Past Lectures

2021 | JOHN MASON LECTURE IN ECONOMICS

"Post-Crisis Economics: Thinking on the Average"

Dr. Kristen Cooper, Gordon College                                                                 

March 4, 2021

Small decisions add up to big effects. The crises of our day have made this plainer than ever. In this talk, economist Kristen Cooper argues that although people make decisions incrementally– “on the margin,” in economist lingo–what they care about is the cumulative effect of those decisions. To align our decisions with our values, we must move past marginal thinking and start thinking on the average. Dr. Cooper teaches classes in microeconomics, public policy, environmental economics, and Christian Teaching on the Economy. In Fall 2019, she was a Fulbright U.S. Scholar at the Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain. Prof. Cooper joined the Economics and Business faculty in 2013 after completing her Ph.D. in Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. 

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2021 | CFI ARTS LECTURE

"Art and Voluntary Exile: Courage to Scout the Boundaries"

Prof. Bruce Herman, Gordon College                                                                 

February 11, 2021

Bruce Herman completed both undergraduate and graduate fine arts degrees at Boston University School for the Arts. His artwork has been exhibited in more than 20 solo and 100 group exhibitions in eleven major cities as well as internationally. Bruce joined the Gordon College faculty in 1984 and became the first chair of the Art Department in 1988. His primary focus as a teacher and artist is figurative painting. His multifaceted work also speaks for Gordon College: As founder of the College’s art department Bruce has, for more than three decades, been a strong contributor to the flourishing of the larger Gordon community. As Lothlórien Distinguished Chair in the Fine Arts, he remains a catalyst for change at Gordon—transforming blank canvas into lush image, an old gymnasium into a first-class center for the arts, fledgling artists into mature, inspired painters.

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2020 | HERRMANN LECTURES ON FAITH AND SCIENCE

"Vitiligo: Journey to Understand and Treat a Skin Disease"                                                   

Dr. John Harris, University of Massachusetts Medical School

October 22, 26, and 29, 2020

Dr. John Harris is a tenured Associate Professor of Dermatology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) in Worcester, MA where he also serves as Director of the Vitiligo Clinic and Research Center, focusing both on the clinical management of vitiligo patients as well as research into new therapeutic strategies.

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2019 | HERRMANN LECTURES ON FAITH AND SCIENCE

"What Does it Mean to be Human? Common Ground between Science and Faith"                                                   

Dr. Praveen Sethupathy, Cornell University 

October 7, 8, and 9, 2019

Dr. Praveen Sethupathy is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences and Director of the Center for Genomics at Cornell University, where he directs a research lab focused on genomic approaches to understand human health and disease. He received his BA degree from Cornell University and his PhD in Genomics from the University of Pennsylvania as well as completing a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Human Genome Research Institute under the mentorship of Dr. Francis Collins. Dr. Sethupathy has been an invited speaker for the Veritas Forum, has served on the advisory board for the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, and serves on the Board of Directors for the BioLogos Foundation. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his wife and three children.

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2019 | RICHARD GROSS LECTURE AT SYMPOSIUM

"With a Mighty Hand: God's Work Among Refugees in Greece"

Dr. Christine Palmer, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary                                                                   

April 25, 2019

Dr. Christine Palmer is a Greek expat and adjunct professor at the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA as well as visiting lecturer at several additional institutions. After graduating from Tufts University with a B.A. in Clinical Psychology, she obtained two masters degrees and completed her doctorate of Philosophy in Bible and Ancient Near East from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Dr. Palmer is the recipient of multiple academic awards, including the MENSA Scholarship and the Samuel Sandmel Fellowship for Ph.D. studies, and has published 35 articles in the Archaelogical Study Bible as well as other academic journals. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children.

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2019 | JOHN MASON LECTURE IN ECONOMICS 

"Global Flourishing and China's Test of the West"    

Dr. Stephen Smith, Hope College                                                               

March 28, 2019

Dr. Stephen Smith is a professor of Economics at Hope College in Michegan, where he joined the faculty in 2016 after teaching for 29 years at Gordon College. His research and writing focus on international trade, global economic development, and growth — topics he addresses both technically and in terms of Christian ethical reflection. Dr. Smith is vice president of the Association of Christian Economists, whose journal, Faith & Economics, he edited for many years. He is also a member of the American Economic Association and the Southern Economic Association.

