Jack Goodyear, PhD
Dean | Gary Cook School of Leadership — Professor of Political Science | Dallas Baptist University
Jack Goodyear serves as the Dean for the Gary Cook School ofLeadership and as Professor of Political Science at Dallas Baptist University. Dr. Goodyear joined the faculty in January 2008, teaching political science full-time. Dr. Goodyear was then the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences from 2012-2014, where he enjoyed working with the faculty and students in the college while continuing to teach Political Science courses. In August 2014, Dr. Goodyear was asked to serve as the Director of the Ph.D. in Leadership Studies program. In 2016, Dr. Goodyear was appointed as Dean of the Cook School of Leadership as well as Director of the Ph.D. in Leadership Studies program. In June 2017, a new Director of the Ph.D. in Leadership Studies was named allowing Dr. Goodyear to focus fully on the Dean’s role. Prior to coming to DBU, Dr. Goodyear served for ten years as a minister in churches in Arlington, Texas, and Tampa, Florida.
He has been married to Jessica for 20 years. She has her master’s degree in education and taught elementary school prior to returning to school and becoming a nurse. She is now a labor and delivery nurse. Jack and Jessica have five children—Grant, Claire, Tessa, Treyvion, and Nehemiah. They are members of First Baptist Church of Arlington, where Jack serves as a deacon, and he and Jessica teach in the 11th Grade Sunday School Department.
Dr. Goodyear holds a Ph.D. in Religion, Politics, and Society from Baylor University. His studies focused on the historical, philosophical, theological, and sociological interactions between religion and politics and the church and state, paying special attention to the impact of evangelicals in American politics and culture. He also earned a Master of Divinity with Biblical Languages degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His bachelor’s degree is fromBaylor University in Political Science.