I came to the School of Education through a non-tradition route.  Not only did I spend the vast majority of my professional career as a clinician, but also I came to higher education much later in life than is usual.  Nevertheless, perhaps my view on scholarship will suggest a balance that serves to bridge the gap between emphasizing scholarship too much or too little in a primarily teaching university.

My perception as a doctoral student and later as an outsider looking in was that professors at the better colleges and universities were encouraged, if not required, to write, publish, and conduct research.  When I attended Pasadena College (now Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego), publications and research by faculty were regularly noted in alumni publications.  I have long attributed its high rate of graduates entering medical school to the research and publication activity of pre-med and science professors.  So, the value of scholarship has never been difficult for me to grasp. 

            Since I was a clinician for so many years, I do not view scholarship as the exclusive domain of professors at colleges and universities.  For example, clinicians regularly get articles, books, and research published.  Although my own publications as a clinician were not intended to be academic in nature, I attempted to integrate psychological principles and Christian truth for lay audiences as an intervention for those who were hurting.  In spite of the discipline it requires, I view my own attempts at scholarship to be a reflection of my desire to help others grow, develop, and heal.  This is still the case now that I am engaged in the mission of higher education.  If I can learn or discover something new in my field, I potentially increase my ability to help my students and colleagues to become more whole.  For me, this is the

primary motivation for my scholarly work.  The fact that it might bring honor to our faculty at

Seattle Pacific University and/or lead to promotion or tenure is secondary. 

In other words, I view scholarship primarily as a voluntary expression of my calling and secondarily as an activity required by someone else.  The question for me is not whether or not we engage in scholarship.  The question is to what degree should it be emphasized at Seattle Pacific University and for what purpose?

            At Seattle Pacific University, I believe our first priority is teaching, training, and mentoring students.  Two things distinguish our work: 1) We teach through a Christian worldview, and 2) we educate students with competence and character.  Students can expect direct and open interaction with us, whether it is in the classroom, in our offices, in the hallway, or on campus.  I want us to give students the best we have to offer.

            But, what is our best?  It does include good pedagogy, but it also includes scholarship for several reasons.  First, I believe scholarship models the importance of lifelong learning.  Our scholarship reflects the fact that as university professors we are teachers and learners.  Rather than suggesting that we know it all, our degrees reflect that we know how to learn.  Our degrees suggest we might be able to teach, but our scholarship demonstrates our continued willingness to learn.

                 Second, I believe scholarship improves our teaching.  A major purpose of scholarship is to bring new ideas, new teaching strategies, and relevance to the table.  We don’t simply engage in it because we enjoy it and it is what professors do; we pursue it because it benefits our efforts in the classroom.  Scholarship stimulates, energizes, and supports our efforts to effectively educate our students.  It keeps us current in our chosen disciplines.  It is not separate from our teaching; it supports it.      

Third, scholarship enables those of us at Seattle Pacific University to live out the

university’s mission: to engage the culture and change the world.  We are not a private enterprise that distances itself from the surrounding culture.  We want to be at the table where ideas, values, and priorities, and decisions are shaped and formed.  To use a Christian metaphor, we want to bring light to those decisions.  Our scholarship can provide a unique perspective due to our Christian faith and values. 

            Finally, scholarship provides an opportunity for our students and faculty to work together.  It is fulfilling endeavor to collaborate on articles that ultimately are published in prized journals.  Here scholarship is done in a supportive rather than competitive atmosphere.  As a community of scholars, together we grieve our rejections and celebrate our publications. 

            Ultimately, scholarship must be about improving student learning.  It is my hope that in the School of Education, we can bring our teaching and scholarship together in a manner that prepares our students to lead and serve in schools and communities with the utmost competence.