Baylor University’s Religion Department is not your grandparents’ or your parents’ religion department. It’s not even the religion department it was just a decade ago. It has changed dramatically in faculty and academic direction, featuring a wide diversity of educators…
Hope for divided churches glimmers at the Grammys
I cried Sunday night watching two seemingly different individuals perform one of my favorite songs together. I love music and look forward to the Grammy Awards every year. While I love celebrating my favorite artists and watching about half the…
In defense of DEI: 10 benefits of DEI in higher education
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in higher education are under attack around the country. Conservatives see these programs as purveyors of “wokeism” that limit free speech and teach discrimination, hate and divisiveness. I’ve spent my 37-year-career in higher education in…
Mercer University sets records for enrollment growth and ethnic diversity
As universities nationwide seek to diversify their student bodies — sometimes against the backdrop of political mandates not to talk about diversity and equity — one Baptist school in the Deep South continues to succeed year after year. Fall enrollment…
What does the future of BWIM hold?
There is something inherently beautiful about gathering with Baptist Women in Ministry. The stories we share with one another are sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious and often a little bit of both. We giggle our way through stories of the inappropriate…
To understand pluralism, think of a potluck
Promoting diversity in American culture and democracy is like hosting a potluck gathering, author and interfaith activist Eboo Patel said. “Maybe there’s something about a potluck that just brings out the best in pluralism,” Patel, founder and president of Interfaith…
Griffen and Ravitch warn Floridians of dangers of DeSantis’ attack on public education
Baptist minister and retired Arkansas judge Wendell Griffen stood before an audience of faith leaders and education advocates in Tallahassee, Fla., March 9, pointed to his lapel and dared Gov. Ron DeSantis to have him apprehended for being politically and…
A lesson from the Philadelphia Flyers: When inclusion becomes exclusive
To champion sexuality and gender inclusion while denying respectful disagreement reeks of hypocrisy. Take the recent case of National Hockey League player Ivan Provorov, a defenseman for the Philadelphia Flyers. For their Jan. 17 game against the Anaheim Ducks, the…
Panelists discuss how the Hamline University controversy could have been handled better in a diverse culture
Institutions of higher learning must hone flexibly to respond to campus divisions over religion and race that can escalate into the kind of public controversy currently embroiling Hamline University, a panel of experts said during a Jan. 31 webinar hosted…