Alyssa Lehr Evans, PhD

Alyssa Lehr Evans traveled halfway around the world to arrive at George Fox in the fall of 2026, joining the university as an assistant professor of history and theology and to serve as a core faculty member in the honors program.

In the five years prior to her arrival, she worked in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Göttingen in Germany, serving as a postdoctoral fellow in church history and for a year as permanent lecturer in intercultural theology. Lehr Evans moved overseas after earning a PhD in history and ecumenics from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2021.

Previously, she was a Fulbright Fellow and a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholar in Göttingen and worked on the Critical Edition of Andreas Karlstadt's Letters and Writings (Kritische Gesamtausgabe der Schriften und Briefe Andreas Bodensteins von Karlstadt). She has taught a wide variety of courses at the University of Göttingen, Osnabrück University, Princeton University, Princeton Theological Seminary, and Wheaton College.

Her areas of expertise and research interest include the historical and theological development of the European Reformations, the reception and interpretation of the Bible and the church fathers throughout church history, and reform networks and practices of translation in the early modern period. Lehr Evans' first book, Turn to Reformation: Karlstadt's Commentary on Augustine's De Spiritu et Littera, was awarded the 2025 Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise. Her current research explores 16th-century translations of Martin Luther into English.

In addition to her doctorate, she also holds a master’s degree in historical and systematic theology from Wheaton College Graduate School (2010) and a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies and theology from Southeastern Bible College (2008).

Alyssa lives in Newberg with her spouse, Peter, and their two children, Jude and James. She enjoys exploring new places and learning their histories, trying new foods, and drinking coffee.

Academic Background

PhD, History and Ecumenics/Church History, Princeton Theological Seminary 
MA, Historical and Systematic Theology, Wheaton College Graduate School
BA, Biblical Studies and Theology, Southeastern Bible College