Joining the Mission

Book excerpt: Joining the Mission is a helpful guide for new (and experienced) faculty at religious colleges and universities. Susan VanZanten here provides an orientation to the world of Christian higher education and an introduction to the academic profession of teaching, scholarship, and service, with a special emphasis on opportunities and challenges common to mission-driven institutions. From designing a syllabus to dealing with problem students, from working with committees to achieving a balanced life, VanZanten s guidebook will help faculty across the disciplines Art to Zoology and every subject between understand better what it means to pursue faithfully a vocation as professor. Susan VanZanten s Joining the Mission is an exceptional resource for all faculty members at Christian colleges and universities. While it is a very practical guide to teaching at a university, the book also helps the reader understand and wrestle with the nuances of what it means to be a faculty member at a mission-driven institution. I appreciate VanZanten s contribution to articulating why mission is important at our institutions, why we care about it so much, and how we can better accomplish it. Thomas Cedel President, Concordia University Texas