Category: Education

Burtchaell, Dying of the Light

The Secularization(s) of Christian Higher Education

October 27, 2015

On the eve of the decision of Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite University to withdraw from the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU), historian William Ringenberg told WORLD Magazine that the debate over those schools’ decision to hire LGBT faculty was “traumatic” for Christian higher ed. In his judgment, only one other crisis had been more significant: … More The Secularization(s) of Christian Higher Education

CCCU sign

“Crisis Averted”: Christianity Today on the CCCU Debate over Sexuality

October 26, 2015

If you’ve been reading this blog in recent months, you probably are familiar with the debate within evangelical higher education over the decision of Goshen College and Eastern Mennonite to hire LGBT faculty — and then those schools’ late September decision to withdraw from the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU) rather than cause more of … More “Crisis Averted”: Christianity Today on the CCCU Debate over Sexuality

DeVry University logo

New Research Finds That Online Courses Significantly Reduce Student Achievement

October 22, 2015

Having already written a defense of the lecture this week, I’m going to take the risk of seeming like a complete curmudgeon and share these findings about online education, from a new study coming out of Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis (CEPA): (H/T L.D. Burnett) …online courses do less to promote student learning and … More New Research Finds That Online Courses Significantly Reduce Student Achievement

IVP Reader's Choice Awards 2015 logo

How to Nominate Our Book for a Readers’ Choice Award

October 12, 2015

It’s already been a good month for our book on Pietism and higher ed, between being named a finalist for a prestigious book prize and receiving a strong review from the dean of historians of Christian higher education. But if I can push our luck a bit… If you enjoyed The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education: … More How to Nominate Our Book for a Readers’ Choice Award

Laats, The Other School Reformers

I Love You, But…

October 12, 2015

Sharp-eyed readers might have noticed a new name popping up in the right-hand column of this blog, on my rotating list of “A Few of the Blogs, Publications, and Writers I Follow.” Adam Laats is historian of education at SUNY-Binghamton, currently writing a book tentatively titled Fundamentalist U: Keeping the Faith in American Higher Education. (John Fea got … More I Love You, But…

Some of the endorsements on the back cover of The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education

The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education a Finalist for the Lilly Fellows Program Book Award

October 10, 2015

I’m happy to announce that the Lilly Fellows Program has named The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education: Forming Whole and Holy Persons one of the finalists for its prestigious Book Award! The LFP Book Award “honors an original and imaginative work from any academic discipline that best exemplifies the central ideas and principles animating the Lilly Fellows Program. … More The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education a Finalist for the Lilly Fellows Program Book Award

Bethel University sign: "Closed for Chapel - 10:20am - 11:00am"

Revitalizing Chapel Exercises (Aaron Morrison)

October 9, 2015

For our second guest post of the week, I’m happy to welcome Aaron Morrison to the blog. Aaron is a Residential Education Coordinator for the Department of Residential Education at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE. He received his M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Taylor University and a B.S. from Indiana Wesleyan University. He … More Revitalizing Chapel Exercises (Aaron Morrison)

Stone Chapel, Drury University

“Change the Narrative”: Another Private College Makes Cuts to Liberal Arts

October 7, 2015

Another day, another private liberal arts university cuts back in the liberal arts. Last week it was Calvin College. This time, it’s Drury University in Springfield, Missouri: Citing an enrollment drop, Drury University notified 12 faculty members Friday that they will lose their jobs at the end of this school year — or next. Five of … More “Change the Narrative”: Another Private College Makes Cuts to Liberal Arts

IVP ad for our Pietism/higher ed book in the Fall 2014 issue of CCCU Advance

William Ringenberg Reviews Our Pietist Vision Book!

October 2, 2015

I’m new enough to publishing that I’m thrilled whenever anyone reviews my work. But I was especially tickled to find this morning that H-Pietism has a review of The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education from none other than William Ringenberg, the long-time Taylor University professor who is pretty much the leading historian of Christian higher education. His book The Christian College: A … More William Ringenberg Reviews Our Pietist Vision Book!

Class photo of Bethel freshmen in 1943-1944

A Sneak Preview of Our Digital History Project: Nisei at Bethel

October 1, 2015

One reason I haven’t been writing quite as much as usual here at the blog is that I’ve spent the first month of the semester putting the finishing touches on Bethel at War, 1914-2014, a digital history project that I’ve been working on since last summer with Fletcher Warren. It started as part of a special student-faculty research … More A Sneak Preview of Our Digital History Project: Nisei at Bethel