Truth be told, I have always loved Asbury Theological Seminary. When I was deciding between seminaries for my MDIV, Asbury was in my top four (along with Fuller, Regent, and Gordon-Conwell). Well, as of recently, they have officially accepted me as an adjunct online-instructor and I can begin teaching courses for them. (Whereas at some institutions, bringing on an adjunct is a matter of point and click, at Asbury there is a lengthy process and the approval must come from a number of people including several members of the faculty, as I understand.) Because I will be teaching full-time for Seattle Pacific University next year, after August I can only do courses for Asbury in the summer, but that is very exciting as I can teach the online courses from anywhere!
Thank you, Asbury for bringing me on and I am proud to join the crew!
[NB: At the Midwest SBL, people kept assuming that I already teach at Asbury. Actually, currently I am teaching at Ashland Theological Seminary, not Asbury. Ashland Seminary has many methodists, but it is not the same thing. And it is in Ohio.]
From what you’ve been able to see so far, do you thing that there is a need out there for more religion/theology professors?
It seems that online instruction is becoming ever more important not only for individuals with busy schedules and resources that make pulling up stakes and moving to a campus setting difficult, but to the administrators of schools that wish to provide a sound education to as many students interested in their school as possible. I suspect that a number of potential students (and probably not a few administrators) will be interested in reading your future comments comparing the two experiences from the point of view of a new faculty member engaged in both methods.
Congratulations on both Asbury and SPU. Though I’m attend George Fox, I actually go to SPU frequently because I’m in the Seattle area each weekend. And the Summit system allows me to check out books there. Maybe we could get together sometime (along with Brian LePort if he’s in the area).