WELCOME
2019 Theme: "Making World Changers Together.”
Dates: August 15–16, 2019.
Registration: Open until August 2, 2019.
Dear Faculty Colleagues:
I invite you to ponder with me the theme of this 2019 Faculty Institute, Making World Changers Together; and the corresponding scriptural passage: “Live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ... standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News” (Philippians 1:27–28b).
The theme and text remind us that our work is transformative—transforming the lives of our students. An Andrews University education is not merely about being better informed, it is about being transformed. And you are the catalyst for that transformation! You are engaged in a work that is Making World Changers Together!
Because of your work, Andrews University is a place where we can thrive together and live out the ideals of Philippians 1:27–28b—standing together as a community of learners, under the banner of Christ.
This eighth annual faculty institute is a rich Andrews University tradition and a permanent fixture of our academic life. Thank you for coming together for this day-and-a-half professional development event that marks the beginning of the academic year. You will be inspired and challenged!
On Thursday, Christian B. Miller, the A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University, will inspire and challenge us to think about Making World Changers Together through the process of cultivating good character in students. He will clarify what is involved in having a virtuous character.
Friday’s plenary will focus on leveraging our diversity to make meaningful and lasting change. Jerry Price, who is leading the diversity work at Spectrum Health Lakeland, will guide in that conversation.
You, the faculty, are at the core of our academic community. The teaching and learning environment relies on your skills, knowledge and creativity. Our reputation in research depends on your willingness to engage in, create and sustain a culture of scholarship and inquiry. Our call to Make World Changers Together emphasizes that as a spiritual community, our success is measured by the extent to which students see how you, their mentors, create learning communities that engender transformation.
Thank you for what you do so well, every day. This institute will provide opportunities for you to broaden your repertoire of strategies to enhance the teaching-learning community.
My hope is that you will gain some new perspectives and ideas over the next day and a half, and that as a result of this shared time together we will be an even stronger academic community—a community that supports and nurtures the transformed life!
We ask for your feedback. Please let us know what we did well, what we can do better, and share with us your ideas for future workshops and institute sessions.
Thank you for your work. You are a valued member of our Andrews University academic community. Let us live and model the transformed life and continue Making World Changers Together!
Sincerely,
Christon Arthur
Provost