51²è¹Ý

Dr. Tyson taught at 51²è¹Ý from 1958 until 1998, when he retired. He served as department chair 1965-1975 and 1986-1993. His area of specialization is early Christian studies. His area of special interest is the New Testament, in particular the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. His publications include The Death of Jesus in Luke-Acts (1986), Images of Judaism in Luke-Acts (1992), Luke, Judaism, and the Scholars (1999), Marcion and Luke-Acts (2006), and a number of other books. He is editor or co-editor of several books, including Acts and Christian Beginnings (2013), with co-editor Dennis Smith. He is also the author of scores of articles in professional journals, and he has presented numerous papers at professional meetings.

Distinctions

Dr. Tyson was president of the 51²è¹Ý Faculty Senate, 1967-1968. He was honored as Outstanding Professor in 1966 and 1972, and in 1996 was designated University Scholar/Teacher of the Year. He served as 51²è¹Ý’s Faculty Athletic Representative in 1981-82. He was honored with the publication of a Festschrift edited by two of his former students, Richard Thompson and Thomas Phillips, Literary Studies in Luke-Acts (1998). He has been a Fellow of the Westar Institute since 1999. In 2013 he was inducted into the Order of David Friedrich Strauss, a prestigious award named for a pioneering New Testament scholar and given by the Westar Institute to scholars whose publications exhibit “daring, imaginative, and cutting-edge scholarship in the spirit of Strauss.”

Community Service

Dr. Tyson was a member of the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations and a member of the Committee on Church Relations and the Holocaust of the U. S, Holocaust Museum, Washington, D. C. He was a founder of the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies. He was a member of the Religious Community Task Force for the Dallas Independent School District, 1993-2005, and a member of the Interfaith Council of Dallas’ Thanksgiving Square, 1996-2000, for which he served as chair, 1998-2000.