Dr. Richard Tooley
About Dr. Richard Tooley
Dr. Tooley is a veteran educator and missionary with decades of experience across three continents. With a heart for missions and a deep understanding of theology, he continues to inspire students at Taiwan Adventist College to look beyond their own borders and serve the global mission of the church.
The Interview
Do you remember your very first day at TAC and your initial impressions?
I arrived here at night. Back then, everything on campus was much darker compared to the United States, where all the lights are very bright at night. So my very first impression was simply how dark this place was.
How did you first hear about this place?
I was working in the US and looking for a change. One day, my wife, who worked as a salesperson for a church photography company, was visiting her very last Seventh-day Adventist church in her territory. It was late, and she almost didn’t go inside, thinking no one would be there on a weekday. However, she decided to stop and met the pastor.
It turned out the pastor had previously been here at TAC when the campus orange grove was still an elementary school. A few days later, he called us to say that the principal of TAIS was visiting him and asked if we would like to meet. We sent our resumes, went down for Sabbath lunch, met the principal, and that is how we first heard about TAC.
What was the deciding factor for you to join TAC?
A month or two after that meeting, we received a call from Dr. Qua, who was the chairman of the Bilingual Business Department (BBD) at the time. He asked my wife if we would like to go to Taiwan. When she told me about it, the main deciding factor for me was the desire for an adventure. Having grown up as a child in Africa, moving to different countries always interested me, and I thought it would be fascinating to see what Taiwan had to offer.
If you weren’t a BBD professor right now, what career path do you think you would be on?
I would probably be a financial analyst or in upper management at a larger corporation. Before changing directions, I was actually a vice president of a company.
Some might think corporate management sounds very exciting. Why do you choose teaching instead?
Teaching is far more interesting than corporate work. The most rewarding part is watching students develop. You might not see it because you are in the middle of it, but as professors, we can see how students think and how they develop their ability to reason.
My style is not to simply feed you knowledge; my style is to challenge you to find knowledge. I enjoy having refreshing discussions. I want college students to start thinking early and struggling with ambiguous corporate problems that can’t be figured out easily. Watching them wrestle with those challenges to make sense of them is what I like most.
What is one spiritual lesson you have learned through personal experience rather than from a textbook?
When I lived in Africa, the dominant local religion across West Africa was Juju—an animist religion that predates voodoo. Living there, I got to see very up close how Satan works through it, but by the same token, I saw the undeniable power of God.
Once, during the hot dry season, we were holding an outdoor evangelistic series in a tent. The nine sons of the local king were attending, seated high up on tables because tribal custom forbade them from sitting lower than the congregation. A small African pastor was preaching about the power of God when one of the king’s sons stood up and challenged him: “You tell us your God is powerful. We know ours is because we can see what he does. Now, show us what yours does.”
The pastor simply said okay and began to pray. All of us missionaries were terrified, thinking God might not answer. Suddenly, a huge wind rushed inside the tent, blowing it up like a balloon. The wind was howling violently inside, but when I looked outside the tent, it was completely calm—not a single breeze.
The king’s sons were terrified; they fell off the tables, hid underneath them, and cried out, “Stop, stop! Tell your God to stop!” The pastor prayed, the wind stopped, and the tent posts collapsed right on top of everyone. That firsthand experience taught me the absolute reality of God’s power
Which Bible verse is resonating with you the most right now?
Dr. Richard Tooley: Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.
That is what always supports me.
Three words of advice
- Figure out why you are here.
- Take advantage of what you have now.
- Build your relationship with God.
Dr. Richard Tooley
About Dr. Richard Tooley
Dr. Tooley is a veteran educator and missionary with decades of experience across three continents. With a heart for missions and a deep understanding of theology, he continues to inspire students at Taiwan Adventist College to look beyond their own borders and serve the global mission of the church.
The Interview
Do you remember your very first day at TAC and your initial impressions?
I arrived here at night. Back then, everything on campus was much darker compared to the United States, where all the lights are very bright at night. So my very first impression was simply how dark this place was.
How did you first hear about this place?
I was working in the US and looking for a change. One day, my wife, who worked as a salesperson for a church photography company, was visiting her very last Seventh-day Adventist church in her territory. It was late, and she almost didn’t go inside, thinking no one would be there on a weekday. However, she decided to stop and met the pastor.
It turned out the pastor had previously been here at TAC when the campus orange grove was still an elementary school. A few days later, he called us to say that the principal of TAIS was visiting him and asked if we would like to meet. We sent our resumes, went down for Sabbath lunch, met the principal, and that is how we first heard about TAC.
What was the deciding factor for you to join TAC?
A month or two after that meeting, we received a call from Dr. Qua, who was the chairman of the Bilingual Business Department (BBD) at the time. He asked my wife if we would like to go to Taiwan. When she told me about it, the main deciding factor for me was the desire for an adventure. Having grown up as a child in Africa, moving to different countries always interested me, and I thought it would be fascinating to see what Taiwan had to offer.
If you weren’t a BBD professor right now, what career path do you think you would be on?
I would probably be a financial analyst or in upper management at a larger corporation. Before changing directions, I was actually a vice president of a company.
Some might think corporate management sounds very exciting. Why do you choose teaching instead?
Teaching is far more interesting than corporate work. The most rewarding part is watching students develop. You might not see it because you are in the middle of it, but as professors, we can see how students think and how they develop their ability to reason.
My style is not to simply feed you knowledge; my style is to challenge you to find knowledge. I enjoy having refreshing discussions. I want college students to start thinking early and struggling with ambiguous corporate problems that can’t be figured out easily. Watching them wrestle with those challenges to make sense of them is what I like most.
What is one spiritual lesson you have learned through personal experience rather than from a textbook?
When I lived in Africa, the dominant local religion across West Africa was Juju—an animist religion that predates voodoo. Living there, I got to see very up close how Satan works through it, but by the same token, I saw the undeniable power of God.
Once, during the hot dry season, we were holding an outdoor evangelistic series in a tent. The nine sons of the local king were attending, seated high up on tables because tribal custom forbade them from sitting lower than the congregation. A small African pastor was preaching about the power of God when one of the king’s sons stood up and challenged him: “You tell us your God is powerful. We know ours is because we can see what he does. Now, show us what yours does.”
The pastor simply said okay and began to pray. All of us missionaries were terrified, thinking God might not answer. Suddenly, a huge wind rushed inside the tent, blowing it up like a balloon. The wind was howling violently inside, but when I looked outside the tent, it was completely calm—not a single breeze.
The king’s sons were terrified; they fell off the tables, hid underneath them, and cried out, “Stop, stop! Tell your God to stop!” The pastor prayed, the wind stopped, and the tent posts collapsed right on top of everyone. That firsthand experience taught me the absolute reality of God’s power
Which Bible verse is resonating with you the most right now?
Dr. Richard Tooley: Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.
That is what always supports me.
Three words of advice
- Figure out why you are here.
- Take advantage of what you have now.
- Build your relationship with God.
Other Teachers
