LEXINGTON, Ky. — After 27 years in office, Transylvania University President Charles L. Shearer will retire in June 2010, the longest tenure in the university’s 230-year history.

“During Charles Shearer’s tenure, Transylvania has been transformed,” Board chair William T. Young Jr. said. “When he became president in 1983, the university had a enrollment of fewer than 700 students, a minimal endowment, and an aging physical plant. Today, Transylvania’s enrollment is at our comfortable capacity of about 1,100, the endowment stands at $115 million, the campus has been essentially rebuilt, and the university is ranked among the leading liberal arts colleges in the nation. This transformation has been driven by Charles’s leadership, attention to detail, dedication, and incredible enthusiasm.”

Young noted that Shearer’s 27-year tenure is remarkable in comparison with other college and university presidents across the country, whose average tenure is 8.5 years in office, according to the American Council on Education. He also said that Shearer has graciously agreed to stay on as president beyond June 30, if necessary, until the right candidate is identified and appointed. He will also continue to play a supportive role for the college.

A committee will be appointed immediately to oversee a national search for his successor.

Drury honors noted death penalty opponent Prejean

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Drury University presented Sister Helen Prejean with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters October 15. Drury honored the nun and author for her commitment to justice, her courage in telling her story as well as the stories of victims, victims’ families and death row inmates.

Sister Prejean began her prison ministry in 1981 when she dedicated her life to the poor in New Orleans. She became pen pals with a convicted killer of two teenagers who was sentenced to death row and was facing the electric chair. Sister Prejean visited him often and became his spiritual adviser. Her eyes were then opened to the execution process of Louisiana.

Sister Prejean turned her experiences into Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, which was nominated for a 1993 Pulitzer Prize. It was then developed into a film in 1996. She has witnessed five executions in Louisiana during her ministry efforts and now educates the public about the death penalty.

Chalice Camp connects seminarians and new clergy to mentors

LEESBURG, Ind. (DisciplesWorld) — While seminary students receive plenty of instruction in biblical studies and theology, the practical details of performing weddings, funerals, baptisms are often learned on the job.

How does a small minister immerse a tall member during baptism? After a church member dies, when and how often should the minister visit the family of the deceased? How should left over communion elements be disposed of?

Thanks to Chalice Camp, a weekend retreat, seminarians and new ministers can gain practical skills before they are called on to perform the rites and ordinances of congregational life. Perhaps more importantly, the camp builds special relationships between those preparing for ministry and those who have been at it awhile.

Around 50 students and ministry mentors gathered at the Indiana region’s Camp Barbee. Some were attending for the first time; others came last year and returned for the newly-added second learning track focusing on topics like church administration, conflict management, and interviewing for a ministry position.

Besides the hands-on training in funerals, weddings, communion, and baptism, students had time for one-on-one conversations about clergy life.

HELM Board’s Edwards named 2009 Faithful Servant

Dr. William Edwards, a member of the HELM Board of Directors and the Ohio Regional Minister, is the recipient of the 2009 Faithful Servant Award, Given annually by the Disciples of Christ Historical Society, the award recognizes individuals who have given an extra-measure of service to causes in the whole church.

Inquire, Explore, Conclude, Persuade, Engage

Lynchburg College students will learn to: Inquire, Explore, Conclude, Persuade, Engage. These are the five goals of a new initiative recently adopted by LC faculty.

“It’s about helping the students develop into capable and self-aware critical thinkers by the time they graduate from LC,” said English professor Richard Burke. “We let students know, even before they come here, what the essential purpose of the LC education is.”

Burke noted that many faculty members already work toward these goals, but this will be a systematic approach by all faculty to ensure that every student receives extensive and ongoing instruction in critical thinking. Secondly, this approach will make it relatively easy for students to see connections and draw distinctions among different disciplines.

“We will be giving student learning a prominence in our promotional materials that it doesn’t quite have at the moment,” Burke said. “Frankly that sets us apart from most other colleges.”

The goals, to be implemented in fall 2010, reflect the faculty’s desire “to see our students develop into independent thinkers,” he said.

While critical thinking skills have long been central to LC’s capstone Senior Symposium, this emphasis from freshman year onward will help students be ready for their senior year.