Following Christ 2008: Flourishing in the Academy
A Gathering of the Emerging Scholars Network
Hosted by the Emerging Scholars Network
Coordinator: Alan Young
Christians called to the professorate often feel alone because their calling is relatively rare in the church. The Emerging Scholars Network is hosting this opportunity to connect with others who have similar callings. In addition, we will provide specific guidance for the challenges you might be facing at your current stage in the academic journey.
Using a combination of speakers, group discussions, and career-stage workshops, we trust that you will leave with new relationships, a fresh perspective, and practical guidance for your next steps. The program will be appropriate for everyone from junior academics in tenure-track positions to upper-level undergraduates considering graduate school.
Theme
Flourishing in the Academy is organized around the “Four Questions” of ESN:
- Why should I consider pursing an academic vocation?
- What do I need to learn about Christian thought and practice to be faithful within my academic calling?
- How do I navigate the various stages and transitions of an academic career?
- Who can help me at each stage of my professional development, and whom can I help?
Through our plenary speakers, panel discussions and workshops, we will explore these questions together. Our plenary speakers and workshop leaders are experienced Christian scholars with many years in the academy.
Plenary Addresses
- What is Calling? (Rev. Ronald Potter)
- Is an Academic Calling Valid? Is an Academic Calling for Me? (Mary Poplin)
- Exposition of Isaiah 61 (Alec Hill)
- A Christian Scholar, or a Scholar who is a Christian? (Marc Baer)
- The Idolatries of Academia (Mary Poplin)
- The Community of Scholars (Marc Baer and Ken Elzinga)
Panel Discussions
Twice during the event, we will gather our plenary speakers together and engage in a discussion moderated by our emcee, Francis Su. On Saturday, our panel will discuss Stories of Calling, drawing on their own biography to consider how they came to the academic life. On Sunday, they will gather again to discuss Stories of Mentoring — who mentored them, who they have mentored, and both the positive and negative aspects of mentoring.
Workshops
On Sunday morning, we will break into workshop sessions. Some of these sessions will be very pragmatic, some will address the needs of specific groups of scholars, and some will focus on topics of community and spirituality better handled in a smaller group.
We plan on hosting a total of 15 workshops. Here are the ones that are currently confirmed:
- Before You Start Your Dissertation (George Yancey)
- Being Open About Your Faith Without Turning People Off (Ken Elzinga)
- Finishing Your Dissertation (Mary Poplin)
- Job Hunting and the Interview Process (Francis Su)
- Preparing for Graduate School (George Yancey)
- Publishing as Younger Faculty (Christy Moran)
- Panel Discussion: Faculty Life at Different Kinds of Colleges
- Panel Discussion: Preparing for Tenure
- Spiritual Disciplines and the Academic Life (Nan Thomas)
- Starting a Faculty Community (Tom Trevethan)
- Women in the Academy (Christy Moran)
Check back regularly as new workshops are added!
Plenary Speakers
Marc Baer has been at Hope College since 1983, where he specializes in modern British history. He is the author of Theatre and Disorder in Late Georgian London, published in 1992 by Oxford University Press. Besides courses in British, Irish and imperial history he also teaches a senior seminar, Exploring Faith and Calling. In addition to his teaching and research Baer helped organize the Hope College Veritas Forum, serves as faculty advisor for the InterVarsity chapter at Hope, and for a dozen years has directed the college’s Pew Society, which through a mentoring program helps equip Hope students to consider and prepare for graduate school and university teaching careers.
Kenneth G. Elzinga is the Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia. He has received numerous teaching awards, and each fall his introductory economics course attracts over one thousand students, making it the largest class offered at the University of Virginia. An expert in antitrust economics, and he has testified in several precedent-setting antitrust cases, including three Supreme Court decisions. As the author of more than seventy academic publications, Mr. Elzinga also is known for his mystery novels, co-authored with William Breit (under the penname Marshall Jevons), in which the protagonist employs economic analysis to solve crimes. Mr. Elzinga has a B.A. and honorary doctorate from Kalamazoo College and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. He has been a member of the faculty at the University of Virginia since 1967.
Alec Hill is President of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. Mr. Hill holds a B.A. in History (summa cum laude) and an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Seattle Pacific University. In addition, he earned a J.D. from the University of Washington School of Law. From 1995 – 2001, Mr. Hill served as Dean of the School of Business and Economics at Seattle Pacific University. For the prior decade, he was a Professor of Law and Ethics at the university. As a professor, he published numerous articles, consulted with World Vision on homelessness and Amerasian children, developed MBA curricula in Russia, authored an InterVarsity Press book, titled Just Business: Christian Ethics in the Marketplace (also published in the U.K. and Hong Kong) and presented business ethics seminars in Hanoi, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila and Hong Kong.
Mary Poplin, a native of Texas, began her career teaching elementary school and special education. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 1978. Her research and writing focus on issues inside the classroom, social justice and accountability, cultural and linguistic diversity, and Christian scholarship. She is the author of Voices from the Inside: A Report on Schooling from Inside the Classroom (1992), a report that has sold 70,000 copies. In 1996, Mary worked for two months with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity to determine why she called her work “religious work, not social work”. Her book on this experience, titled Finding Calcutta , was released this fall by InterVarsity Press. Mary was Dean of the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University from 2002-2004 and Director of Teacher Education 1985-95 and again 2000-04. In these positions, she worked to develop, establish and promote the school’s new vision of merging social justice and accountability.
Rev. Ronald Clifton Potter is a lecturer, preacher and writer. An Ordained Elder of the Presbyterian Church of America, he attended Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, and received a Master’s of Divinity degree from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, GA. He also pursued doctoral studies in Theological Ethics at Drew University in Madison, NJ. Rev. Potter is as an active member of the American Academy of Religion, the Obsidian Society and a board member of the Nation Black Evangelical Association. He has taught and lectured at numerous institutions including at Harvard University in Boston, MA; Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN; the Center for Urban Theological Studies in Philadelphia, PA; Clark College in Atlanta, GA; Jackson State University in Mississippi; Chrichton College in Memphis, TN; as well as other colleges and seminaries. Rev. Potter is the author of numerous articles and essays which have appeared in journals, magazines and books. For over 30 years, Rev. Potter has critically explored whether and in what respect the Christian faith has anything meaningful to say to the vast social issues of our time. Rev. Potter is married to Joanie Perkins, an attorney (and daughter of noted author and Christian social activist, Dr. John Perkins), and the father of 13 year old Varah and 6 year old Karah.
Francis Su is a Professor of Mathematics at Harvey Mudd College, the science and engineering institution of the Claremont Colleges cluster. His research is in geometric combinatorics and combinatorial topology, as well as applications in economics to problems of fairness. He has won national awards from the Mathematical Association of America for his writing (2001 Hasse Prize) and teaching (2004 Alder Award), as well as research grants from the NSF. He enjoys the teaching/research balance, and is passionate about popularizing mathematics; his “Math Fun Facts” website gets over a million hits each year. Francis became a follower of Christ as an undergraduate at the University of Texas. He earned his Ph.D. at Harvard University and served in many capacities in the InterVarsity graduate fellowship there. As a professor, he has encouraged dialogue about faith among his students by hosting a book discussion group on science and theology. His non-academic interests include photography and songwriting.
Workshop Leaders
Christy Moran, Assistant Professor of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs, Kansas State University
Nan Thomas, InterVarsity Faculty Ministry
Thomas Trevethan, InterVarsity Faculty Ministry
George Yancey, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of North Texas
Alan Young, Professor of Sociology, Southern Nazarene University
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