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June 15-18, 2022

Dallas, TX & Virtual

About the conference

Beauty

What is it? How does it shape our instruction?
How does it influence school culture and our affections?
Does it draw our students into wonder and worship?

Recovering Beauty

Classical Christian educators affirm the classic transcendentals of truth, beauty, and goodness. However, among these three, beauty is perhaps the most misunderstood and neglected. Recovering the right framework for and participating in beauty is necessary to attaining the soul formation we desire. What does this require? 

For this year’s conference, we have assembled scholars and educators from around the country to provide a robust and compelling understanding of this rich topic. We will explore the role of beauty in the arts, in the classroom, in shaping affections, and as a means of drawing others to truth. Speakers will draw from the classical Christian tradition to challenge each of us to see and experience beauty in order to help our students do the same.

The Tears of Saint Peter by El Greco
Plenary Speakers

All Plenary Speakers will be in person in Dallas, TX

Beauty, Inspiration, and Aspiration
Robert P. George

McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence
Princeton University

A Hopeful Approach to the Woke Movement in Education
Margarita A. Mooney

Professor of Practical Theology
Princeton Theological Seminary

Why Beauty Matters in Education: The Classical View
Dana Gioia

Poet & Critic

Beauty and Belief: The Apologetics of Culture Care
Justin Ariel Bailey

Professor of Theology
Dordt University

Harmony of the Parts
Brian Williams

Dean
Templeton Honors College

Beauty and the Tradition
Angel Adams Parham and Anika Prather

Assoc. Professor of Sociology, University of Virginia
Lecturer, Howard University

Our Cultural Moment:
Challenges and Opportunities for our Schools

David Kinnaman

CEO
Barna Group

How Do We Build Community in a Broken World?
Keith McCurdy

CEO and Founder
Total Life Counseling
Pre-Conference Tracks

The SCL Pre-Conference is June 15th. This in-depth day of learning features all day workshops that equip and inspire teachers, leaders, and administrative staff around specific topics focused on helping you navigate the important issues in our world and in our schools. 

All Preconference Speakers will be in person in Dallas, TX

Board 101

Led by Keith Nix & Leslie Moeller

Leading Schools
in a Contentious Climate

Led by Chris Perrin & Head of School Panel

Beauty in the Liberal Arts

Led by Jessica H. Wilson & Margarita A. Mooney

History and Philosophy of CCE

Led by David Diener

A Culture Shift:
Emotion as a Broken Compass

Led by Keith McCurdy

Authentic Assessment

Led by Carrie Eben

Classical Campus Clinic

Led by Christopher Miller

a conference about beauty

Schedule

We know how valuable your time is, so we scheduled the entire event around content and conversation.

All times are in Central Standard Time

Pre-conference

Wednesday, June 15

  • Coffee & Fellowship 8:00 AM
  • Session I 8:30 AM
  • Session II 10:15 AM
  • Lunch 11:30 AM

