Affiliated Scholars
The John Jay Institute's Affiliated Scholars help shape the programs and priorities of the Institute through their academic interests, scholarship, writing, and teaching. Collectively they bring an array of expertise to the work of the JJI in areas of citizenship theory, ethics and virtue theory, religious freedom, natural law jurisprudence, theology of economics, leadership theory, and international law and military tribunals.
Affiliated Scholars
John D. Basie, M.A., Ph.D.
Affiliated Scholar
Atlanta, Georgia
Dr. John D. Basie is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute. His academic and professional interests are in citizenship theory and leadership development. Dr. Basie is particularly interested in the classical and Christian virtues and how they are inculcated through the education process. His academic background in psychology, philosophy, theology and politics and his integrated study of these disciplines have led him to grapple with the necessary educational context for the cultivation of the character virtues and citizenship values necessary for sustaining democratic institutions. Not limited to theoretical studies, Dr. Basie has been involved in pioneering para-academic leadership programs that are focused on character development and worldview formation, namely the Witherspoon Fellowship in Washington, D.C. and most recently the Lifeshape Foundation’s IMPACT 360 program. Currently, Dr. Basie is the Director at IMPACT 360, an academic gap-year program affiliated with the Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A, Inc. The program emphasizes character-based leadership and worldview education for college freshmen. He also serves as Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. Dr. Basie has authored articles on higher education in The Associate Reformed Presbyterian and SALVO magazine. He holds membership in the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Christian Philosophers. Dr. Basie was graduated from Erskine College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Christian education. He earned a master’s degree in philosophy and ethics at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and a doctor’s degree in church-state studies with an emphasis in religion and politics at Baylor University. He resides in the Greater Atlanta area with his wife, Marana, and their three children.
Joseph Loconte, M.A., Ph.D.
Affiliated Scholar
New York, New York
Dr. Joseph Loconte is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute. His academic and professional interests are in the areas of religious freedom, religious human rights theory, and the relationship of religion, civil society and democracy. Dr. Loconte has been a frequent contributor to print and broadcast media. For 10 years he served as a monthly commentator for National Public Radio. In 2007 he hosted Britain and America, a weekly political program on the London-based 18 Doughty Street, the United Kingdom’s first internet-television program. His articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, The American Interest, National Review, and Books and Culture. His most recent book is The End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitler’s Gathering Storm (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). Dr. Loconte has testified before Congress on international human rights and served as a human rights expert for the 2005 Congressional Task Force on the United Nations, contributing to its final report, “American Interests and U.N. Reform.” He also has served as an advisor on human rights and U.N. reform to British MP Andrew Mitchell, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development. From 2001-2003, he was an informal advisor to the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Dr. Loconte is an associate professor of history at The King’s College in New York City, where he teaches courses on Western Civilization and U.S. Foreign Policy. In 2008, he was named a distinguished visiting professor at the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University. Previously he served as a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He also held the first chair in religion as the William E. Simon Fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. Dr. Loconte was graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He earned his master’s degree in Christian history and theology from Wheaton College and his doctor’s degree in history at King’s College, the University of London. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he resides in Fredrick, MD.
Martin Luteran, M.Jur., M.Phil., D.Phil
Affiliated Scholar
Bratislava, Slovakia
Dr. Martin Luteran is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute. A citizen of the Slovak Republic, Dr. Luteran’s scholarly interests and expertise are in moral and legal philosophy and particularly the idea of proportionality in international law and human rights. He is an educational entrepreneur in Slovakia and is the founding rector of the Collegium Anton Neuwirth, a residential study center for university students in the capital city of Bratislava. The Collegium is dedicated to interdisciplinary Christian cultural and western civilization studies. Of his vision for this work, Dr. Luteran says, “I have dreamed for a long time that education in the humanities and social sciences would be taken seriously in Slovakia.” He also founded and directs the Ladislav Hanus Fellowship, an academic fraternity of university students and young professionals in Bratislava. Dr. Luteran previously studied in the United States as a Witherspoon Fellow in Washington, D.C. After receiving his master’s degree in law at Comenius University in Bratislava, Dr. Luteran studied human rights, ethics, and jurisprudence with Professor John Finnis at Oxford University where he earned a second master’s and doctor’s degree in law at Lady Margaret Hall. Dr. Luteran has taught seminars on natural law and moral philosophy to high school and university students and worked as legal counsel to the Office of the National Council of the Slovak Republic. He is a contributor to the forthcoming book, Law and Outsiders: Norms, Processes and “Othering” in the 21st Century (Hart Publishing, 2011).
Ryan S. Messmore, M.T.S., M.Phil., D.Phil.
Affiliated Scholar
Washington, D.C.
