A Christian Vision for Mentoring Colleagues and Students in the Context of the Secular University

Sponsored by The MacLaurin Institute, in cooperation with the Emerging Scholars Network and Christian Leadership Ministries

A conference inspired by the example of Rutherford Aris, University of Minnesota Regents Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

September 24, 2005 — Coffman Union, University of Minnesota (East Bank)

Since the 1970s the academic mentor has become recognized as the guide whose friendship ushers the mentee into the fraternity of those who share the same academic calling. Academic mentors have, likewise, become prized, for an ideal, if not a reality: their ability to recognize pitfalls and prospects, their willingness to give of their lives and their time in valuable, often unmeasured ways, and their opening doors to relationships and research that, in turn, generate great satisfaction and profit for the mentee. Academic mentoring has both horizontal and vertical dimensions, the former involving newly-hired colleagues and the latter with students.

How might the task of academic mentoring be informed by Christian thought and living? Carol Simon, in her book Mentoring for Mission: Nurturing New Faculty at Church Related Colleges (2003), suggests that a Christian view of personhood, Christian virtues, and the Christian concept of calling offer deep resources for the academic who seeks to follow Christ as a mentor to colleagues and students. The Christian academic mentor is called to emulate the example set by the founder of the Christian faith, Jesus Christ.

In view of this, other questions are suggested:

• What are the impacts of Christian academic mentors in terms of intellectual discipleship, academic socialization, lifestyle mentoring, and personal Christian devotion?
• How do Christian academic mentors fulfill their calling within the pluralistic context of today’s secular universities?
• What historical lessons can be learned from Christian academic mentors who have had a deep academic and spiritual impact on the lives of students and colleagues?

One such mentor is Rutherford Aris, Regents Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. For 35 years he was an esteemed colleague in one of the world's most prestigious chemical engineering departments. Widely considered one of the truly great theoreticians in the field of chemical engineering, he also held an appointment in the University of Minnesota Department of Classics and Near Eastern Studies. His deep faith in Jesus Christ made others who knew him (as one famous colleague put it) "better than they would otherwise have been." His mentorship deeply touched the lives and careers of hundreds of colleagues and students, many of whom are themselves world-class scholars.

Speakers

Kenneth Elzinga
Since he received his PhD at Michigan State University in 1967, Kenneth Elzinga has taught economics at the University of Virginia where he is now the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics. The holder of numerous prestigious awards, he teaches the most popular undergraduate course at UVA, and from his home on the “Lawn” he and his wife welcome hundreds of students each year for counsel, encouragement, and personal guidance. He is the author of numerous books and scholarly journal articles.

Harold Heie
Harold has held a number of senior administrative positions over the years, holding VP of academic affairs positions at both Dordt and Messiah colleges. The holder of a PhD in mechanical engineering from Princeton University, his academic specialty is mathematics, but from 1994 to 2003 he served as the Director of the Center for Christian Studies at Gordon College. In 2003, he became a Senior Fellow with the Center. Besides many scholarly journal articles, he has written three books, including The Reality of Christian Learning: Strategies for Faith-Discipline Integration (1987).

Douglas A. Lauffenburger
He is Uncas & Helen Whitaker Professor of Bioengineering and Director of the Biological Engineering Division at MIT. He is a member of the Center for Biomedical Engineering, Biotechnology Process Engineering Center, Center for Cancer Research, and Center for Environmental Health Sciences, and serves on the Steering Committee of the Computational & Systems Biology Initiative. He has won numerous awards, and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. An advisee of Prof. Aris, he received his PhD from the University of Minnesota in 1979. Among Doug’s 60 PhD students and postdoctoral researchers who are now themselves professors in leading institutions are Roseanne Ford at the University of Virginia.

Carol Simon
She is Professor of Philosophy and Director of General Education/Interdisciplinary Studies at Hope College. She directed the Lilly Mentoring Initiative, a three-year project funded by the Lilly Endowment. Her refl ections on mentoring faculty helped shape two books which she co-authored: Can Hope Endure? A Historical Case Study in Christian Higher Education (2005) and Mentoring for Mission: Nurturing New Faculty at Church Related Colleges (2003). Her scholarly interests are wide-ranging, including moral knowledge, virtue ethics, feminism and philosophy, sexuality and human relationships, and philosophical theology. She is a well- known faculty leader at her college, and is one of two faculty who serve on the college’s Board of Trustees.

Papers

The following papers will be presented at the conference:

• "Community Mentorship in the Context of Outreach through Faculty Seminar Dinner Discussions" by David R. Thom, Chaplain at the University of Massachusetts and Director of The Leadership Connection, a religious non-profit in Amherst, Massachusetts.


• "Authentic Mentoring: Ancient Lessons for Today" by Michael V. Smith, Chair of Music Education at the Catholic University of America.


• "The Professor as Servant" by Vic Cox, Associate Professor of Veterinary Biosciences at the University of Minnesota.


• "Career Portfolio Creation and Development for the University Student" by Tim Hibsman, Associate Professor at DeVry University in Long Beach, California.


• "Discipling Professors" by Joseph McRae Mellichamp, Emeritus Professor of Management Science at the University of Alabama and Faculty Representative for Christian Leadership Ministries.


• "A Christian Theology of Mentoring: History, Scripture, and Virtues" by Tom Trevethan, InterVarsity Faculty Ministry, and Nancy Thomas, InterVarsity Faculty Ministry and Associate Director of Faculty Development for Union University.


• "Stereotyping, Social Identity Development, and the Younger Christian Scholar" by Joyce Tang Boyland, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Alverno College (Milwaukee, WI).


• "Christianity in an Academic Context: Mentoring Students and Colleagues" by Gary D. Patterson, Professor of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University.

Details

For complete information about the schedule, housing options, transportation, and registration, please download the conference brochure (124K PDF).

For further information, you may also contact The MacLaurin Institute directly at (612) 378-1935 or by email at scott[at]maclaurin[dot]org.