On the brink of my retirement after thirty years in the academy a friend asked me, “What is your greatest accomplishment?” I instantly recalled a treasured remark made to me by my provost: “This won’t be the same university without you.” Perhaps that will be my singular accomplishment: I made a real difference. Don’t we […]
As professors we face some serious challenges in the church as well as in the academy. We show up in a local church community near our university—-educated, experienced and effective teachers, trained thinkers, researchers, and logicians. The pastors and church staff often turn to us to help give leadership as Sunday School teachers, as deacons […]
In Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power, Andy Crouch poses a set of provocative questions: “What if power is a gift of God and is inherent in being human?” “What if power is not coercive but creative?” “What if power is not zero-sum, but multiplies when we give it away?” “What if we were […]
In his Handbook of Academic Titles, Michael Shamos of Carnegie Mellon found over 800 different faculty and staff titles. Shamos begins his examination of the significance of academic titles by quoting Shakespeare: “What’s in a name?- that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he […]
International students represent one of the best investments a university can make in creating a better world. As a Christ-follower for thirteen years and a university faculty member for over twice that long, I am convinced of the eternal value of reaching out to international students on my campus. They come to our schools from […]
We all need to learn to listen and speak with those outside our Christian community. My husband and I, engaged in day to day interactions in the center of Washington D.C., long to have conversations that count so that we and the gospel story can truly be heard. /*! elementor – v3.6.4 – 13-04-2022 */ […]
/*! elementor – v3.6.6 – 08-06-2022 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px} A Student’s View Something dynamic happens when someone stands in the classroom and shares honestly and vulnerably with utmost transparency. It’s even more powerful when it is one of your professors. At the start of every semester Kate Fletcher, lecturer and […]
Dallas Willard in his book Knowing Christ asks, “Is reality secular? Is adequate knowledge secular? And is that something that has been established as a fact by thorough and unbiased inquiry? Is this something that today’s secular universities thoroughly and freely discuss in a disciplined way? Certainly not! Nowhere does that happen. It is now […]
It’s rare for me to walk among the crepe myrtles at Auburn University and not remember that the Christian life is high adventure, filled with unexpected twists and turns crafted by the God who loves us. In my case, the fork in the road was a brush with academic suicide. During my graduate studies in […]
For most of my life, I’ve been fighting for a seat at the table. One day I’d sit with the top English Literature scholars in my field; I would earn the Ph.D., secure a tenure-track job, earn tenure, publish prolifically, and then finally have my place at the table I’ve been waiting for all my […]