Dr. Ryan Messmore is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute. As a Christian theologian, Dr. Messmore’s scholarly interests and expertise are in the integration of faith and politics, religion, and law and Christianity and society studies. He is particularly interested in the theological implications of the Trinity for better understanding the nature of political authority and economics. Dr. Messmore is the William E. Simon Fellow in Religion and a Free Society at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. At the Foundation his research and scholarship focuses on how religious commitments are brought to bear on political life to improve public discourse, foster civility and strengthen civil society. Dr. Messmore’s commentary and analysis have appeared in major newspapers such as The Washington Times and The Raleigh News and Observer, online venues such as Crosswalk.com and FOXNews.com and in national magazines such as First Things, Comment, and WORLD. He served as lead writer of a six-part, DVD-based curriculum designed for small groups, “Seek Social Justice: Transforming Lives in Need.” Previously, Dr. Messmore was founder and executive director of Trinity Forum Academy in Royal Oak, Maryland, where he designed and implemented a post-undergraduate fellowship program in theology and cultural studies. Dr. Messmore was graduated from Duke University with a bachelor’s degree in public policy and religion. Shortly thereafter he was a Witherspoon Fellow in Washington, D.C. Later he pursued master’s degrees in theology and Christian ethics from Duke Divinity School and Cambridge University. His doctor’s degree is in political theology from Oxford University. Dr. Messmore resides with his wife, Karin, and three children in Maryland.
Alexander Negrov, M.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Affiliated Scholar
St. Petersburg, Russia
Dr. Alexander Negrov is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute. Dr. Negrov’s scholarly interests and expertise are in the history of Biblical hermeneutics, New Testament exegesis, and the cultural contextualization of the Bible - particularly in the areas of spiritual formation and leadership development. Dr. Negrov is especially interested in religious and cultural studies related to pre-communist and post-communist societies in the Russian Federation and in exploring the relevance of moral and ethical issues for perpetuating and sustaining civil society, democratic institutions and a market economy. Dr. Negrov was born in the Ukraine. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America in 2008. Currently, he serves as Rector of St. Petersburg Christian University in St. Petersburg, Russia. The evangelical Protestant university provides accredited higher education based on Christian values and aims to create an environment that provides for spiritual growth and the achievement of academic excellence. Its mission is to prepare Christians to serve and lead in both the church and society. Dr. Negrov has taught seminars and courses on the Bible and leadership to university students in Russia and beyond. He has been appointed as Visiting Fellow at St. Vladimir Orthodox Seminary in Crestwood, New York, Visiting Scholar at the University of Notre Dame and Visiting Scholar at Pacific Lutheran University. Dr. Negrov served as Director in a Post-Graduate Program in Biblical Studies validated by University of Wales in the United Kingdom. He has organized and attended various international conferences for theologians and biblical scholars and serves on editorial boards and academic councils. He published numerous academic articles and contributed to various scholarly books. His most recent book is: Biblical Interpretation in the Russian Orthodox Church: A Historical and Hermeneutical Perspective (Beitrage zur historischen Theologie 130 / Mohr Siebeck: Tubungen, 2008). After receiving two master’s degrees in both New Testament and Old Testament at Briercrest Biblical Seminary in Canada, Dr. Negrov studied biblical hermeneutics and New Testament with Dr. Jan G. van der Watt at the University of Pretoria in the Republic of South Africa where he earned his doctor’s degree. He and his wife, Zena, have three children and reside in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Peter J. Richards, J.D., LL.M., J.S.D.
Affiliated Scholar
Louisville, Kentucky
Dr. Peter J. Richards is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute. Influenced by the late Harvard University legal historian Harold Berman, Dr. Richards’ scholarly interests are in international law, historical and natural law jurisprudence, law and religion, and political theology. Dr. Richards also has specialized expertise in military criminal law and tribunals. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve with active duty experience as a prosecutor, defender and staff judge advocate. Dr. Richards served as Associate Professor in Theology and Law at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky where he directed the Center for Law and Theology. Previously he served a one-year fellowship with Harold Berman at the Emory University School of Law, teaching and conducting research in the areas of legal history and international law. He also taught politics and Constitutional Law at the United States Air Force Academy, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Legal Studies. Dr. Richards’ scholarly articles and reviews have appeared in journals such as the Naval War College Review, Georgetown Journal of Law and Public Policy, Journal of Legal Studies, Journal of Law and Religion, and the Journal of Church and State, among others. His recent book is Extraordinary Justice: Military Tribunals in Historical and International Context (New York University Press, 2007). He graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a bachelor’s degree in Medieval & Renaissance Studies and German (High Distinction Honors). He earned his Juris Doctor degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Later Dr. Richards pursued advanced graduate work at Yale Law School where he earned a Master of Laws degree and a Doctor of the Science of Law degree. A native of Michigan, he and his wife, Johanna, have four children.
Caleb A. Verbois, M.A., Ph.D.
Affiliated Scholar
Chesapeake, Virginia
Dr. Caleb Verbois is an affiliated scholar of the John Jay Institute. His academic and professional interests are on the connections between the American Founding and contemporary politics. He is particularly interested in theoretical and practical separation of power between the Executive, Congress, and the Courts, as well as federal and state power struggles. His research focuses on presidential power in foreign affairs, specifically studying President Bush’s actions in the War on Terror and comparing it to the constitutional debates over presidential power and the historical practice of foreign policy by prior executives. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Oglethorpe University (summa cum laude), Dr. Verbois studied as a Witherspoon Fellow in Washington, D.C. He earned a master’s degree and Doctor of Philosophy in political science at the University of Virginia. He teaches American Politics at Regent University. A native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he resides in Virginia Beach, VA, with his wife, Rachel, and their new daughter, Katie.
