Back in November 2012 I wondered about the economic diversity of Christian and church-related colleges and universities. “While I’m glad to see more attention being given to the treatment of women and people of color on Christian college campuses,” I wrote, “it also makes me realize how little I’ve heard us talk about a third potential … More Economic Diversity and Social Mobility at Christian Colleges
On Tuesday Jerry Falwell, Jr., the president of Liberty University, told the Chronicle of Higher Education that he’s been asked by the Trump administration to head up a task force recommending higher ed policy changes for the Department of Education. (In late November Falwell had told the Associated Press that he turned down the Secretary of Education position … More The Face of Christian Higher Education Is Not Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Part two of my attempt to curate some of what I read while traveling this month. Yesterday I focused on Christianity; today, articles and blog posts about history and education. • Now that we’re in the year 2017, the floodgates have opened on pieces about the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. Among many others writing … More That Was The Month That Was: History and Education
I miss teaching. I enjoy being on sabbatical, but I miss teaching so much that when I erased a chalkboard at my parents’ church the other day, I actually felt a wave of emotion. Feeling that eraser rub against that slate instantly evoked the anticipation, exhilaration, and (yes) fear that accompany the start of every class I … More Mapping Your Academic Career: Finding Your Voice as a Teacher
Here… • One would-be “Protestant Notre Dame” hired the disgraced former athletic director from another one. • We received another kind review of our book on Pietism and Christian higher ed. • And I shared a short Advent meditation on the lighting of candles. …There and Everywhere • At The Anxious Bench, I rang in the new (liturgical) … More That Was The Week That Was
Even as I await the publication of my new book on Pietism, it’s gratifying to see people continuing to engage with its 2015 predecessor, The Pietist Vision of Christian Higher Education. At the end of a generous review in The Covenant Quarterly, Mark Safstrom puts that book in the context of work that Christian Collins Winn and I have been doing … More Covenant Visions of Christian Higher Education
Having been one of the earliest, most vocal evangelical supporters of Donald Trump, Liberty University president Jerry Falwell, Jr. was widely rumored to be in the running for a cabinet spot in the new administration. But Falwell told Religion News Service that he turned down an appointment as Secretary of Education, in part because his family members … More Following Up: Liberty University as the “Protestant Notre Dame”
Early in professors’ careers, writes Wheaton College biblical scholar Gary Burge, they “must learn the culture in which they work and decide how they are going to fit into the corporate life of the community?” Not only do they need to hone their skills as teachers, continue the research that will earn them tenure, and form important … More Mapping Your Academic Career: Academic Freedom and Institutional Dissonance
As I wrote last Monday, my main goal for the second half of my fall sabbatical is to engage in some professional stock-taking. Having received tenure, been promoted to full professor, and just sent off the manuscript for my third project on Pietism, I’d like to step back and consider where I am in my academic career. My guide for this … More Mapping Your Academic Career: From Security to Success
Here… • America has changed a lot since the last time the Cubs won the World Series. • As I finished one book project and contemplated others, I found myself asking a big mid-career question: “What comes next?” • Evangelicals — and especially those of us in Christian higher ed — ought to pay attention … More That Was The Week That Was
The Pietist Schoolman 