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 […]
We were enjoying our empty nest. After many years teaching math in high school and technical college, I accepted a full-time university position in 2019. I got to know students and peers in class and around campus. Little did we know what 2020 held in store. The pandemic came and affected all of us. Then […]
They aren’t very big. But students like them. Each year the School of Nursing sponsors a “Destress Fest” before final exams. Some students take the handouts about stress-reducing strategies, but all of them seem to gravitate to stickers. A Resurgence There is a resurgence of interest in stickers — they end up on Macbooks, Hydro […]
Please join me in considering a hypothetical situation: let’s imagine you are back in your fourth year as a tenure-track Assistant Professor. Your career is going exceedingly well. You’ve been publishing well, the teaching is coming along surprisingly well, and you have been welcomed into a team of three senior professors with whom you will […]
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 […]
I’ve never understood why we call him “Doubting Thomas,” when “Reasonable Thomas” feels like a much better description. The story that birthed his nickname is in John 20:24-29, shortly after the risen Jesus first appeared to the disciples gathered in the upper room. Thomas is not in the room when this unprecedented encounter with Jesus […]
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 […]
