Online registration is now open! If you would like to invite other faculty to attend please direct them to this website or print and share this brochure with them.

Salt and Light – Bringing Christ’s Redeeming Influence to the People, Ideas, and Structures of Higher Education

We want to welcome you to the 2012 West Coast Faculty Conference at Campus by the Sea on beautiful Catalina Island. Faculty participants from across the United States are invited to come together in a community of learning, worship and prayer focusing on out theme. This year’s theme certainly invites many questions: How can Christian faculty build deeply thoughtful, grace-filled relationships with the diverse people among whom they serve? Can ideas be redeemed? Which ideas? Can Christian faculty make a redemptive structural difference in the churn of administrative responsibilities? What might it look like in practice to pursue scholarship, teaching, service and collegiality under the lordship of Christ and to the glory of God? We anticipate that your disciplinary specialty and unique experiences in life and faith will add to the richness of our time together.

A Unique Conference

The West Coast Faculty Conference will share Campus by the Sea with an InterVarsity Alumni Camp. During the week we will participate jointly in manuscript Bible study and other activities. Afternoons provide an opportunity to rest, play or visit with friends and family with no formal program. You will also be able to enjoy all the unique and fun activities that Campus by the Sea affords, including hiking, swimming, snorkeling, kayaking and water skiing. In addition one of the days we will be free to explore Catalina, with an optional trip to Avalon to see the sights. Evening sessions are designed specifically for faculty. You can read more below on daily programming and catch a glimpse of the many activities at Campus by the Sea by visiting their website. Amazing images of God's creation and His hand at work are only a click away in the CBS photo gallery. We aim to make our Faculty Conference family friendly. Spouses are welcome to attend all of our sessions and either the faculty seminar or one of the evening seminars offered by the alumni camp. Child care and children’s programs will be provided during morning and evening sessions. But we would also be eager to welcome faculty who are single or married without children to join us.

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In the mornings...

At this year’s Faculty Conference, we’ll be taking an in-depth look at the life of Jacob in Genesis. We’ll be led each morning in our manuscript study by Kathy Cooper (more on Kathy below). As we reflect on Jacob’s journey and encounters with God, we will explore how God is with us today in our work, our sleep, our family relationships, our present and our future. The twists and turns of Jacob’s journey provide ample opportunity for reflection and application. Here is just one example:

As Jacob fled for his life with brother Esau in hot pursuit, he met God for the first time in unexpected circumstances, far away from home. In his surprise he exclaimed: “Surely the LORD is in this place – and I did not know it!” (Genesis 28:16) Like Jacob, many of us have encountered God in unexpected ways over our lifetimes. Yet many of us today may need to know afresh that God is with us in some unusual places and circumstances – whether in our work, our extended families, or the university.

About Our Speaker

Kathy Cooper (BA, Yale ’88; MDiv, Regent College, ’08) has worked with InterVarsity for 21 years in a variety of campus contexts and roles, including Brown University, Rhode Island College, and Ohio State University. While most of here career with IVCF has focused on undergraduate ministry, she began working with IV’s Graduate & Faculty Ministries in 2006, serving graduate & medical students at Brown University and supervising GFM staff in New England. This summer, Kathy begins a new role as the GFM Director of Staff Training & Development. Kathy loves helping people come alive to Jesus through Scripture, whether leading in-depth Bible study discussions, teaching people how to reflect theologically about their work, or listening for God’s presence in the sharing of life stories. Kathy and her husband Keith have 3 teenage daughters and share a 2-family house with Keith’s sister in Providence, RI.

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In the evenings...

Through times of personal reflection, group discussions, and prayer, we will help one another discern how our universities and academic fields can be places that increasingly experience Christ’s redeeming influence. The faculty team leading our evening sessions this year is one rich in experience and diverse in faith-journey, cultural background academic specialization and institutional context. Here is just a brief introduction to each of our session leaders.

Meet the Session Leaders

Steven Classen is Professor of Television, Film and Media Studies at California State University, Los Angeles, where he also serves as vice Chair of the University Academic Senate. He earned his Ph.D. in Media and cultural Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.A. from the University of Oregon. Dr. Classen’s research interests include the history of television and radio as well as the representation of religion in popular media. His book, Watching Jim Crow: The Struggles Surrounding Mississippi Television, examines efforts to change segregationalist television during the southern civil rights movement.

Shetal Desai is a pharmacist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Economics & Policy at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She also developed the Clinical Authorization Center at the Keck Hospitals of USC where she also serves as the Director. Dr. Desai earned her Doctor of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and her B.S. in Physiological Science at the UCLA. Dr. Desai serves as a Faculty Advisor to the student chapter of Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy at USC and trains students on the assessment of clinical and economic value of a drug product to pharmaceutical decision making within a health care system. She has been on television as a pharmaceutical expert for the show on Spike TC called 1,000 Ways to Die.

Shetal is a born-again believer from a Hindu background and came to faith while in college at UCLA. Her journey to faith is a unique story that has all the makings of a ‘Bollywood’ movie. She has called Los Angeles her home now for over 10 years and enjoys outdoor physical activities. She serves at her local church and is committed to mentoring the foster youth of the San Gabriel Valley.

Jennifer McKinney is Chair of the Sociology Department and Director of Women’s Studies at Seattle Pacific University. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at Purdue University, specializing in the sociology of religion. Dr. McKinney’s research interests include evangelicalism and gender, boundary-maintenance in evangelical megachurches, the influence of ministry internships on religious vocation, and the impact of evangelical movements within mainline denominations. Her work has been published in The Sociological Quarterly, The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, The Journal of Youth Ministry, and Christianity Today.

Jennifer was an active member of the graduate chapter of InterVarsity at Purdue University, serving as a small group leader, large group coordinator, and chapter president. She oves living and teaching in the Emerald City and serves her local church as a prayer ministry coordinator.

Francis Su is Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. His research is in geometric combinatorics and applications to the social sciences, and he has co-authored over a dozen papers with undergraduates. He has won national awards from the Mathematical Association of America for his teaching and his writing, and he just concluded a term as the Association’s vice president. His passion for teaching and popularizing mathematics is evident from his website Math Fun Facts, which receives over a million hits each year, as well as his iPhone app by the same name. Francis encountered Jesus while an undergraduate at the University of Texas. He earned his Ph.D. at Harvard and served in many capacities in the IVCF graduate fellowship there. He is now active in multiple ministries of his church. His hobbies include songwriting, gardening, and photography; just like mathematics these are modes of creative expression that divinely blend structure, beauty, and freedom.

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Registration and Fees

Click here to register for this conference.

Below are the rates for Faculty and Alumni for 2012. Please contact Lorrey Thabet for staff registration.

Faculty & Alumni	Early Registration	Normal Registration
Rates	Jan 1-April 30	May 1-July 1
Adults & Teens	$430	$450
(entering 7th grade and up)
Children	$330	$360
(4 years old - entering 6th grade)
Infants(0-3)	$160	$180

 Total Family Registration Maximum: $2,000

Limited scholarship funds are available for faculty and staff who are not able to cover the full costs of the 2012 West Coast Faculty Conference. Please apply for a scholarship when you register.

Campus by the Sea showcases God's amazing creation in amazing natural landscapes. You do not want to miss the opportunity to enjoy its' programs, facilities and accommodations while reveling in the majesty of Catalina Island. Visit theCampus by the Sea website today for pictures and stories that will take your breath away.

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Further Information

We invite you to contact us for further information. You may also wish to subscribe to the Lamp Post, the quarterly chronicle of InterVarsity Faculty Ministry, to stay informed about next year's plans as they are announced.

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