    On your own in Dallas, TX

  • Session III 1:30 PM
  • Session IV 3:00 PM
  • Dinner 6:00 PM

    On your own in Dallas, TX

Main Conference: Day I

Thursday, June 16

  • Coffee & Fellowship 7:00 AM
  • Plenary I 8:00 AM

    Speaker: Robert P. George

  • Affinity Group Meetup 9:45 AM

    Click here to learn more

  • Breakout I 11:00 AM
  • Lunch 12:00 PM

    Box lunch provided

  • Plenary II 1:15 PM

    Speaker: Margarita A. Mooney

  • Breakout II 2:45 PM
  • Head of School Reception 5:00 PM
  • Dinner 6:00 PM

    On your own in Dallas, TX

Main Conference: Day II

Friday, June 17

  • Coffee & Fellowship 7:00 AM
  • Plenary III 8:00 AM

    Speaker: Justin Ariel Bailey

  • Breakout III 9:45 AM
  • Breakout IV 11:00 AM
  • Lunch 12:00 PM

    Box lunch provided

  • Plenary IV 1:15 PM

    Speaker: Dana Gioia

  • Breakout V 2:45 PM
  • Affinity Group Reception 5:00 PM

    Click here to learn more

  • Dinner 6:00 PM

    On your own in Dallas, TX

Main Conference: Day III

Saturday, June 18

  • Coffee & Fellowship 7:00 AM
  • Plenary V 8:00 AM

    Speaker: Brian Williams

  • Breakout VI 9:45 AM
  • Breakout VII 11:00 AM

Conference Worship leader

Beauty Through Worship
Stanton Lanier

Pianist and Composer
Atlanta, GA
Post-Conference Sale

Virtual Ticket Options

Preconference

$ 79 Per Ticket
  • Additional 10% off for Members
    *Check your email for discount code

Main Conference

$ 190 Per Ticket
  • Includes all plenary sessions live-streamed and 35 workshops:
    5 live-streamed in each breakout session via the Whova App.
  • Additional 10% off for Members
    *Check your email for discount code

Virtual Group

$ 99 per ticket
  • Bring your whole team!
    (10 or more for $99 EACH)
  • Includes all plenary sessions live-streamed and 35 workshops: 5 live-streamed in each breakout session via the Whova App.

Cancellation Policy: All cancellations are subject to a $100 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after May 16, 2022.

Traveling to the conference?

Thank You to Our Platinum Sponsors

join the scl today!

want to volunteer?

FAQs

Our event will be in line with the requirements of our hotel and the state of Texas. Masks are recommended, but not required. We will have masks available for you if you would like one. We request attendees adhere to Texas laws regarding masks, distancing, etc.

In addition, we have created a name tag system that will allow each attendee to self-regulate and for other guests to respect individuals’ desire for social distancing.

The hotel group discount rate at the Renaissance Dallas Addison Hotel is $159. Reservations can be made through the online reservation link or directly with the hotel at 888-236-2427.

In order to be eligible for the group discount rate, reservations must be made on or before June 3, 2022.

– 10% Early Bird discount which ends on Monday, May 16 @ 11:59 pm.
– An additional 10% off for groups of 10 or more.
– SCL Institutional Members receive an additional 10% discount. Become an institutional member today to receive your discount; click here.
– Don’t forget the Virtual All-In ticket is just $99 (no additional discount for members allowed)

Whova returns! The Whova app was a great success at the 2021 Summer Conference. 

Whova is our all-in-one conference app where you can access the following: full schedule, speaker and breakout info, virtual sessions, exhibitor booths, sponsor info, job boards, community chat, and more!

The Whova App is a must for both in-person and virtual attendees.

Download here.

Once you’re registered, you’ll be able to view the event on June 15 via the Whova App

You can learn more here and prepare by reviewing the Whova Event Guide.

This year we are offering a $99 Virtual All-In ticket. So, buy a ticket for each member of your team: faculty, administration, staff, and board.

Then, gather together at your school and enjoy the virtual conference in community!
Need further advice on how best to watch as a group? Feel free to email our coordinator here.

Back in a fully-equipped conference hotel this summer, we are prepared to offer guests our best virtual experience yet!

Significant investments in upgraded 4k cameras, microphones, switches, and the same high-quality Whova app experience mean breakout sessions will run with the clearest sound and video access.

Every Breakout Session includes 5 workshops that will be available to stream via the Whova app.

The virtual ticket includes all Plenary Sessions and 5 Workshops for each Breakout Session.

SCL institutional members will receive an email with a code to receive a 10% discount off of their registration to be used at checkout.

Main Conference Cancellation Policy: All cancellations are subject to a $100 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after May 16, 2022.
Pre-Conference Cancellation Policy: All cancellations are subject to a $50 administrative fee. No refunds will be given after May 16, 2022.

Have more questions?

About Us

The Society for Classical Learning exists to foster human flourishing by making classical Christian education thrive.