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2018 | VISITING CHAPLAIN

"Serving as a Christian Pastor in a World of Conflict"    

Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Michael Shannon, U.S.A.F                                                  

November 15, 2018

Chaplain, Lieutenant Colonel, Michael (Mike) Shannon is an Evangelical Chaplain who has honorably served in the United States Army, Army National Guard, and Air Force for 38 years. Chaplain Shannon entered military service June 1980 and joined the Air Force as a 1st Lt in January 2000.  He served six years as a pastor in Hudsonville, MI. Chaplain Shannon and his wife Imelda continue to seek to serve Christ and His Kingdom with their leadership and love for people.

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2018 | HERRMANN LECTURES ON FAITH AND SCIENCE

"All God's Children: Best Practices in Loving and Serving Vulnerable Children Around the World"                

Dr. Carrie Tibbles, Harvard Medical School                                       

October 29, 30, and Nov 1, 2018

Carrie D. Tibbles, M.D., graduated from Gordon College in 1993 with a degree in biology and psychology and is currently the Director of Graduate Medical Education and the Vice Chair of Clinical Innovations in Emergency Medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.  Dr. Tibbles has served as the associate residency director of the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency for over 10 years. Dr. Tibbles is also an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. An expert in women’s health and medical education, Dr. Tibbles is the author of numerous peer-reviewed scholarly articles and educational publications. Dr. Tibbles has engaged in medical mission work in Haiti, and serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Christian non-profit relief agency and medical clinic, Hope for the Children of Haiti. 

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2018 | JOHN MASON LECTURE IN ECONOMICS

"Why Open Global Trade Really Matters for the World's Poor"  

Dr. Judith Dean, Brandeis University                                                                 

May 3, 2018

Dr. Judith Dean is a professor of International Economics at Brandeis University. Before coming to Brandeis, Dr. Dean served as Senior International Economist in the Research Division of the Office of Economics at the US International Trade Commission (USITC). Prior to joining the USITC, she was Associate Professor of Economics at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, and Assistant Professor at Bowdoin College. She has been a consultant to the World Bank and the OECD, and a Visiting Scholar at the Indian Statistical Institute, New Delhi, India. She has also helped facilitate research collaboration for the USITC with Tsinghua University and the India Development Foundation. Dr. Dean was named one of six Visiting Scholars in the Clayton Yeutter International Trade Program, University of Nebraska, 2012-13. Dr. Dean recently completed many years of service on the Board of Directors of World Relief, and the Board of Trustees of Gordon College.

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2018 | RICHARD GROSS LECTURE AT SYMPOSIUM

"Signposts from a Suffering World"                                                  

Reverend N.T. Wright, University of St. Andrews                 

April 15, 2018

Dr. N. T. Wright is the former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and one of the world’s leading Bible scholars. He is now serving as the chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the School of Divinity at the University of St. Andrews. For twenty years, Wright taught New Testament studies at Cambridge, McGill, and Oxford Universities, and he has appeared frequently on radio and TV in Britain, America and elsewhere. Dr. Wright is the award-winning author of After You Believe, Surprised by Hope, Simply Christian, The Challenge of Jesus, and most recently The Day the Revolution Began and Paul: A Biography, as well as the much-heralded series Christian Origins and the Question of God. He has been married to Maggie for 47 years and they have four children and five grandchildren.

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2018 | TAK YAN LEE LECTURE

"Faith, Doubt, and Emotional Hardship in Medical Training"        
 

Dr. Ken Bishop, Sturdy Memorial Hospital                                                           

March 5, 2018

Dr. Kenneth Bishop is a hematologist and oncologist. He graduated from Gordon College in 1998 with a major in biology, and received an MD and PhD in Cellular Immunology from University of Massachusetts Medical School in 2008. He completed residency training in internal medicine and fellowship training in hematology and oncology at Brown University between 2008 and 2015. Dr. Bishop was formerly at Brown University as an assistant professor as well as working at a V.A. medical clinic. Currently, Dr. Bishop's primary professional interests lie in the successful integration of palliative and oncologic care.

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2017 | DISTINGUISHED VISITING SCHOLAR IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

"Purpose, Promise and the Struggle"

Dr. Nancy Hill, Harvard Graduate School of Education

November 15, 2017

Dr. Nancy Hill is the Charles Bigelow Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology in 1994. Dr. Hill’s research focuses on ethnicity, culture and context and identifies unique and interactive ways in which these constructs influence parenting beliefs, parenting practices, and children mental health and academic adjustment. She has published her work in top scientific journals in the field such as Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Educational Psychology, Applied Developmental Science, and Journal of Family Psychology, as well as editing several books. Dr. Hill has served on the Governing Council and as Secretary of the Society for Research in Child Development (2009-2015); Member and Chairperson of the Board of ChildFund International, an iNGO serving Children and families in 30 nations globally; and on numerous other boards. 

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