The Ubiquity of Faculty Service to the University’and Frustration Service within the university is rarely celebrated or joyfully anticipated. Every faculty member has some service responsibilities: From an R1 to a community college, faculty members have some assignment of service. And, while such is a contractual expectation, no one has received tenure (or been promoted) for completing their service responsibilities. Many faculty disclose utter frustration when discussing their histories of serving within the … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence: University Structures and Faculty Service
Life in the Academy
Practicing Faithful Presence as an Astronomer
Early in my academic career, I spent several months intensively studying Scripture to determine how I would view my vocation as professional scientist. The conclusions I drew from this process have stayed with me and have helped shaped my career for decades. I recommend this process for anyone regardless of their particular vocation. The earlier in their career they undertake this exercise, the better—but it is never too late. As a result of my reflections on Scripture, I have settled on four … [Read more...] about Practicing Faithful Presence as an Astronomer
Faithful Presence Without Fear
“’I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God’for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, love and self-control.” II Timothy 1:6-7 (ESV) Many of us are returning to campus for the first time after two tumultuous years of worry due to Covid-19. Yet even apart from the pandemic, our academic environment can generate anxiety. Some may be anxious about working in a department where colleagues are hostile to the Christian faith. Others may be feeling the pressure of completing their dissertations … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence Without Fear
Faithful Presence: A Medical Student’s Perspective
What does faithful presence mean for Christians in the context of medical education? This question arises from the main theme of James Davison Hunter's book To Change the World. He articulates an approach to culture that reflects Christ's incarnation, an approach characterized by faithfulness in contrast to accommodation and witness to the culture in contrast to domination. How is this approach applied in different cultural and professional contexts? As a medical student who is early on in his path to becoming a … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence: A Medical Student’s Perspective
Faithful Presence: On Teaching…
Throughout my first year of grad school, I have seen first-hand the value of research and ideas. However, this may come at the cost of losing sight of people's inherent value and worth. People are often valued solely by their ability to create new research and new ideas. Looking back at myself, I find that I took part in favoritism toward high output individuals (see James 2 for some tough words on this). That's where teaching comes in. Teaching is an opportunity to treat all people as valuable regardless of their … [Read more...] about Faithful Presence: On Teaching…