I don’t normally use this blog as a platform for my favorite charitable causes, but today I want to make an exception to that rule and encourage readers to join me in supporting Minnehaha Academy, a Christian preK-12 school in Minneapolis. Unlike many of my colleagues on the school’s board of trustees, I’m not a Minnehaha alum or parent; I … More How You Can Join Me in Supporting Minnehaha Academy
For a couple weeks now, I’ve been meaning to circle back to a post by Muhlenberg College president John Williams that John Fea shared at his blog. I still haven’t had time to write up a full response, but I thought I’d go ahead and share what Williams wrote — and why it simultaneously encourages and … More The Liberal Arts Are Not Synonymous with Elite Private Colleges
I’m not sure they’re any more likely to be reading this blog today than to have been watching my Twitter account yesterday, but just in case Roy Williams or Jay Wright is looking for an edge before their North Carolina Tarheels and Villanova Wildcats face off tomorrow night for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship… I had a little fun … More Championship Basketball: Some Advice from Coach Rupp
As things have turned out, this spring both Bethel University and its fellow evangelical university two miles down the road, the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, have been in the process of hiring ancient history professors. So since my friend and fellow department chair, Jonathan Den Hartog, used his blog to announce Northwestern’s hire of Prof. Jonathan … More Introducing My New Colleague in Ancient History and Digital Humanities
In honor of Twitter turning 10, Andy Thomason of The Chronicle of Higher Education yesterday named “15 Indispensable Academic Twitter Accounts,” starting with the undisputed champion: I like my academic writing like I like my coffee: intentionally obfuscatory so as to propagate an inflationary in-crowd publishing oligarchy — Shit Academics Say (@AcademicsSay) March 18, 2016 Despite having been … More What Are Some Indispensable Christian Academic Twitter Accounts?
One of my favorite publications is The Cresset, which regularly publishes diverse collections of thoughtful essays on literature, art, education, politics, and more. Hosted by Valparaiso University, it “explores ideas and trends in contemporary culture from a perspective grounded in the Lutheran tradition of scholarship, freedom, and faith while informed by the wisdom of the … More An Ecumenical Vision for Christian Higher Education
It sounds like the public speaking version of a basket on Chopped: a 7th grade class photo, an Irish poem, a book by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and a visit to Dachau. But somehow they all found their way into “Can Hope and History Rhyme?”, a talk I gave last week at Mounds Park Academy, the private school … More Can Hope and History Rhyme? (My MPA Talk)
Last week faculty at Mount St. Mary’s University voted overwhelmingly to request that president Simon Newman resign. We’re now past the deadline they set, and I haven’t seen any such announcement. Frankly, I don’t expect one. Not only do 75% of students support his leadership (according to a survey conducted by the student government over the … More “Change is Hard”: Lessons (and Non-Lessons) from Mount St. Mary’s
I grieve to report that G.W. Carlson, who wrote several guest-posts here, passed away early this morning — ten days after suffering a stroke. At some point in the coming days, I’m sure I’ll write something more about GW, but for now, let me just repost the essay that I wrote for his retirement from … More Best of The Pietist Schoolman: A Tribute to G.W. Carlson
I’m not much of a petition-signer. But today I added my name to this petition, and I hope that those of you who consider yourself part of what the author calls “the community of scholars” will consider doing likewise. It’s a response to the recent behavior of Simon Newman, president of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Newman came … More If You Value Academic Freedom, Consider Signing This Petition
The Pietist Schoolman 