CARLY WEAVER
Staff Writer
The Pepperdine University Religion Division is batting 4-for-4. The newest religion professors are unanimously pleased with their new positions, and the department couldn’t have picked a better team.
Chris Doran, Kindalee DeLong, Dyron Daughrity and Raymond Carr joined the Religion Division this year. They are a motley crew but they all have something in common: they are passionate about their jobs. Some have taught here at Pepperdine in the past but now they join full-time faculty for the first time. With three great new faculty members and one visiting professor, Pepperdine has a lot to look forward to.
Doran currently teaches Religion 301. He attended Pepperdine for both undergraduate and graduate school. He loves to play basketball and spend time with his students, listening to their problems and learning about what they want out of life. He has been happily married for almost seven years and has two cats, which he affectionately labels his “furry children.”
Dr. DeLong is teaching three sections of Religion 102 this semester. She returned to Pepperdine after receiving her bachelor’s and master’s degrees here and recently completing her Ph.D. at Notre Dame. DeLong enjoys skiing and spending time with her family—a husband of 15 years and two children.
Dr. Daughrity teaches World Religions. He came all the way from Alberta, Canada, and plans to travel to Italy, the UK, Hungary, Turkey and possibly Ethiopia this year. He has 14-month-old twins with his wife of 12 years, and he enjoys spending time with family on Friday nights in their Westlake Village home.
Carr is a visiting professor teaching four sections of Religion 101. His experience is a bit different from the other visiting professors’ because he has previously taught at Pepperdine, so he is quite familiar with the school and its community. Carr has a military background and spent time in the Air Force. He enjoys reading and taking his wife, who is also a professor at Pepperdine, out dancing.
It’s clear that these are a bundle of great people. But what is it like being the Pepperdine rookies?
“All of my coworkers want to see me succeed,” says Doran. “Knowing everyone is on your side is a tremendous blessing.”
Daughrity agrees that the Religion Division colleagues are a close-knit group. “We are all committed Christians with a passion for scholarship and an even greater passion for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. These men and women are full of integrity and generosity.”
Fellow professors are not the only aspect that the new staff members love about their job. They are pleased with the quality and involvement of their students. They enjoy the freedom Pepperdine gives them to maximize their time and teach subjects they have interest in. They appreciate Pepperdine’s fervent outlook on research. Finally, they love the learning environment.
Carr says that a college environment has no match. “I love remaining open and being in constant dialogue with others. I am able to learn new things, help students who all come with their own backgrounds, and be engaged with new personalities.”
The professors have to face some challenges while they bask in the success of their second semester. For Doran and DeLong, it is a matter of balance. “The hardest part for me was moving across the country, finishing my dissertation and teaching all in the same semester,” says DeLong, who recently moved here from Indiana.
Similarly, it is challenging for Doran to balance preparation time, teaching, spending time with his students and doing research. Unfortunately, Doran also tore his Achilles tendon last semester. Not only was it difficult to teach class in a boot, but Doran also had to hitch rides to school from students because his wife was out of the country.
“My biggest challenge as a teacher is remaining relevant,” explains Carr. “Over time you can only use certain kinds of examples because the students are younger; you have to stay relevant to their world.” Carr says that he even reads blogs online to try to keep up with his students.
It is both a blessing and a challenge to be a rookie in the Religion Division, but overall the professors are more than satisfied. Now let’s see how they play the game.
Each professor takes his or her job seriously and is genuinely invested in enriching their students’ minds and lives. “I want them to understand the virtue in being religious,” says Daughrity. “I hope my students will see how religion can lead to profound social and personal virtue.”
Doran believes that critical thinking is one of the most important skills you can develop at a university. DeLong wants to teach her students how to interpret the New Testament responsibly: “People of faith need to take seriously the historical period out of which it comes,” she says.
Finally, Carr approaches his religion class with a sense of openness. He wants his students to look for ways to be for someone rather than against them, and his vision of theology is more universal and inclusive. “It is important for students to understand that the Bible is about being human, not about being religious,” says Carr. He believes that once we recognize our humanity, we can understand others and be open to them.
There is no doubt that these new professors are well on their way to victory. They are major-league players who have big hearts, respect for their teammates and promising futures. They stepped up to the plate with dedication and confidence, and it is safe to say that, so far, they are knocking the ball out of the park.
03-25-2008