After reading A Grander Story: An Invitation to Christian Professors by Rick Hove and Heather Holleman in a Faculty Commons small group Bible study, I was inspired to integrate my research with my faith rather than keeping my work and faith neatly compartmentalized into separate boxes.. As a music professor, I recorded an album entitled Solace specifically focused […]
God inspired me to enter teaching before I knew Him. Initially, I decided to follow my father’s footsteps and enter corporate America. However, halfway through my MBA program, I realized I could get paid for doing what I loved: learning, teaching what I’d learned, and writing. Even though I may not be as bright as most professors, […]
I had been wanting to step out of my comfort zone and serve a population that was completely different from my own, so when my church scheduled a trip to serve refugees in Clarkston, Georgia, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. I spent a week learning about the difficult plight of refugees, most of whom […]
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, […]
On the 10th day of our little girl Elizabeth’s life, she was rushed by ambulance to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital after she stopped breathing several times. Watching a team of doctors and nurses work to insert IVs into her tiny body, eventually by drilling into her little legs, brought me to tears (and still does as […]
Have you ever questioned why you work in academia? I have. In a particularly challenging part of the 2023-2024 academic year, I questioned my place in academia. I confided in a sister in Christ and shared that ‘endless emails and zoom calls’ certainly couldn’t be my calling. Her simple response gave me pause. She said, […]
“You won’t believe how God just answered our prayers!” I sent this message to our Faculty Commons leaders after our monthly gathering where we pray for our campus and students. That morning after reading and reflecting on Psalm 3:3, “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my […]
A friend loves at all times,and a brother is born for a time of adversity. – Proverbs 17:17 In Spring 2021, I was diagnosed with cancer. I was serving as interim department co-chair at this time while our department chair was on sabbatical. This was during the pandemic, and I was working from home. Soon, […]
I was raised in a religious family, attending church regularly and being educated in religious schools from my early childhood up through college at Villanova University. While I had the benefit of being raised in a Christian home, my faith walk has not been a smooth or easy one. Abuse and Dysfunction I had an […]
Joe and I are retired industry executives and had been colleagues for years at the same company. Our wives also have the same career field – nursing. Together the four of us enjoyed dinners together, traded recipes, traveled, and wandered the stalls at farmers markets. Because of our shared history, it surprised no one that […]
