Pollard Research Fellowship
The Bill Pollard Faith & Business Research Fellowship provides selected scholars and business practitioners with the opportunity to conduct research for scholarship, classroom material, and leadership reflection.
Work & Faith Intensive
The Center for Faithful Business (CFB) at Seattle Pacific University invites scholars from around the world to apply for the Bill Pollard Faith & Business Research Fellowship. This research is done in a seminar-like setting with colleagues in a cohort-based approach.
The research fellowship is anchored by the Pollard papers and other resources in SPU’s Work and Faith Collection, one of the largest work and faith collections of books and documents in the world. This distinctive collection of books and resources is open to anyone who is interested in exploring the intersection of Christian faith and work, economics and business, faith and the professions, and vocation.
About Bill Pollard - (June 1, 1938 - June 6, 2025)
C. William ‘Bill’ Pollard participated in the leadership of The ServiceMaster Company, a publicly traded company from 1977—2003, serving not once but twice as its Chief Executive Officer. Bill has also served as a director of several other public companies and a number of charitable, religious, and educational organizations, including Wheaton College and the Billy Graham Evangelical Association. Before coming to ServiceMaster, he was a partner in a law firm he started in Wheaton and then was a vice president for Wheaton College. After leaving ServiceMaster, he was the chairman of the board of Fairwyn Investment Company, a private investment firm. He is the author of several books including the best seller The Soul of the Firm and his memoir The Tides of Life.
In 2017, Bill Pollard donated a vast collection of internal papers and speeches to the Work and Faith Collection at Seattle Pacific University. These documents provide unique insight into his lifelong endeavor to integrate Christian values in a diverse, multinational, publicly traded company. The collection includes speeches given by Bill Pollard on topics related to work and faith including ethics, profit, mission and values, leadership, vocation, and management. Types of materials include speech scripts, handwritten notes, and articles. For a complete description and to access the papers, please visit the library’s website.
How to Apply
Research will be done in a seminar-like setting, working and interacting with colleagues in a cohort-based approach.
Each year the Center for Faithful Business selects a small cohort of scholars and business practitioners around the world to participate in fellowship to do new research on an aspect of the papers related to the interest of the scholar.
Completed research papers will be made available in the Pollard Research Fellowship Papers series in SPU’s institutional repository. A panel of judges will evaluate the papers and invite one scholar to return to SPU the following spring for a presentation of the research findings and a discussion with faculty and fellows in the Center for Faithful Business.
All travel and lodging expenses are covered, and stipends will be paid to scholars who have a U.S. work permit: $1,000 upon the completion of their residency and an additional $1,000 upon the completion of their research paper.
Application Process
Applications for the Pollard Fellowship open in the autumn. One space will be reserved for a scholar who is local to the Seattle area. The four remaining spaces will be open to all qualified applicants, regardless of location. The application deadline is January 31. To receive detailed application instructions, please contact cfb@spu.edu.
Prospective scholars will be asked to submit the following:
Fellowship Timeline for 2025
January
Application due
February
Decisions announced
April
An initial two-hour Zoom session
May
Four one-hour Zoom seminar sessions
June
Seattle residency and research
January 2026
Research paper due
Spring 2026
Seattle research presentation (one selected scholar)
Pollard Scholars
- Lead Pastor, First Free Methodist Church, Seattle, WA
- Team Leader – Project Coordination at Körber Pharma Packaging AG
- Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) University of Manchester
- Professor, California Baptist University.
- CEO and Co-Founder of Wisdom Partners
- Professor of Marketing, Co-Chair of Business dept., Bethel University
- Executive Director of Biblical Leadership for Excellence. A non-profit dedicated to supporting Christians to connect with God’s greater purpose in work and public life.
- Instructor of Business Ethics, Seattle Pacific University
- Director of the Griffiths School of Management and IT within Emanuel University of Oradea
- Editor, Faith & Flourishing; Senior Editor, Christian History
- Vice President for Leadership Development, Legatum
- Adjunct Professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; Visiting Fellow with the Mockler Center for Faith and Ethics in the Public Square; Member on the Board of the Theology of Work Project
- Professor, Asbury Theological Seminary
- Professor of Finance and Economics at Anderson University in South Carolina
- Associate Professor of Leadership Ethics and Entrepreneurship, Henley Business School
- President of New Canaan Society
- Leadership Development Consultant at The Center for Leading in Community, a non-profit dedicated to developing mission-driven leaders and their teams
- Professor of International Business and Finance at the Crowell School of Business, Biola University
- Director of the Centre for Redemptive Entrepreneurship (CRE) at Tyndale University; founder and chief experience designer of GenesisXD Inc
- Director of Workplace and Graduate Ministry, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship of Canada
- Assistant Professor of Business Administration, the College of Business at the University of Northwestern Ohio, and founder and CEO, Meeting Place Coffee
- Leadership Development Consultant at The Center for Leading in Community
- Professor of Business and Director, Center for International Development at Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU), San Diego, CA
- Europe Coordinator at IFES Graduate Impact
- Director of Vocation, Christ Church of Austin; Lecturer in Theology and Christian Ethics Applied to Business, Baylor University
- Associate Researcher, Center for Religion, Economy, and Politics (ZRWP), University of Zurich; Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Sociology, University Research Priority Program Digital Religion(s), University of Zurich
- Professor of Business at Calvin University, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dr. Lam teaches organizational behavior, consumer behavior, an interim course on managing diversity and inclusion, and the business capstone at Calvin University.
- Assistant Professor of Business Ethics and Law at Pepperdine University.
- Executive Director of the Stephen & Laurel Brown Foundation (Upper House), a private operating foundation and Christian study center located at the heart of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- VP Emeritus and consultant with Crossworld.
- Professor at State University of Rio de Janeiro (teacher of the year in 2014), The Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, and Estacio de Sa University, Brazil.
- Instructor of Management, Seattle Pacific University. Dr. Helen Chung teaches in the School of Business, Government, and Economics as Instructor of Management.
- Associate Professor of Management and Information Systems, Seattle Pacific University. Dr. Ryan LaBrie is a Professor of Management and Information Systems in the School of Business, Government, & Economics at Seattle Pacific University.
- Associate Professor of Management and Director of Lorentzsen Center for Faith and Work, Concordia College, Moorhead, MN.
- Assistant Professor of Management, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, Florida.
- Professor of Dogmatic and Constructive Theology, Seattle Pacific University.
- Professor of Theological Studies, Judson University, 2007-2017; (Current Location) Joshua Tree National Park, Indian Cove Visitor Center, US Department of the Interior: National Park Service, Volunteer.
- Associate Dean; Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics, Fuller Texas; Scholar-in-residence for the Max De Pree Center for Christian Leadership.
- Director, Center for Research in Religion and Social Policy, University of Divinity, Australia.
- Director of the Wheaton Center for Faith & Innovation: Associate Professor of Marketing & SCM, Department of Business and Economics, Wheaton College.