“The ancient world has much to offer us today in thinking about how we might best teach and encourage young people toward virtue, wisdom, and truth. The SCL works together with leaders, teachers, and lifelong learners to ensure that the great heritage of Western civilization is preserved, cherished, and handed on to the next generation.”

– Eric Cook, President of The Society for Classical Learning

June 15-18, 2022 - Dallas, TX & Virtual

Beauty, Inspiration, and Aspiration​

Music, art, architecture, and other creative forms can be moving. Sometimes it is beauty as represented in these creative forms that moves us. When we are moved by beauty, it is sometimes the case that beautiful form inspires us and generates or elevates our aspirations. How does that work? Does beauty inspire us and lift our aspirations purely by appealing to the affective dimensions of our being, or are our cognitive capacities engaged as well? Does beauty, when it moves us, move our minds as well as our hearts? Illustrating his points with examples from music, art, and architecture, Professor George will make the case that our intellects are indeed engaged—crucially and indispensably so—by beauty that inspires us and moves us to aim higher in our aspirations.

About Robert P. George

Robert P. George is McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He has served as chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, and before that on the President’s Council on Bioethics, and as a presidential appointee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. George has also served as the U.S. member of UNESCO’s World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology. He is a former Judicial Fellow at the Supreme Court of the United States, where he received the Justice Tom C. Clark Award. George is also a graduate of Swarthmore College and holds a J.D. and M.T.S. degree from Harvard University and the degrees of D.Phil., B.C.L., D.C.L., and D.Litt. from Oxford University. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

George is the author of hundreds of books, essays, and articles. He is also a finger-style guitarist and bluegrass banjo player.

A Hopeful Approach to the Woke Movement in Education: Classical Education, Beauty, and Unity in Diversity ​

Much of modern education narrowly portrays knowledge as nothing more than ideology or power. Too often in education, critique has replaced creativity. Our young feel despair when they don’t know how their personal callings contribute to a shared culture. Some embrace radical, ideological political movements which promise a purpose-filled life but instead generate more social division and deepen the personal void.  

In this presentation, Dr. Mooney Suarez will enlighten participants about how the resurgence of a classical, Christian, liberal arts approach to education exemplifies a return to an approach to knowledge that forms students to pursue beauty, truth, and goodness in every aspect of life. Classical educators today have a crucial vocation to teach the next generation to embrace the risk of freedom and enrich the common good. Humans learn through stories. Beautiful images attract us to the truth.

About Margarita Mooney Suarez

Margarita Mooney Suarez is an Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, where she teaches classes such as philosophy of social science; aesthetics and education; and resilience, vulnerability and suffering. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Scala Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Princeton, New Jersey, that works to offer meaning and purpose in education by restoring a classical liberal arts education. Professor Mooney received her B.A. in Psychology from Yale University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Princeton University. Prior to returning to Princeton, she was on the faculty of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Yale University. She is the author of The Love of Learning: Seven Dialogues on the Liberal Arts (Cluny Media, 2021) and Faith Makes Us Live: Surviving and Thriving in the Haitian Diaspora (University of California Press, 2019). In addition to her scholarly publications, she has written for publications that reach wide audiences both inside and outside academia such as Real Clear Policy, Scientific American, Chronicle of Higher Education, First Things, Hedgehog Review, National Catholic Register, and Church Life Journal.

Why Beauty Matters in Education: The Classical View​

Dana Gioia will discuss beauty as the unifying element in classical education. Beauty is poorly understood in current intellectual life and educational practice. Its absence has doomed much of what is being done to failure. The revival of classical education needs to revive beauty as a positive concept and integrate the beautiful into its curriculum–not from ideology, but because it is the system that will produce the best results.

