Fifteen years of teaching online courses has taught me many things, but nothing prepared me for the wave of shared pain and loss I witnessed during the pandemic. As campuses closed down and students scrambled to finish their degrees from bedrooms and kitchen tables, I felt a deep sense of responsibility not only to teach […]
I miss the university classroom. I am retired now, but I spent 35 years preparing teachers in K-6 early childhood and K-12 special education. I loved interacting with university students and watching them blossom into superb educators with a passion for teaching those who learn differently. I also miss networking with my colleagues in the “iron sharpens […]
At the beginning of 2024, I learned about the Faculty Commons movement in Cali through Carlos Esteban Cuervo, who is with Faculty Commons here in Colombia. Later, several Christian professors began meeting to encourage one another. Among the activities, we began reading the book Una Historia Mas Grande;La Metanarrativa De Dios (A Grander Story). The authors’ testimonies were wonderful […]
For some unknown reason, this past academic year was a challenging season for me. I think juggling the demands of academia while raising a toddler has left me physically exhausted and emotionally drained. The pressures felt unrelenting, and in the midst of it all, I found myself slipping into survival mode: showing up, performing, but […]
During the COVID lockdown of 2020, I joined a Faculty Commons online book group for women. We gathered from across the U.S., and even as far away as Florence, Italy, to read and discuss Sent by Heather and Ashley Holleman. What began as a simple book discussion grew into something deeper: fellowship, spiritual sharpening, and friendships. We […]
What does one do on a Saturday in the dead of winter in snowy Michigan? Yes, I know. Not many options. I decided to join a half-day Zoom call to participate virtually in an A Common Call conference sponsored by Faculty Commons. I didn’t expect my decision that February of 2021 would lead to so […]
When I earned my terminal degree, I envisioned returning to my Christian alma mater to spend my career in faith-based education. That was the plan—or so I thought. After a few years in Christian higher education, I felt an unmistakable nudge from God, not just calling me away, but pushing me out of that familiar […]
Almost 15 years ago the Christian student groups here at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia were holding a “Jesus Week” and wanted a panel of Christian professors to answer any faith-related questions that students might have. This sounded scary — Christianity has generally been viewed very critically by faculty and students here in Canada. […]
It was the end of my first lecture and a student in the back left-hand corner of the auditorium raised their hand to ask the third, and final, question. After being called on, he voiced rather loudly, “So, were you a virgin when you married your wife?” Not a typical question a student asks their […]
This was a first for me – I had never attended a conference for Christian faculty, despite having been a professor for over 20 years. Nor had I expected to ever attend such a conference. And yet, there I sat on the stage, not only attending, but pounding on a cajon, while my colleague, Janet, […]
