Perhaps you have seen the photo of the guy with the permanent tattoo, “NO REGERTS!” Having retired in July 2017, I do have regrets. My new vocation of working with professors through Faculty Commons allows me to reflect and identify things I could have done during my tenure as a professor. Here are some of […]
As an academic nearer to the end of my career than the beginning, I have been reflecting recently on the entirety of my professional journey. Looking back, I had many doubts and worries along the way. But God’s sovereignty and faithfulness have also been abundantly evident. In retrospect, I realize now that my doubts resulted […]
In the summer of 2019, I read the devotional 31 Days of Praise: Enjoying God Anew by Ruth Myers. The book reminded me of the many positive reasons to praise God. However, I was also challenged by the author’s exhortations to praise God for the difficult circumstances or trials I experienced. I investigated the Scriptures […]
The hardest part of my job as a professor and associate chair is to deal with people. Give me a science problem and I’ll happily close the door to my office and chew on it. However, that is not how life in academia works. Now, don’t get me wrong. I like my job and I […]
Sometimes a friendly smile and “How are you?” can open up floods of despair from a student. It’s all a part of our “sacred vocation” of teaching. I absolutely love teaching. The daughter of a British father and an Italian mother, I am fluent in both languages. For 25 years I have taught English at […]
A torrent of conflicting thoughts slammed together in my mind: What if this makes other faculty mad and I don’t get tenure? … I have a family to support. As a newly minted Assistant Professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at a public university, I noticed that we had no required courses about […]
Identity can be a polarizing topic for many. It’s strange to me how this idea of who you are can be such a tricky thing. We introduce ourselves several hundred times over the course of our lives. The words change. We’re formal and titular in our professional settings, casual and easy-going with family and those […]
As a new assistant professor last year, I couldn’t help but ask myself some hard questions: How could I serve Christ in academia, that most secular of institutions? What opportunities would there be, if any, to do Kingdom work on campus? Was I committing my time and energy to the right profession, the path that […]
On January 2,2020, I learned that my department head had passed away, which filled me with sadness. On January 3rd, I received a call from my dean acknowledging this major loss to the department and asked me to become interim department head. After discussion and prayer with my wife, Beth, and then my friend Rob, […]
I am surprised at how quickly a colleague who has passed away or retired is no longer part of the discussion in an academic department. At the time, he or she is genuinely mourned and sincerely missed, but I am shocked by how quickly someone who spent 10, 20, perhaps even 30 years mentoring students, […]
