Judith Rood

Professor Judith Mendelsohn Rood is Emerita Professor of History and Middle East Studies in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. In her retirement she focuses on research and writing, publishing a book inspired by her career at Biola University, entitled “Beauty for Ashes: Understanding the Israel-Hamas War” with WestBow Press in 2024. In this historiographical work she proposes “a generous theology of history” based upon the theology of Biola’s founders, an approach that she developed as she taught World History at Biola. In one of the chapters of her book, she delves into the contributions of humanitarian and political thinker William E. Blackstone, Biola’s first academic dean. She also tells the story of her academic research and her work with Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Israelis. She has published articles for the “Palgrave Encyclopedia of Romantic Era Women Writers,” as well as about Christian leaders Edith Stein and Hildegard of Bingen, who inspired her in her development as a theologian under the mentorship of the late Talbot Professor Robert Saucy.

Professor Rood has continued in her role as a teacher by supervising doctoral dissertations in Islamic history for the Melbourne School of Theology. She serves as an expert witness in political asylum cases and consultant to the US government concerning Middle East policy. She and her husband, Paul William Rood, established the William E. Blackstone Center to continue his important legacy. The Rood’s sons, Samuel and Joshua, are both Biola graduates.