Online Registration Opens for 2021 IACE Faculty Development Conference
FORT WORTH - Online registration is open for the inaugural Faculty Development Conference of the International Alliance for Christian Education on June 27-30 at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Riley Conference Center.
The conference will feature 12 sessions during the four days, and IACE president David S. Dockery is urging each of the organization’s 61 member or affiliate institutions of higher learning to send at least one faculty member to the event.
“Moving faculty development to the forefront of what we’re trying to do, with an emphasis on Christian worldview formation has been very well-received and greatly encouraged,” Dockery told an advisory council that will help shape the week-long event. “We’re hearing from presidents already asking ‘when can we nominate someone to attend and how do we get people involved?’”
Dockery said the idea is to present a variety of ways to approach Christian worldview thinking and then create representatives who will return with plans for faculty workshops in the fall.
“We’re looking for both entry-level faculty,” Dockery said, “or senior faculty who could come back to your campus and help lead a faculty initiative.”
Colleges, universities and seminaries will be able to enroll teams of faculty members who will benefit from the discussions and bring home a plan for faculty development.
“We encourage institutions to bring teams,” IACE board chair Ralph Enlow said. “The value of the conference is going to be exponential when there is more than one person from an institution that’s in a conversation that’s going to bear fruit.”
A tentative schedule is available on the IACE website, but it is subject to fine-tuning as the advisory council designs the conference.
Dockery said IACE is partnering with the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, which will lead four of the 12 sessions that focus on Christian worldview formation.
The other eight sessions will focus on Distinctive Christian Education, a Faculty Member’s Journey, Discipline-Specific Conversations, Conversations in Christian Worldview and Culture, Scholarship, Research and Writing, and a pair of Panel Discussions.
The advisory council for the conference includes John Basie, director, Impact 360; Eric Bolger, provost, College of the Ozarks; Susan Booth, faculty member, Canadian Baptist Seminary and College; Andy Chambers, provost, Missouri Baptist University; Amy Crider, faculty member, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; Tracy Davis, dean, Olivet University; Philip Dearborn, president, Association of Biblical Higher Education; Ralph Enlow, IACE Board Chair; Nathan Finn, provost, North Greenville University; Len Munsil, president, Arizona Christian University; John Netland, provost, Union University; Jennifer Marshall Patterson, IACE board member; Matt Pinson, president, Welch College; Rhyne Putman, director of Worldview Formation, Williams Baptist University; Scott Rae, dean and special assistant to the president, Biola University; Melinda Stephens, provost, Geneva College; John Stonestreet, president, Colson Center for Christian Worldview; Paul Thompson, dean, North Greenville University; and Michael Wilder, dean, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
The registration fee of $300/person includes all sessions and meals. Accommodations can be reserved at the Riley Center on the SWBTS campus or at the nearby Hampton Inn and Suites Fort Worth Southwest Cityview.
Please address questions about the conference to iace@iace.education.