About Dana Gioia

Dana Gioia is a poet and critic. His poetry collections include Interrogations at Noon, which won the 2001 American Book Award, and 99 Poems: New & Selected (2016), which won the Poets’ Prize as the best book of the year. His four critical collections include Can Poetry Matter? (2002) and Studying with Miss Bishop: Memoirs from a Young Writer’s Life (2021). Gioia served as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from 2003 to 2009 and as California State Poet Laureate from 2015 to 2019. His other awards include the Laetare Medal, Presidential Civilian Medal, and the Aiken-Taylor Award in Modern Poetry. He divides his time between Los Angeles and Sonoma County, California.

Beauty and Belief: The Apologetics of Culture Care​

Christian apologetics is usually understood as defending and commending Christian faith. Christian educators seek to train students in apologetic skill, teaching them to articulate arguments for belief. And yet, students report that no one seems interested in – much less convinced by – our arguments.

Part of the problem is that the traditional apologetic approach often treats people as if they were “brains on a stick,” who just need more information, rather than complex, embodied, imaginative, relational beings. What is even more troubling is how easily this style of apologetics gets co-opted by the culture war, where apologetic arguments have more to do with winning than witnessing.

Perhaps there is another way, one that takes beauty, imagination, and aesthetics into fuller account. Skeptics– within and without the walls of the church – require more than good arguments. They require aesthetic sensibility, imaginative vision, and poetic participation in beauty, goodness, and truth. Here, artists, poets, and writers may be our best guides, and encountering the beautiful may be the first step in beginning to find it believable. What could it mean to reimagine an apologetics of “culture care”?

About Justin Ariel Bailey

Justin Ariel Bailey is associate professor of theology at Dordt University. He is the host of the In All Things podcast, and his written work has appeared in publications such as Christianity Today, Christian Scholars Review and the International Journal of Public Theology. He is the author of Reimagining Apologetics (IVP Academic, 2020) and the forthcoming volume Interpreting Your World (Baker Academic, 2022). He is an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church and has served as a pastor in Filipino-American, Korean-American, and Dutch-American settings. He is married to Melissa and they are blessed with two pre-teen children.

Harmony of the Parts: On Educating Students in Beauty, Truth, Goodness, and Holiness ​

One of the defining properties of beauty is “harmony of the parts.” This talk will reflect on how the tradition has related beauty to truth, goodness, and holiness, and why it has valued aesthetic formation alongside intellectual, moral, and spiritual formation. Achieving harmony among these parts is necessary to help students flourish as the integrated images of God they were created to be.

About Brian A. Williams

Dr. Brian A. Williams is Dean of the Templeton Honors College, Director of Templeton’s Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), and Assistant Professor of Ethics & Liberal Studies at Eastern University. Before coming to Eastern, he was Lecturer in Theology and Christian Ethics at the University of Oxford and Director of Oxford Conversations: a collection of curated video interviews with leading Christian academics and scholars at the University of Oxford. After his undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies, Brian earned an MA and ThM in Theology under the direction of J. I. Packer at Regent College (Vancouver) and an MPhil and DPhil in Christian Ethics from the University of Oxford. Dr. Williams also taught Theology, Philosophy, and Literature at Cair Paravel Latin School (Topeka, KS), where he was Assistant Academic Dean. His current research examines the tradition of Didascalic Christian Humanism, focusing on the works of Hugh of St. Victor, Philip Melanchthon, and John Henry Newman.

Beauty and the Tradition

The powerful legacy of classical education among Black intellectuals and educators in America is a national treasure with the capacity to bless teachers and students the world over. Join Drs. Anika Prather and Angel Adams Parham as they explore both the scholarly and historical foundations of the Great Books and the classical, intellectual tradition, while exploring beauty and its relation to today’s culture.

