She waited nervously for me to arrive. Her daughter had told her that she needed to see me and that she didn’t really have a choice. She was standing at the front door waiting. Her sweater was pulled tightly around her for protection against the still cold February breeze. As I pulled into her driveway, [...]

I am in the midst of teaching a course on social justice in which I use Sue and Sue’s (2008) well known text which requires an examination of areas of personal and systemic prejudice, bias and privilege. It is within this framework that I have been assessing the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State. Rereading [...]

Last spring my husband came home from work with the news that he had been laid off again. This was the third time in the past few years that he’d been laid off. The difference this time was in the finality of the decision as there would be no call back to work. The past [...]

As a university professor for the past 17 years I have come to cherish summer break. Time off from school allows me to recharge my mind, my spirit, and my aging body. Typically I spend summers reading as many books as possible, watching as much baseball as possible, and working in my garden for as [...]

As a Christian who teaches at a Christian university, there is one discussion that I can predict will occur numerous times throughout coursework for both undergraduates and graduates. This discussion centers on a Christian response to homosexuality. Over the past few months this question has also made headlines due to two recent court cases involving [...]

It was one of those hectic stressful workday mornings. This day found me struggling to leave home on time with a cat reluctant to come inside and a new puppy resistant to a few hours of life in her crate. My frustration levels increased as it seemed I was stopped at each traffic light and [...]

I have been struggling for the past few months to retain my optimism. It seems that everything in my life was beginning to be burdensome and impossible with few very limited opportunities for hope. Knowing that a large part of my pessimism is a family legacy, I’ve been working for most of my adult life [...]

We are now on day 51 of the BP Oil Spill. Each day I have watched the news accounts and felt increasing hopelessness and despair. The recently released pictures of the sea birds drowned in oil, helpless and sinking were images I have not been able to shed. My dreams have been filled with images [...]