Blog

I just finished watching the series A Small Light (currently available on Amazon Prime) with my wife and 17-year-old daughter. The three of us are going to the Netherlands in a few days, me for a conference and a bit of sightseeing, and the two of them exclusively for sightseeing during my daughter’s spring break.…

Author’s note: As I read about President Trump’s recent executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States and reflected on its potential implications, I was reminded of a podcast episode in which I interviewed Dr. Grace Inae Blum.  Dr. Blum teaches and writes about humanizing teacher education, teacher preparation for culturally…

Conversations surrounding the practical use of artificial intelligence in student academic work seem to be less straight-forward than those having to do with plagiarism.This is not to say considerations about plagiarism should be one-dimensional. For thoughtful considerations dealing with these topics, I highly recommend Rachel B. Griffis, “Plagiarism as the Language of Ownership: Aligning Academic…

Just as both men and women are created in God’s image, we are also both fallen. Moreover, there can be sex differences among men and women (often simply in terms of percentages and not absolutes) in the ways they demonstrate virtue and vice. What that means and what the redemption of masculinity and femininity might…

The month of March is designated as Women’s History Month. At a time when the word “women” itself is being targeted for censorship by the federal administration, it seems more important than ever to consider how Christian institutions of higher education are drawing upon their theological foundations in order to create environments that allow for…

A few months ago, I found myself in conversation with an accomplished leader. He had all the marks of an impressive and socially privileged individual: as an older, cisgender, heterosexual  white male, he served as the CEO of an organization that was bringing in millions of dollars in grant funding and making powerful international connections.…

April is still a ways off so, no, I’m not trying to pull anyone’s leg. I really do find joy in academic administration…let me explain. My administrative work began as a department chair about 10 years ago when my dean asked if I’d consider serving. Honestly, I was a bit wary of some percolating challenges…

My Canadian wife works extensively with international students at Baylor. Recently, she got to know two different Nigerian students. At one level, one would think that these international students from the same country would love to get together with one another. Yet, that view is premised on North American racial, ethnic, and national categories. It…

In recent years, it has been our technology that has “recognized” us. Our smartphones and laptops are unlocked by fingerprint readers, virtual assistants, like Siri and Alexa, are activated by our voices, and facial recognition technology scans our faces in various security contexts. Recognition and identification technology became prominent, especially with the rise of modern…

If you’ve read my last two blogs (see here and here), you know what I’m all about: Authenticity and the undergraduate disabled student community. That is my thing. And, since stretching out my baby research legs after my dissertation a few years ago, my passion for this underrepresented population has only grown. I was on…

As an Associate Dean of my college I am on a 12-month contract, so the academic calendar doesn’t impact my work schedule as much as it does many faculty. All the same, I am a very different figure on campus during the semester than I am when most of the students have gone home. During…

There was once a day when, as an educator in Christian higher education, you could assume most of the students in your classroom identified as Christian, came from a Christian background and engaged in a faith community. You wouldn’t make this assumption simply because you were at a Christian organization but because 78% of Americans…

I had a brilliant idea. My students were going to solve REAL LIFE PROBLEMS. It was a business communications course with a dozen undergrads. I put them in groups, used some scenarios from the textbook company, and sent them off to do a multi-week project to create a business proposal. What could go wrong? Apparently,…

As someone who teaches about the psychological pitfalls of racial colorblindness, it’s been jolting to see this ideology being touted as an ideal way of relating to one another. For example, President Trump has repeatedly used this term, including during his inauguration speech. Recently, against the backdrop of the current public sentiments about racial colorblindness,…

Like most college professors in this Year of our Lord 2025, I sometimes think about what I would do if my position got the axe. I never come up with any good ideas, and my institution is relatively healthy, so I usually just let it go and get on with my work. Tomorrow will take…