Degrees

Ph.D., Graduate Theological Union; M.A., Boston University; S.T.L., Jesuit School of Theology, Berkley, Calif.

Short Bio

Evelyn R. Thibeaux, Ph.D., is lecturer for the Loyola Institute for Ministry courses in Scripture (Jewish Roots of Christian Faith and Christian Origins).  She is also the Instructor of Record for these courses in the LIM Extension Program; as such, she writes and updates all course materials and works with students to facilitate their understanding of the course content and completion of their assigned papers.  Since coming to Loyola in the Spring 2006 semester, she has also taught an undergraduate religion course every semester, with topics ranging from Old and New Testament to The Church Today.  Dr. Thibeaux previously taught in undergraduate religion programs (including Georgetown University); in a graduate theology and ministry program (for Spring Hill College at its Jackson, MS, extension site); and in non-degree ministry preparation programs (including Education for Parish Service in Washington, DC).  Her other previous experience includes serving for several years as an adjunct faculty member for the LIM Extension program and organizing courses in religion for the Smithsonian Associates program.

Dr. Thibeaux has also served in pastoral and educational positions within the Catholic Church.  She and her husband, Nick Scheller, ministered for five years as Pastoral Associates at St. Therese Church in Jackson, MS; there, her responsibilities included overseeing a range of religious education and faith formation programs, parish liturgy, and the pastoral council.  For three years, she was an Associate Director for the Office of Religious Education in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, where her work focused on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and evangelization.

The common thread in Dr. Thibeaux’s varying life and work experiences is her love of Scripture.  She is interested in how academic study of the Bible is related to the Bible’s roles within the life of the church; how the Scriptures nourish the prayer and spirituality—the ongoing conversion—of believers; and how they speak to the realities of the contemporary world, especially the struggle for justice and the search for peace. 

Dr. Thibeaux holds an M.A. in Religion and the Arts from Boston University, an STL (Licentiate in Sacred Theology) from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, CA, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.  The focus of her doctoral work and subsequent research has been developing a contextual model for biblical interpretation based on the principles of “the New Rhetoric.”
 

Courses Taught

• Jewish Roots of Christian Faith: Intro to Old Testament
• Christian Origins: Intro to New Testament