How can you engage with faculty advisors on campus? How might a faculty advisor interact with InterVarsity students and staff? Art Wollum, faculty emeritus from North Carolina State University speaks on his suggestions after four decades of experience and a lifetime of love for students, faculty, InterVarsity and the university.
Misunderstood. Alone. Aliens in a strange land. These are apropos descriptors for how Christian scholars often feel whether in the academy or at church.
I had grand expectations of my life as a faculty spouse. I imagined lunch with Erik on campus, hosting students in our home, and—as a family—all enjoying his summers off. I expected to be closely connected to the university; attending events on campus and enjoying all that the university had to offer. Little did I know what was ahead. Continue reading...
Faithful faculty can and must have a powerfully redemptive influence on colleges and universities, and it is in this work that I want to set out four dreams I have for academia.
Connecting students and faculty in this way opens many fruitful doors. Christian students now know of Christian faculty or, more precisely, faculty who engage in an academically rigorous life and yet still believe in God.
It’s not often one finds students excited to learn about fractals from a faculty member outside of the classroom. But for Chris Goree’s monthly dinners for faculty and undergraduate students, this is common.
”Friends, keep showing up, keep praying, keep experimenting, and keep watching for signs of God’s kingdom on your campus. It’s about faithfulness, not numbers, and about a special work that God will unfold in your unique university context. The fruitfulness will come.”
On November 3, 2009, the Indiana University Graduate and Faculty Ministry hosted a panel discussion on evolution and evangelical Christianity, in the midst of a campus-wide celebration of Charles Darwin. Panelists featured were Dr. Jeff Hardin (Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison), Dr. Tim O'Connor (Philosophy, Indiana University), and a pastor, Dr. Rich Holdeman.
Marc Baer, professor and department chair of history at Hope College, addresses foundational and practical aspects of faculty mentoring. Originally presented this talk at the ESN National Gathering at Following Christ 2008. (Part 1 of 2)
Kenneth G. Elzinga, Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia, advises faculty on why and how to mentor. Originally presented at the ESN National Gathering at Following Christ 2008. (Part 2 of 2).
The following are a grab bag of ideas which have been successfully enacted at peer institutions (mostly Big 10 universities, though you will note several others). They are offered here not as equally useful to us or as a finished agenda, but to spark our own creativity and to empower faithful Christian service with our academic community.
Faculty Ministry offers a portfolio of resources to assist you in establishing a faculty community on your campus. It includes background materials on the theology and rationale for faculty communities, a bibliography for further reading, and practical resources and examples that have proven successful on a variety of campuses.
