Dear friends,
By the beginning of November, it often feels like the end of the semester comes in a quick rush! However, at IFL, we are looking forward to another month of discussion, programming, and community building. Our Missio groups will gather one more time before Christmas break. In addition, we are excited to announce applications for another similar program – the Common Home Fellows Cohort – which IFL will be sponsoring along with the Baylor Sustainability initiative. We hope you will consider applying to join us! In addition, we are excited about a lunch for graduate students exploring how to present faith-informed research in job searches for secular universities.
One new internal initiative we have in the works is a revamp of our communications channels. Many of you helpfully filled out a survey last year about IFL’s work and mission. One very helpful response from this survey was a need to clarify IFL’s work and more clearly present our programming. Thanks to a grant from In Trust, we are working with a marketing consultant to improve our communications strategy. To help us in this process, we hope you will fill out a survey.
Finally, don’t forget that the registration for the Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture is now live. Excitement is building for this great gathering, and we hope to see you there!
In Christ,
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Guest Column: Dr. Ian Gravagne
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| Dr. Dennis Danielson Lecture
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| Register for the Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture 2026
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Many years ago, I was introduced to a 1984 essay by Wendell Berry entitled The Loss of the University, which I enjoy re-reading occasionally. Many of its main points are resoundingly relevant today. In the very first paragraph, Berry laments that “the various disciplines have ceased to speak to each other; they have become too specialized…” Since 1984, the ship has clearly sailed on academic siloing. However, I have often wondered if Christian universities might retain some semblance of Berry’s missing lingua franca: the shared language of our faith; the language of gospel, grace, virtue, and a profound intellectual tradition.
Another reason I like Berry’s linguistic metaphor is that it reminds us language only lives as long as people speak it; an unspoken language dies in a single generation. And here lies the danger for Baylor, that parts of the university speak it freely and expertly, while other parts haltingly. It will come as no surprise that faculty in laboratory sciences, mathematics and engineering (STEM, for lack of a better acronym) sometimes struggle to imagine how Christian thought and practice meaningfully intersect with their work. I certainly did, at least initially. And yet even in the STEM disciplines, there are endlessly creative ways to richly engage with Christianity, and to help our students grow in wisdom and in faith. I hope we will continually renew our efforts in this hard but joyful work. After all, as with any other language, the more we speak it, the easier it becomes!
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| Dr. Ian Gravagne
Professor and Associate Chair, Electrical & Computer Engineering
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We're gathering anonymous input to help guide our future programs and communications. Please take a few minutes to share your perspective. Your feedback will make a meaningful difference in how we serve the community at Baylor and beyond.
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Faculty gathered on October 27th to listen to Katelyn Beaty, editorial director for Brazos Press, speak about how to publish for popular audiences.
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IFL hosted a lunch on October 20th for faculty and staff to learn from the leaders and researchers of Baylor's Institute for Global Human Flourishing. Our goal is for the insights from that study to inform Baylor's classrooms and programs.
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"Things We Don't Talk about at Dinner: Civil Discourse and Disagreement in Politics and at Church," with John Inazu and Tish Harrison Warren |
Join us for a lecture on Thursday, December 4, 2025 from 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm. Legal scholar John Inazu—the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University in St. Louis and author of Learning to Disagree and Confident Pluralism—will join Anglican priest and writer Tish Harrison Warren, the award-winning author of Liturgy of the Ordinary and Prayer in the Night, for an evening of candid, hopeful conversation on how to navigate hard topics with conviction and empathy. Come for practical wisdom you can use at church, in public life—even at the dinner table.
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Apply to Common Home Fellows |
The Sustainability Cohort experience for research and teaching brings interdisciplinary faculty and staff together, as Common Home Fellows, to share expertise and experience on topic-based discussions over interconnected environmental and social challenges. Common Home Fellows will meet bi-monthly as a cohort for cross-discipline conversation and connection over sustainability.
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Faith and Learning Around Baylor Campus |
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Faith and Learning Outside Baylor |
NetVUE: Nominate (or Be Nominated) for a 2026 Faculty or Staff Summer Seminar
25th Annual Notre Dame Fall Conference: That Which I Also Received, November 13-15, 2025
Call for Proposals for the Center of Theological Inquiry's "From Despair to Hope: Interdisciplinary Theology in the Service of Building Spiritual Capital," Deadline: December 15, 2025
Call for Papers for the 2026 Baptist Scholars International Roundtable (BSIR): Baptists and Social Engagement, August 1-5, 2026
Register for the 2026 NetVUE Conference, March 19–21, 2026
Dr. Stephen Frezza (Franciscan University of Steubenville) and colleagues are running a study on character education. They are looking for faculty or instructors who incorporate character (or virtue) development into their scholarship and/or courses in higher education.
As part of this study, you will participate in a series of four surveys, which will take approximately 1 hour total across a series of months.
The initial survey, which will determine if you meet the study criteria, should take less than 5 minutes to complete. It can be accessed here: https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ebXyg3RuxbeTFZk. Following this survey, eligible participants will receive three additional surveys that will take 18-20 minutes each.
As with any study, there is a risk of breach of confidentiality. However, the topics of this study are likely to be ones you might discuss or write about as part of your professional role. We will provide a report to all participants who complete the four surveys.
For more information, questions, or concerns, please contact Dr. Marisa Exter at mexter@purdue.edu. Note that we cannot guarantee confidentiality of email.
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Gifts to our Excellence Fund fuel opportunities for faculty and staff growth and development.
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Are you hosting an event or working on a project related to faith and learning? We'd love to hear about it! Click the link below, share your information, and we'll follow up with you directly.
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Institute for Faith and Learning
One Bear Place #97270
Waco, Texas 76798
(254) 710-4805
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