John W. Woell, Ph.D.

Dr. John Woell has spent over two decades at small colleges and universities, serving in all the usual faculty roles in addition to directing honors programs, leading civic engagement initiatives, and serving on presidential search committees. He served previously as Senior Vice President and Academic Dean at Simpson College, as Associate Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Academic Affairs at Albion College, as Assistant Dean in the Lloyd International Honors College at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and as Professor of Religion and Philosophy and department chair at Greensboro College. His Ph.D. in Religion and M.A. in philosophy were earned at the Claremont Graduate University, his M.A. in religion at Vanderbilt University, and his B.A. at Valparaiso University. John’s scholarly work focuses on the intersection of philosophy and religion with a foundation in early American pragmatism. Woell remains rooted in teaching through facilitation expertly leads process mapping and implementation on behalf of UQ Solutions. Woell is an experienced site visitor and still regularly performs program reviews. He has deep experience in managing programmatic and capital projects, in analyzing and aligning organizational structures, in managing department level and institutional strategic planning efforts, and in facilitating with small groups and presenting to large audiences. He founded Manitou Passage Consultancy in 2025. John lives in Traverse City, MI.