About Anika Prather

Dr. Anika T. Prather earned her B.A. from Howard University in elementary education as well as a Masters in liberal arts from St. John’s College (Annapolis) and a PhD in English, Theatre, and Literacy Education from the University of Maryland (College Park). Her research focus is on building literacy with African American students through engagement in the books of the Canon. She self-published her book Living in the Constellation of the Canon: The Lived Experiences of African American Students Reading Great Books Literature. She has served as a teacher, supervisor for student teachers, director of education, head of school, and a professor in the Classics Department at Howard University. With her husband Damon, she founded The Living Water School, located in southern Maryland and attended by their three children. Anika is a popular speaker and has shared about classical Christian education with audiences at many organizations, including Great Hearts Academies, the Society for Classical Learning, St. John’s College, and the Classic Learning Test.

Anika is also coauthor of a book forthcoming from Classical Academic Press titled The Black Intellectual Tradition and the Great Conversation: Black Writers as Essential to an Education in Truth, Goodness and Beauty (releasing summer of 2022).

About Angel Adams Parham

Dr. Angel Parham is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. Angel is the cofounder and executive director of Nyansa Classical Community, which provides curricula and programming designed to connect with students from diverse backgrounds and invites them to take part in the Great Conversation, cultivate their moral imagination, and pursue truth, goodness, and beauty. As an advocate for the renewal of classical education, Angel has addressed teachers and school leaders through the Society for Classical Learning, the Classic Learning Test, and other organizations. She works in the area of historical sociology, engaging in research and writing which examine the past in order to better understand how to live well in the present and envision wisely for the future. This research focus is rooted in her interest in reconnecting sociology to its classical roots and animated by questions such as “What is a good society?”. She is the author of American Routes: Racial Palimpsests and the Transformation of Race (Oxford, 2017). She has been a member of the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, as well as the recipient of a Fulbright grant.

Angel is also coauthor of a book forthcoming from Classical Academic Press titled The Black Intellectual Tradition and the Great Conversation: Black Writers as Essential to an Education in Truth, Goodness and Beauty (releasing summer of 2022).

Our Cultural Moment: Challenges and Opportunities for our Schools

We live as individuals and as school communities in a unique cultural moment – fraught with unprecedented new realities. As we promote what is True, Good, and Beautiful, what cultural shifts should we ignore, and which ones should demand our attention? Most of our schools are inundated with new family applicants who are also swayed by habits and expectations of the broader culture. How do we guide and educate our families as well as our students? And what do we need to be aware of to onboard, educate, and support our faculty and staff who are pulled by many of these same cultural currents?

David Kinnaman and the team at Barna have spent decades keeping track of these trends.David will help us explore some of the latest changes in broader culture, from mental health to church attendance and the various impacts these trends are having on our parents, students, and school community. He will share many of the latest research discoveries from Barna to equip you to lead at your school.

About David Kinnaman

David Kinnaman is the author of the bestselling books Faith For Exiles, Good FaithYou Lost Me and unChristian. He is CEO of Barna Group, a leading research and communications company that works with churches, nonprofits, and businesses ranging from film studios to financial services. Since 1995, David has directed interviews with more than two million individuals and overseen thousands of U.S. and global research studies. He lives in California with his three children.

How Do We Build Community in a Broken World?

It seems like the debates in our schools a few years ago centered on simpler topics, like curriculum and carpool details. Today, conversations seem more weighty and polarizing. “Oh you are one of THOSE people…” we often hear. How do we lead schools in the midst of so many divides? How do we model Biblical community and care for so many who are now battling mental health issues in and outside our schools? As a professional Christian counselor, Keith has a unique vantage point working with students, parents, and schools from all around the country. And as a classical Christian parent and former board member, he understands many of our distinctives and the value of raising up the next generation who can raise up sturdy kids.

About Keith McCurdy

I am a Family and Parenting Educator and Consultant, as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Virginia. I have worked with families, children, parents, and individuals for over 30 years in the field of mental health.

I provide consulting and coaching services nationally on improving parenting skills, building strong marriages, maintaining healthy relationships, leadership training, and addressing corporate stress management. I have developed and regularly offer parenting retreats entitled “Raising Sturdy Kids” to help parents operate from the correct paradigm with their children and have extended and customized this powerful program for schools and students. I also provide counseling services in person and via teletherapy throughout the state of Virginia at Total Life Counseling, Inc.

