Richard Pointer, Ph.D.

Retired Professor of History
(805) 565-6000

Office Location

Retired from Westmont as of August 2020.

Office Available

Only by appointment. 

Specialization(s)

Colonial and Revolutionary America, Native American history, Religion in America.

Biography/Details

Dr. Pointer graduated from Houghton College and earned his master’s degree and doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. He came to Westmont in 1994. His books include Protestant Pluralism and the New York Experience; A Study of Eighteenth-Century Religious Diversity and Encounters of the Spirit: Native Americans and European Colonial Religion. His latest book, Pacifist Prophet: Papunhank and the Quest for Peace in Early America will be published in the fall of 2020. He has been president and vice-president of the Conference on Faith and History and an associate editor for the Christian Scholar’s Review. He received the Teacher of the Year Award for Social Sciences three times and was the first recipient of the Fletcher Jones Foundation Endowed Chair in Social Science. Dr. Pointer retired from Westmont as of August 2020.