In May of 2025, I was stunned to receive an email from my university’s human resources department informing me that I was at risk of being laid off. Even though I knew that my institution was facing some tough financial challenges, I hadn’t really expected to face layoffs (or what we British term “redundancy”) myself. […]
The post on a UGA Facebook group for female faculty who were also moms expressed frustration toward a Christian colleague of mine. “Sarah” had given a faculty member a copy of the Gospel of John, along with a personal note encouraging her to consider the good news of Jesus Christ. The Facebook post included a […]
For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. John 1:16 My three-hour graduate class was proceeding as usual. I made a few comments and posed questions. My students contributed to the discussion and provided thoughtful input. I love such discussions when students are engaged with the material, and at that moment I was feeling […]
For collegiate faculty, tenure is an important career stepping stone. But its pursuit can be a challenging, lonely, and personal journey. The results are also largely out of your control. Once a file is submitted for review, you are at the mercy of others to ultimately find you worthy or not. Not long ago I […]
During my senior year of undergrad, I signed up for a class far outside my mechanical engineering curriculum—Freud Debates Lewis—offered through the honors college. As someone who had grown up loving C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but had never studied Freud, I was intrigued by the chance to explore faith, culture, and reason […]
It happens frequently throughout my academic career. I feel nervous before speaking with a colleague about a challenging issue. Or demanding students barge into my office when I have precious little time and energy to give them. How will I display Christ? How will I display Christ? Now, I am about to stand before an […]
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 The trouble was—I had become just that: weary. On the outside, everything in my ministry at work looked the same. I identified myself as a Christian in the classroom, […]
In March of 2020, I was over halfway through my final semester of coursework for a full-time, in-person doctoral program when COVID-19 changed everything. As the wife of an essential worker and mother of two kids in 1st and 4th grades, I suddenly found myself homeschooling while completing my own courses virtually and drafting my dissertation proposal. […]
The longer I have navigated the classroom, the more I’ve come to embrace the old saying “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Throughout Scripture we also see that God looks at the heart—our motives and thought life—as more important than our behaviors. I have found it helpful […]
Early in my time as a professor, I quickly learned that some colleagues dedicated a lot of time to service, and others dedicated, well, not so much. One of my colleagues simplified it this way: “If you want something done, find someone who is busy.” I became one of those busy people, serving on various […]
