Blair Van Dyke
Blair G. Van Dyke is a full-time instructor at the Orem Institute of Religion adjacent to Utah Valley University. He earned his BA in English literature from BYU in 1989. At that time he was hired to teach in the Church Educational System (CES) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Van Dyke took a Masters of Education degree in 1992, and a Doctor of Educational Philosophy in 1997, both from BYU. His dissertation, "Education in an Autonomous Palestine: Palestinian Perspectives," explores the emergence of an independent Palestinian educational system after centuries of colonialism.
He established the "Literature, Arts, and Letters for Global Understanding" campaign, an ongoing community and educational engagement initiative between educators and students in the United States and the West Bank. Van Dyke is the coauthor of Holy Lands: A History of the Latter-day Saints in the Near East. He has also written a number of articles on biblical culture, history, and texts, including "In the Footsteps of Orson Hyde: Subsequent Dedications of the Holy Land" (BYU Studies). Van Dyke met his wife in Jerusalem and was invited to teach at the Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies (2001-2002). He travels annually to the Near East to conduct research and guide travel study tours of the region.
Blair Van Dyke's Current Tours: