The Value of the Christian Liberal Arts: A Bethel Alum Speaks

My time at Bethel didn’t prepare me to do any specific job, but it prepared me to be the person that I am. Fun as it is for a college professor like me to explore metaphors for the Christian liberal arts — spiritual retreat, cathedral construction, and a Lord of the Rings-like quest — it’s … More The Value of the Christian Liberal Arts: A Bethel Alum Speaks

Well-Paid (or Meaningful) Work as a Measure of Higher Education

Well, my vow not to parse any more college rankings lasted about five weeks. Right up until… wait for it… Now. Last week the New York Times highlighted a website called PayScale.com, which released its annual ranking of just over a thousand American colleges and universities. Here’s the hook: PayScale doesn’t look at reputation (U.S. News) … More Well-Paid (or Meaningful) Work as a Measure of Higher Education

Declining Denominational Support for Evangelical Colleges?

To what degree do Protestant denominations continue to support the colleges and universities they founded? Even setting aside schools whose historic Christian identities are now nominal, what of institutions in a consortium like the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU)? While some of its best-known members are nondenominational (e.g., Wheaton, Westmont, Gordon, Taylor), most … More Declining Denominational Support for Evangelical Colleges?

Bethel, the BGC, and the Decline of Denominational Financial Support for Christian Higher Education

There are lots of factors contributing to the financial crises afflicting higher education in general and my employer in particular. However, since Bethel is a Christian college that has retained more than a nominal relationship with its founding denomination, I’ve sometimes wondered just how changes in Converge Worldwide (Baptist General Conference) have affected our situation. … More Bethel, the BGC, and the Decline of Denominational Financial Support for Christian Higher Education

Christian Liberal Arts as Cathedral-Building

On Friday I led our department’s welcome sessions for new majors. For a while now I’ve made sure to dedicate part of that time to preemptively addressing the concern, “What do I do with a History major?” We’ve got better at making what sound to us like effective arguments — ruthlessly pragmatic explanations of the … More Christian Liberal Arts as Cathedral-Building

Eighteen Evangelical Colleges Earn a “D” for Finances

Earlier this summer I looked at how the members of the evangelical Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) fared in The Financially Sustainable University, a brief by Bain & Co. and Sterling Partners that has garnered significant attention (not all favorable). 32% of CCCU schools listed in that report were classified as “Financially Unsustainable” … More Eighteen Evangelical Colleges Earn a “D” for Finances