After four years at the U. S. Department of State, where my work focused on U.S.–Soviet relations, I decided to shift my professional life to teaching at the university level. I spent 20 years with the American Studies Program, based on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and then was invited to direct the Russian Initiative for a coalition of faith-based colleges and universities in the States. This eventually led to 20 years of working in Russia, commuting more than 100 times between Moscow and Washington, D.C. When we were forced out of Russia, my work in higher education shifted to Eurasia, with a particular focus on Ukraine.
JBinternatl@gmail.com
drjohnabernbaum.substack.org
EDUCATION
Ph.D., European and Russian History, University of Maryland, 1972
M.A., European History, University of Maryland, 1967
B.A., History, Calvin College, 1965
A.A., Trinity Christian College, 1963
WORK EXPERIENCE
September 2024 – present
Writer and Speaker
Grand Rapids, Michigan
September 2022 – August 2024
Senior Research Scholar
Paul Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity & Politics
Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan
January 2015-August 2024
President & CEO
Business & Education as Mission (BEAM), Inc.
a private foundation investing in educational programs in the post-Communist world
July 1995-December 2014
Founder and President
Russian-American Institute (formerly Russian-American Christian University)
Moscow, Russia
July 1995-June 2005
Senior Advisor, International Programs
Coalition for Christian Colleges & Universities
September 1992-June 1995
Vice President and Director, Russian Initiative
Christian College Coalition
February 1992-May 1992
Visiting Professor of History and Political Science
Nizhni Novgorod State University
May 1991-August 1992
Executive Vice President
Christian College Coalition
1985-1991: Vice President and Director, American Studies Program
1976-1985: Founding Director, American Studies Program, Christian College Coalition
1972-1976: Historian/Contributing Editor, eight volumes of the Foreign Relations of the United States series, U.S. Department of State
1971-1972: Instructor of European History, University College, University of Maryland
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Founded, developed and directed the American Studies Program, a work-study program focused on public policy in Washington, D.C., for the Christian College Consortium and Coalition (1976-1991)
Developed and administered the establishment of the Latin American Studies Program, a Coalition student program in San Jose, Costa Rica (1986-1991)
Developed and administered the establishment of the Los Angeles Film Studies Center, a Coalition work-study program focused on the film industry in Burbank, California (1990-1991)
Founded and developed the Russian Studies Program, a Coalition student program in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhni Novgorod, Russia (January 1994-June 1995)
Co-director of the Russian-American values-based MBA Program, a partnership of American and Russian business faculty (1991-1995)
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Honorary Doctorate, Huntington University, 2009
Richard C. Chewning Award from the Christian Business Faculty Association, 2000
Honorary Doctorate, Nizhni Novgorod State University (Russia), 1995
Trinity Christian College Alumnus of the Year, 1997
Timothy Christian High School Alumnus of the Year, 1999 (inaugural recipient)
WRITING & PUBLICATION
Reflections on World Politics: U. S. Foreign Policy and the Russian-Ukrainian War (2022 – present).
Reflections on Russia: 125 essays on Russia’s post-Communist development, US-Russian relations, Russia’s pre-1991 history, Russian culture and values, religious life in Russia, and Russian literature.
Co-authored with Philip Yancey, What Went Wrong? Russia’s Lost Opportunity and the Path to Ukraine (Cascade Books, 2024).
Opening the Red Door: The Inside Story of Russia’s First Christian Liberal Arts University (InterVarsity Academic Press, 2019)
“Getting Russia Right,” in God and the Global Order: The Power of Religion in American Foreign Policy (Baylor University Press, 2010).
“Catching the Volga Bug,” (May 23, 1992).
“Revolution ‘89: The Spiritual Dimension” (Editorial), Christian Science Monitor (August 15, 1990)
Perspectives on Peacemaking (editor and contributor, Regal Books, 1984)
SPEAKING, TEACHING & SERVICE
Staley Distinguished Scholar lecturer, 1983-1994
Graduation speaker (11 college graduations), 1985-2009
Academic convocation speaker (40+ campus lectureships), 1976-1994
Coalition-sponsored faculty workshops, 1985-1994
Conference speaker (CCO) Jubilee Conferences, Creation Festivals, NAE Federal Seminars, etc., 1982-1994
