One end of semester day during my own PhD study years, I went down to my local coffee shop and ordered a latte. The barista took one look at me and said, “An extra shot, then?”Read more…
Advice for Graduates: 5 Things To Do as You Enter the Next Phase of Life
Beyond the celebrations, parties, and bittersweet memories, graduation can be a defining point in who you are.Read more…
How Should Students Respond to Anti-Christian Professors?
A friend who works in campus ministry asked me for advice recently. He had heard about a difficult situation at another university and was wondering what I would say to the student: There is a student in a philosophy classRead more…
Serving Christ as a Professor: Suggested Readings from Urbana 12
Below are suggested readings from my Urbana 12 seminar Serving Christ as a Professor. These are books or essays that Emerging Scholars Network staff and members have found especially helpful to their journey toward becoming a faculty member. In each section,Read more…
What Books Should We Suggest at Urbana 12?
In only 15 days, ESN will be joining 18,000 of our closest friends at Urbana 12, InterVarsity’s triennial missions conference. As in years past, we’ll have an exhibitor table, and I’ll be hosting a seminar on “Serving Christ as a Professor.” OneRead more…
Resource for Grad Student mentoring of Undergraduates
In a recent visit to Baltimore, I ate lunch with a group of Johns Hopkins University (JHU) graduate students. Dwight Schwartz (InterVarsity’s Graduate & Faculty Ministry Area Director for the MidAtlantic and Campus Staff Member at JHU) couldn’t wait toRead more…
Four Things I Learned about Students and Faculty from Academically Adrift
Earlier this year, Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa created quite a stir with their book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. Their central claim: if the goal of college is to teach students how to think critically, then collegesRead more…
Freshmen, Stress, and Spirituality
The NY Times reports that the emotional health of college freshmen is at a 25-year low, based on the annual survey conducted by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute. In the survey, “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2010,” involving moreRead more…
ESN Gatherings at Berea and Ohio State
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Berea College and (T)he Ohio State University recently. I thought I would let you know how the trips went and how ESN served the different audience.Read more…
Comparing Research Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges
This week and next, I’m making a couple of short road trips to speak at two very different schools: small Berea College in Kentucky and huge (massive? gargantuan?) Ohio State University. Tonight, I’m speaking to the Berea InterVarsity chapter aboutRead more…
What’s Your Best Advice for Undergraduates?
It’s that time of year again – the NFL Preseason! Just kidding. I’m actually thinking about the beginning of school, especially all of the undergraduates who are either beginning their college experience or starting to think of life after theirRead more…
What should undergrads know about grad school?
In May, I’m going to help lead a track at InterVarsity’s Southeast Chapter Camp called “Getting Ready for Grad School.” (If you’re not familiar with the undergrad InterVarsity world, this is a week-long camp for students involved in IV chapters,Read more…
Week in Review: Education Edition
What are you reading, watching, thinking about this week? As usual, here’s a few which have been on our mind. Let us know your thoughts on any/all of them. If you have items you’d like us to consider for theRead more…
Best Books for Undergrads: Your Picks
Thanks to everyone who weighed in on my request for the best books for undergrads! Here are the recommendations that we received on the blog, from Facebook, and via email. Tom and I received an amazing variety of responses. HereRead more…
Best Books for Undergrads?
In a mere 12 days(!), Tom and I will arrive in St. Louis for Urbana 09, InterVarsity’s triennial student missions conference. Most of the 20,000+ conference delegates are undergraduate students, and we’ll be talking to them about ESN, vocation, andRead more…
How did you know…
…that you wanted to be an academic? Urbana 09 – InterVarsity’s triennial student missions conference – is coming up next month, December 27 to 31. This year features a special In the Workplace and In the Academy set of seminars toRead more…
You never hear apologists attacking Melville…
Does your choice of undergraduate major affect your religious faith? Inside Higher Ed recently reported on a study by Miles S. Kimball, Colter M. Mitchell, Arland D. Thornton and Linda C. Young-Demarco, all of U. Michigan, that asked that veryRead more…
College Price vs. Value
The WSJ reported a few weeks ago on the effect that the economy is having on college choices, at least among families who have access to upper end colleges and universities. But as Sarah’s college choice loomed last year, [herRead more…
Week in Review
[Editor’s note: This is a new weekly feature from your blog contributors. Each week, we’ll be posting articles, books, news, etc., that Tom, Mike, and the ESN community have been pondering. If you have a book or article you’d likeRead more…