I received my Master of Arts and Education Specialist degrees from James Madison University. I am currently the President and Founder of Live Sturdy, LLC, and President and CEO of Total Life Counseling, Inc. For many years I have been a consultant and speaker nationally to businesses, churches, and schools (public, private, faith based and within the world of Classical Education.)

What Are Affinity Groups?

A hallmark of the Society for Classical Learning is community: connecting and conversing around both the big ideas and the everyday practical issues we face as classical Christian educators.

This year, the SCL has created affinity groups: opportunities designed to facilitate connection by bringing together attendees with common roles to reflect, learn, and share ideas in community.

We have planned two occasions at the Summer Conference for these affinity groups to meet, mingle, and connect.

  • Thursday, June 16 – 9:45am – After Plenary I
    • This is a chance to get connected first thing at the conference and begin to form relationships that will benefit you for the rest of the conference, and maybe for years to come.
  • Friday, June 17 – 5:00pm – Before Dinner (on your own) at 6:00pm
    • After attending multiple breakout and plenary sessions, this is an opportunity to relax, continue conversations, and ask good questions – together!

Hotel Info

The Renaissance Hotel in Addison
15201 Dallas Pkwy, Addison, TX 75001
Group Rate: $162 per night

Rooms are going fast! SCL conference rate ends 5/29/23.
Book Now. All conference sessions take place at the Renaissance.

Parking Info

3 Different Parking Options:
Valet, Surface Parking or Garage Parking.
On-site parking, $15 daily
Valet parking, $28 daily

Airport Info

Two Options:
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Dallas Love Field (DAL)
*The hotel does not provide shuttle service.

Other Transportation

Justin Bailey

Author & Professor - Dordt University

Session: Sowing in Hope: Generative and Generational Education

Session Abstract

The temptation in a world gone mad is to stand on the sidelines and point out the problems with everyone and everything. But there is an alternative to this: to criticize by creating, cultivating beautiful and generative spaces that do the work of generational faithfulness. Whatever we cultivate will always be imperfect, but it can imperfectly point to the kingdom of God, to “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

“Theology must grow and be sown into the soils of culture, be fed by the spring rains of love to be cultivated in multiple generations.” (Makoto Fujimura)

Biography

Justin Ariel Bailey is associate professor of theology at Dordt University. He is the host of the In All Things podcast, and his written work has appeared in publications such as Christianity Today, Christian Scholars Review and the International Journal of Public Theology. He is the author of Reimagining Apologetics (IVP Academic, 2020) and Interpreting Your World (Baker Academic, 2022). He is an ordained minister in the Christian Reformed Church and has served as a pastor in Filipino-American, Korean-American, and Dutch-American settings. He is married to Melissa and they are blessed with two pre-teen children.

David Bailey

Founder & Chief Vision Officer - Arrabon

Session: The 5 Challenges to Being a Reconciling Community

Session Abstract

People form communities and communities form people. Christian communities ought to be reconciling communities, but unfortunately, too many Christian communities mirror the same practices as secular communities around conflict and division. In this breakout session, we’ll introduce the five practices leaders need to build a reconciling community within their organization.

Biography

David M. Bailey is a public theologian, culture maker, and catalyst focused on building reconciling communities. David is the founder and Chief Vision Officer of Arrabon, a spiritual formation ministry that equips the American Church to actively and creatively pursue racial healing in their communities. He is the co-author of the study series, A People, A Place, and A Just Society, and the executive producer of the documentary 11 am: Hope for America’s Most Segregated Hour and the Urban Doxology Project. David is rooted at East End Covenant Fellowship, serving on the preaching team, and his greatest honor is to be married to his wonderful wife, Joy.

