Faulty of Certificate Program in Baha'i Studies

Program Director Board of Studies Program Administrator
 


Associate Faculty Members


Faculty Members

David Chittleborough (Counsellor) is an Associate Professorr in the Department of Soil Science, University of  Adelaide. His research specialty is in environmental science, specifically  the transport of contaminants such as phosphorus and organic carbon compounds through soils and sediments to ground water and streams. He is active in broader environmental issues such as water quality and the loss of prime agricultural soils to urbanisation and industrialisation. He is a member of the Commission of Environmental Strategy and Planning of the International Union of Conservation Nations (IUCN) and is a consultant with the Baha'i International Community's Office of Environment. His most recent work with these organisations was framing a new Earth Covenant to be presented to UN in 1998. He has been a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, and, since 1995, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Australasia.

Sirus Naraqi (Counsellor) is a member of the Contintal Board of Counsellor for Australasia. He currently lives in Blue Mountain and works as a Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of Western Clinical School at the University of Sydney.

Scott Stafford, with his family, migrated to Australia from the United States in 1971.  He is married with two children and has served on the Local Spiritual Assemblies of Warringah, Sydney and Cambelltown, the National Youth Committee, the National Teaching Committee and the Australian International Goals Committee.  He has been a Marriage Celebrant, a facilitator in the' Education for Peace' Program and member of the Board for the Centre of Learning in the ACT and Southern NSW.  He is currently serving as a member of the Auxiliary Board for Protection for the Southern NSW region.  Scott has a BA degree in Psychology and is employed as a Senior Project Officer in the Performance Management Division of the NSW Health Department.

Afshin Akhtar-Khavari graduated from the University of New South Wales in 1994 with a Bachelor of Law and Science. Currently he is completing his Doctorate of Judicial Studies at the University of Sydney. His doctoral dissertation is in the area of international law. He has previously served on the National Youth Committee of the Bahá'ís  of Australia. His areas of research interest in the Faith include Bahá'í law and jurisprudence.

John Davidson is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Tasmania where he lectures on experimental design and statistics, peace research, and the psychology of dreaming. He has served in many capacities in the Australian Bahá'í community, and is presently a member of the National  Spiritual Assembly. He has been involved with the Certificate Program since its inception.

Erica Davidson studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music High School and gained a Diploma of Music (Pianoforte) from the Sydney  Conservatorium.  She then obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in English and History from Newcastle University. This was followed by a Diploma of Education from the University of Tasmania and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Tasmania majoring in viola.  She is presently teaching  violin and piano from a private music studio and at two independent  schools in Hobart. Growing up as a Bahá’í youth in Sydney she was part of the first Sydney Temple Choir, and was a member of the musical teaching group "the Dawnbreakers" established by Russ and Gina Garcia.  She has served on the Hobart Spiritual Assembly in various capacities since 1971, and has contributed particularly to the Bahá’í education of children.
Colin Dibdin has been interested in Bahá’í-Christian dialogue since his encounters with evangelical groups on campus while residing at a Catholic-run college in 1975.  His papers on “A Bahá’í View of the Bible and Prerequisites for Successful Bahá’í-Christian Dialogue” were published by the Association for Bahá’í Studies. He and his family live in Mascot, near the airport where he works in Air Traffic Services. Colin's hobbies include desktop publishing, and Bahá’í Studies, and he has a BA in Political Science and Philosophy.  Colin obtained a pilots license at the age of 16 years and has at various times also experienced gliding, hang-gliding and parachuting as well as serving as a member of  air search and rescue teams in NSW.

Shadi Ehsani has been a member of the Sydney Baha'i Community since 1983. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Law from the University of Sydney. Her interests include Human Rights Law and Refugee Law, and she is currently working for the Department of Immigration.  Shadi has been teaching in the Certificate Program in Baha'i Studies, on the subject of Spiritual Development.

Katayoun Hassall has a Master Degree and PhD in Philosophy of Science. She has taught briefly at Universities of NSW, Melbourne, and Papua New Guinea.  She has also been involved in teaching in Education For Peace Program since 1994. Her administrative experience includes service on Local Spiritual Assemblies, and on State or National Committees.  She enjoys listening to Baroque music, dancing and reading 19th century novels.

