September 19, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY
Almost 30 students from a dozen Midwest colleges and universities will come to
Calvin College this weekend for three days of conversations about what the
future might hold for them.
"Exploring Your Vocation in Christian Academic Institutions" will be September
22-24 at Calvin and is meant to help college students think not only about what
they're doing now, but also about what the future might hold - particularly if
they are being called to graduate school and perhaps careers in academia.
Calvin professor of English Susan Felch says selling students on more school
can be a tough thing, especially at a time when more compelling issues capture
their attention.
"Many students, "she says, "are wrestling with the question of whether, in a
world that is dying of war and starvation, they should spend six years in
graduate school and then enter the 'ivory tower' of an academic institution.
This conference is designed to address such questions directly and to open up a
space for them to talk with their peers, graduate students, and faculty."
The conference is funded by the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the
Arts and will be held at the Prince Conference Center.
The conference is directed by Felch with assistance from Calvin students
Kathleen Schmidt and Ryan Stegink, who will also be participants. Calvin
students Cara Boekeloo and Rob Zandstra will also attend.
The two featured speakers are Debra Rienstra, associate professor of English
at Calvin College, and Patrick Byrne, professor of philosophy at Boston
College. In addition, a panel of three current graduate students will be
present to share real-life reflections on the pleasures and perils of graduate
school and to talk with students individually throughout the conference. John
Steven Paul, the director of the Lilly Fellows Network, will also attend the
final day of the conference.
Schools represented include: Dayton, Hope, Valparaiso, Notre Dame, Wheaton,
Xavier and many more.
Contact Felch at felch@calvin.edu
-end-
Received on Mon Sep 18 22:15:26 2006
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