Joseph Pearce

Best-Selling Author

Session: Wit, Wisdom, and Wonder: Life Lessons from G.K. Chesterton

Session Abstract

Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly whereas the devil takes himself far too seriously, falling by the force of his own gravity. So says G. K. Chesterton, the self-described “jolly journalist” who is worth taking seriously because he took himself so lightly. With wit, wisdom and eyes wide open with wonder, Chesterton shows us the way to paradise by way of paradox. Joseph Pearce, author of Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G. K. Chesterton, gives a guided tour of Chesterton’s life, work, wit, wisdom and legacy.

Biography

A native of England, Joseph Pearce is the internationally acclaimed author of many books, which include bestsellers such as The Quest for Shakespeare, Tolkien: Man and Myth, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde, C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church, Literary Converts, Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc. His books have been published and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Croatian and Polish.
 
He has hosted two 13-part television series about Shakespeare on EWTN, and has also written and presented documentaries on EWTN on the Catholicism of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. His verse drama, Death Comes for the War Poets, was performed off-Broadway to critical acclaim. He has participated and lectured at a wide variety of international and literary
events at major colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Europe, Africa and South America.
 
He is editor of the St. Austin Review (https://staustinreview.org/), series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions (www.ignatiuscriticaleditions.com), senior instructor with Homeschool Connections (www.homeschoolconnectionsonline.com), and senior contributor at the Imaginative Conservative and Crisis Magazine. In 2022, he was awarded the St. John Henry
Newman Visiting Chair of Catholic Studies at Thomas More College (Merrimack, NH). His personal website is http://www.jpearce.co.

Kelly Kapic

Author & Professor - Covenant College

Session: Learning to Value Process: God Likes to Take His Time

Session Abstract

We know that God is perfect and complete, but we are not. In our time together we will consider how God loves process. While we often judge only according to finished products, God has always been comfortable with process, and learning to appreciate this truth about God can free us to more fully embrace the process of growth and learning. The implications of this for Christian education are enormous, as we see our work not merely in terms of a ‘final product,’ but in terms of the value of formation and growth.
 

Biography

Kelly M. Kapic (PhD, King’s College, University of London) is a professor of theological studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, where he has taught for twenty years. He is an award-winning author or editor of more than fifteen books, including You’re Only Human and Embodied Hope, which each won a Christianity Today Book Award. Kapic, a popular speaker, has been featured in Christianity Today and The Gospel Coalition, has worked on research teams funded by the John Templeton Foundation, and contributes to the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care and various other journals.
 

SANDRA McCRACKEN

GUEST MUSICIAN

Performances

Sandra McCracken will be leading worship from the main stage in the morning and afternoon of Friday, June 16, followed by her highly-anticipated concert at 6:00pm. See the conference schedule for further information!

Biography

Sandra McCracken is a singer-songwriter and hymn writer from Nashville, Tennessee. A prolific recording artist, McCracken has produced 14 solo albums over two decades. Her best selling release, Psalms (2015) received critical acclaim, followed by God’s Highway (2017) which made the top 50 on Billboard Heatseekers chart without a major label. She has had songs featured in TV, including ‘Ten Thousand Angels’ on ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy and has over 15 million streams. Blending the old and new, Sandra has also shown a unique ability to recast sacred scripture texts into theologically rich yet accessible songs. Her thoughtful lyrics and gospel melodies in songs like “We Will Feast In The House Of Zion,” “Steadfast” and “Thy Mercy My God” have become staple anthems in churches across the U.S. As a published writer, she contributes a regular column in Christianity Today and released her first book “Send Out Your Light” in September 2021.

Pano Kanelos

President - University of Austin

Session: Coming Soon

Session Abstract

COMING SOON!

Biography

Panayiotis (Pano) Kanelos is the founding president of the University of Austin.
 
From 2017 to 2021, Dr. Kanelos served as the 24th President of St. John’s College, Annapolis. After earning degrees from Northwestern University (B.A.), Boston University (M.A.), and the University of Chicago (Ph.D.), he taught at Stanford University, the University of San Diego, and Loyola University Chicago.
 