Graham Hassall is a member of the Melbourne Bahá'í Community, having also lived in Sydney and Canberra. He is interested in Bahá'í history and biography, and has written many articles and books about Bahá'í Communities and individuals in the Asia Pacific region. He is also interested in Bahá'í approaches to political and social theory.  He has done studies  in education and history, and now works at the  University of Melbourne, where he has a research position at the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies.

Babak Mohajerin has studied in the areas of Engineering and Computing and has received two Bachelor degrees from the University of Queensland and a Masters degree from the Queensland University of Technology. Currently he works in Sydney as a computer technologist. He is also studying for a Masters degree in business administration, and yet another postgraduate degree in Christian Theology. His special interest besides surfing the net is studying about Christianity and the Bábí religion. For almost the past 3 years he has had the privilege of serving as a member of the Local Assembly, and the regional coordinator for Association for Bahá'í Studies. He is a member of the National Board of the Association for Bahá'í Studies.

Golshah Naghdy is a Senior Lecturer at University of Wollongong, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering where she lectures in Digital Systems. Over the last 20 years, she has obtained 3 degrees of BSc from Iran, an MPhil and a PhD from England in Electrical Engineering in addition to raising 3 children. Her current research interest is computer vision and she has publications in this area in international journals and conferences. She has played a significant role in the development of Education for Peace Program as its Director. She is currently a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Wollongong and an Assistant to an Auxiliary Board member for propagation and a member of the National Board of the Association for Bahá'í Studies.

Fazel Naghdy is an Associate Professor at University of Wollongong, in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His main areas of teaching and research are Intelligent Control and Robotics. He has been active in this area for the last 16 years and has published extensively in international journals and conferences. He is on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Control Engineering Practice and is a member of program and technical committees for a number of international conferences. In addition he has an interest in Distance Learning Education, Computer Assisted Teaching and Multi-Media. He is currently serving on Yerrinbool Bahá'í Centre of Learning  and Institute Unit and the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Wollongong. He has been directly involved with the Certificate Program and Education for Peace Program since their inception.

Hajir Naghdy is a member of Kograh Bahá'í Community. He has completed a combined degree program of Bachelor of Mathematics/Bachelor of Laws and is currently an Exective Consultant with Macquarie Bank .  He moved to Australia from the United Kingdom in 1989.  He has been on the Faculty of Education for Peace Program since 1994. He is serving on the National Bahá'í Teaching Committee.

Pam Ringwood has a Bachelor of Art,  a Master of law and a Diploma in Social Science. She is a retired Senior lecturer in law at Auckland University and has been a lecturer for continuing education at Auckland University for a long period. She has also worked as a lawyer and a social worker. She is a member of Waitangi Tribunal which negotiate solutions to treaty problems between the government and Maori. She is on the Board of New Zealand Foundation for peace studies. She is also on Auckland University committee for peace study and research. She belongs to Maori Women's Welfare league. Previously she has been a member of Henderson  and Takapuna Children's Board, mediating with families committing crime. She is an ex-family court councillor and the ex-president of Takapuna Council Social Service. She has served on a number of National Spiritual Assemblies.

Bijan Samali is a Professor of Structural Engineering at University of Technology, Sydney. In addition to his extensive work in Bahá’í administration in different capacities, he has been involved in Bahá’í Education for a long time. He co-authored a self-learning package (books and tapes) to teach Arabic (published by NSA of USA in 1986). He also has a particular interest in the study of the sacred text in its original language and has been running study classes in this area. He has been a Faculty member of 'Education for Peace' program since it inception. He has been serving as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia.

Marjorie Tidman lives in the North West of Western Australia. Marjorie has a PhD in Education and has a private practice as an Educational Consultant and Family Counsellor. She is also involved in aboriginal community development at many levels. She has a great interest and expertise in the process of spiritual development through Holy Writings. She has also been involved in the Education for Peace Program. Marjorie is currently serving on the National Spiritual Assembly.

Doug Wilkinson  has substantial experience in business management and financial control.  As a mature-age student he gained qualifications in education, business and economics.  He has ten years experience as a University lecturer for both on-campus and external students. His Baha'i activities include serving on Local Spiritual Assemblies in South Australia, Tasmania and in New South Wales as well as participating in Collis Featherstone Teaching projects. Doug has also been employed by the national Baha'i Office of the Treasury and Baha'i Publications Australia in recent years.