Brigham Young University Academic Vice President Justin Collings announced the appointment of W. Justin Dyer as the editor in chief of BYU Studies, part of the Religious Scholarly Publications organization on campus. Dyer replaces Steven C. Harper, who has served as its editor in chief for the past seven years.
“Justin Dyer brings to this new role inspiring gifts of head and heart, as well as rich experience as a social scientist and religious educator,” said Collings. “He will build on the firm foundation laid by Steve Harper and others to help build BYU Studies to new heights of achievement and influence.”
Dyer is a professor of Religious Education at Brigham Young University. In 2010 he joined the School of Family Life and taught courses on family processes and statistics. He later joined the Religious Education faculty in 2015.
His current research examines how religion, family and mental health influence each other. He has recently published research on how adolescents and young adults of various faiths differ in their mental health and how their religiousness relates to their depression and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The overall focus of his work is identifying and supporting various ways religion may be helpful to individuals, families and societies.
Dyer has won several awards, including BYU’s Young Scholar Award, for his research. He held the college of Religious Education’s Moral Education Professorship and is a past fellow with the Wheatley Institute at BYU.
He received his PhD in human and community development from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, after which he was a postdoctoral fellow at Auburn University.
BYU Studies publishes scholarship that is aligned with the purposes of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and the mission of the Church.