He served most recently as dean of Christ College, the Honors College of Valparaiso University. An outspoken advocate for liberal education, he oversaw the Lilly Fellows Program in Humanities and the Arts, comprising a network of more than 100 colleges and universities. Among the earliest participants in the Teach for America program, President Kanelos is as passionate about teaching as he is about writing and scholarship. He founded the Cropper Center for Creative Writing at the University of San Diego and is a noted Shakespeare scholar, having served as the resident Shakespearean in the Old Globe MFA Program and the founding director of the Interdisciplinary Shakespeare Studies Program at Loyola University Chicago.

Beck A. Taylor

President - Samford University

Session: Coming Soon

Session Abstract

COMING SOON!

Biography

Beck A. Taylor comes to Samford University after serving as the 18th president of Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington, since 2010. Prior to this appointment, Taylor served as dean and professor of economics for Samford’s Brock School of Business (2005-2010), and associate dean for research and faculty development for Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business (1997-2005).

Taylor’s tenure at Whitworth was highlighted by a renewed emphasis on community involvement; efforts to enhance academic programs and quality; the building of new campus infrastructure to facilitate the university’s academic, athletic, and student life programs; the creation of newly endowed faculty positions and centers; leading Whitworth’s largest-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign; and an emphasis on overall institutional effectiveness.

After earning his undergraduate degree from Baylor with majors in economics and finance, Taylor was employed as an analyst for Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in Houston, Texas. He went on to earn his M.S. and Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University. After returning to the Baylor faculty, Taylor was named the first holder of the W.H. Smith Professorship in Economics. In 2002, he was appointed as a visiting scholar by Harvard University where he spent one year in residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

As dean of Samford’s Brock School of Business, Taylor led the rapid transformation of the business school, including its renaming to honor Harry B. Brock, Jr., founder of Compass Bank. Taylor led the Brock School of Business to establish eight new academic programs, as well as the school’s new honors program. The school’s entrepreneurship program was recognized in 2010 as the nation’s top emerging program by the U.S. Association for Small Business & Entrepreneurship. In an effort to build bridges between students and the Birmingham business community, Taylor established the Samford Business Network, as well as a 45-member advisory board of the region’s top business leaders.

As a scholar, Taylor has published dozens of studies in economics journals such as Review of Economics and StatisticsJournal of Labor EconomicsJournal of Human Resources and Journal of Money, Credit, and Banking. Illustrating his diverse research interests and his connections to the social sciences, Taylor has also published groundbreaking research in public health and child developmental psychology. His research has been cited in testimony given before the U.S. Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and the California State Assembly, and also has been referenced in publications such as The New York TimesThe Boston Globe, and The Christian Science Monitor.

Taylor is a member of numerous professional and academic organizations, and he has served as a strategic business consultant for dozens of organizations. Taylor and his wife of 28 years, Julie, have three children: Zachary, 25, a Nashville-based music recording artist, Lauren, 22, a recent Whitworth graduate, and Chloe, 14.

Savannah Kimberlin

Associate VP of Church Engagement - Barna Group

Session: Faith & Culture

Session Abstract

Barna Group has researched faith trends in the United States and around the world for more than 40 years, specializing in the study of generations and the intersection of faith and culture. Together, let’s explore a handful of key cultural shifts and their impact on and implications for our organizations.

Biography

Savannah serves as the Associate Vice President of Church Engagement at Barna. Savannah loves facilitating Barna’s mission to provide the Church with knowledge to navigate a changing world through consulting services, CoLab learning cohorts and research efforts. She is passionate about taking Barna’s research and synthesizing it into helpful, actionable insights for Christian leaders.
 
As a certified data miner and predictive modeler, Savannah specializes in advanced analytics. Prior to her time at Barna, she worked in the big data and software development spaces.
 
She earned her B.S. in Mathematics from Samford University and her M.S. in Decision Analytics from the University of Alabama. Savannah currently lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Josh and her daughter Zoe.