One sunny Friday I was headed to my office for the afternoon. Driving to campus, I felt peaceful, sensing God’s presence and hearing Him whisper, “When was the last time you talked about Me with one of your students?” I couldn’t think of a last time-other than in an introduction before undergraduates in my class […]
I know what it means to be scared and to pray the words “Thy will be done”. I know what it means to see a loved one on a ventilator in a medically-induced coma and “call in the family”. I am not only a professor but also an Army wife to a soldier—who was initially […]
I confess, as professor emeritus, I have never taught online. I needed to see the students’ eyes, faces, and body language. I needed their feedback. I admit I have never given an online exam. A Christian professor friend gave one last term, and students cheated. What’s a professor to do? COVID-19 is certainly changing higher […]
As a professor for 33 years, I experienced a lot of failures. I have had: Grant proposals denied (even with great scores), Papers rejected, Presentation abstracts rejected, and Book proposals rejected. In my Christian ministry, I have failed many times as well. Sometimes I was too fearful or shy, sometimes too pushy, sometimes simply a […]
Because I studied chemistry as both an undergrad and a Ph.D. student, it’s hard for me to believe that I became a professor in a different field – electrical engineering and computer science. Perhaps even more surprisingly, I never thought about an academic career while I was in college. I used to be really shy, […]
As Christian professors I believe many of us think of the university as being pretty resistant to the knowledge of God. Sometimes, God proves us wrong. This story may make more sense if you understand my background. An interest in science made me an avid reader in high school. It also cooled me toward the […]
Hanging out with a Cru group of Cal Poly undergrads in East Asia this summer was an eye-opener. They were excited, energetic, and fresh — qualities a 77-year-old prof has in short supply. And while they were learning the language and customs of our host country, they were so alive to sharing the Good News […]
I walked to the podium and surveyed the hall—one of the largest at my state university, 440 seats, all full, with approximately 880 eyes looking back at me. They were all there to hear me talk about “God and Sex.” As a senior professor, I had been in places like this many times before, and […]
I believe that God has called me to be a professor. He has given me the incredible privilege of teaching hundreds of students in my engineering classes and working on cutting edge research. When I look back from the standpoint of eternity, however, I won’t be surprised if this morning’s conversation will be far more […]
During my undergraduate years, I began to wonder whether there was something fundamentally incompatible between higher education and being a follower of Jesus. In fact, I went through my entire undergraduate and graduate years at the University of Texas without hearing any of my 50-or-so professors ever identify themselves as a follower of Jesus. Some […]
