dr. Cruz has published more than thirty articles in journals and books in Asia, Europe, and the United States. She has also served as a consultant, paper presenter, and moderator in various conferences in the abovementioned places. Two of her publications have been translated into German and one into Italian. Her research interests include intercultural theology, particularly in the context of migration, and global Christianity.

Dr. Cruz is a member of professional organizations which include the American Academy of Religion (AAR), the Asian Women’s Resource Center for Culture and Theology (AWRC), and the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA). She has also been serving as a member of the Committee for Underrepresented Ethnic and Racial Groups of the CTSA since 2006.

Office: Lower Chapel 113  

Micah Kiel is an Assistant Professor of Theology with a specialization in Biblical Studies.  He is currently finishing his dissertation from Princeton Theological Seminary.  His dissertation focuses on the Book of Tobit and its intersection with views of retribution in contemporaneous literature, especially the wisdom of Ben Sira and the apocalyptic literature in 1 Enoch.  He has an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Music Performance from St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN.   

Micah grew up in the Minneapolis area.  He studied in Athens, Istanbul, and Rome while a student at St. John’s.  Micah was a volunteer in Belize, Central America in 1998-1999, where he taught math to ninth grade students and also taught music to the students in all four years of the high school.  He has given lectures at many churches, and has been actively involved in religious education and music at his former parish in New Jersey.  He has been a member of the faculty at St. Ambrose since August 2007.   

Micah enjoys travel, reading, baseball, and spending time outdoors with his family.  He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature and the Catholic Biblical Association.

Office: Lower Chapel 110  

Rev. Charles “Chuck” Adam is Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry. He received a B.A. in History and Philosophy from St. Ambrose University, an M.Div. from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and is currently working on a D.Min. degree at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL.  

Fr. Chuck is a priest of the Diocese of Davenport and served in parishes in the diocese for ten years prior to coming to St. Ambrose in 1996 to serve the seminary department as Rector and the Diocese of Davenport as Vocation Director. Since 2000 he has been University Chaplain and has regularly taught MPTH - 552 (Pastoral Management) and CATH 201 (Introduction to Catholic Studies).

Office: Lower Chapel 104

Rev. Dr. Edmond Dunn has been Professor of Systematic Theology at St. Ambrose since 1975. He did his doctoral work in the Boston College-Andover Newton Joint Doctoral program. He has M.Div. degrees from Andover Newton Theological School and Blessed John XXIII National Seminary, and an M.A. degree in Music from the University of Iowa. He did research in the Paleography of Gregorian Chant at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome.  

 For two years Fr. Dunn was a Papal Volunteer in South America. During his seminary years he took part in an archeological dig in Israel. He is currently the Spiritual Director of the St. Ambrose Seminary where he formerly served as Rector. As Chair of the Theology Department for many years, he began the Minor in Youth Ministry Program and the Interdisciplinary Minor in Peace and Justice. He also has been active in the Diocesan Deaconate Program and the Lay Ministry Program from their beginning.

Fr. Dunn is Pastor of St. Mary Parish, Oxford, IA, and St. Peter Parish, Cosgrove, IA. He now teaches half-time at the University. He is author of  Missionary Theology: Foundations in Development and What Is Theology: Foundational and Moral. For many years he also wrote the weekly Question Box column for the Davenport Catholic Messenger.

Office: Lower Chapel 110

Dr. Corinne Winter earned a BA in English Education from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, in 1973, an MA in Theological Studies from the University of Dayton, Ohio, in 1984, and a PhD in Systematic Theology from the university of Notre Dame, Indiana, in 1995.  Her dissertation, Ecclesiological Implications of the Current Filioque Discussion deals with currents in Trinitarian Theology and Ecumenical discussion, which are her on-going research interests.

Prof. Winter has been a member of the Theology Faculty at St. Ambrose since fall of 1994.  She regularly teaches the Introduction to Theology as well as Christology and various other seminar courses.  She has been a member of numerous faculty committees. She has also worked in deaconal and lay ministry formation with the Diocese of Davenport. Prior to her doctoral work, she taught both English and Religion at the high school level in various schools in Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan.

Office: Lower Chapel 105  

Dr. Lisa Powell is a visiting Assistant Professor in the area of Systematic Theology. She holds a Ph.D. in theology. Her dissertation “Toward an Inconclusive Theology: Indirect Communication in the Religious writings of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz” considers the use of literary genres to communicate theology in forms open to dialogue and subjective appropriation. She has an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary and a B.A. in Literature from Point Loma Nazarene University, in San Diego, CA.
Visiting St. Ambrose for the 2008-2009 academic year, Dr. Powell teaches an introductory course in theology, a course in liberation theology, and an upper division course on women theologians. Dr. Powell grew up in New Mexico and Arizona, and her research interests remain connected to the culture of the borderlands. Her theological interests are both historical and constructive, focused on marginalized or neglected theological perspectives throughout the Christian tradition, with particular emphasis on the thought of Latin American, African American, and women theologians. In addition to her theological interests, Dr. Powell has a continued affection of poetry and literature, which she incorporates from time to time in her teaching.
Dr. Powell is a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the College Theology Society (CTS).

Office: Lower Chapel 113