developing a faculty for the 21st century
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cMurry has been fortunate in attracting faculty members who possess a passion for the subject matter they teach. An even greater source of pride is the ability of our gifted faculty to be able to impart their subject matter and their passion for learning to the students they teach. They engage students in an intellectual environment, both inside and outside the classroom, and are committed to getting to know their students and developing a personal relationship with them. Cultivating a reputation for having a high-quality faculty is an important factor in any university’s ability to recruit quality students. McMurry finds itself constantly engaged in the competitive process of recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty members. The Shaping the Future Campaign will create endowed positions, which will help McMurry retain its current faculty leaders and attract new faculty members. Named chairs bring honor to faculty members and to the named benefactors who support the University. Funding for the recruitment and retention of faculty will be designated as follows: 1) $9 million to create six $1.5 million endowed chairs
• One endowed chair for each of the five academic schools: School of Arts and Letters; School of Business; School of Education; School of Natural and Computational Sciences; and School of Social Sciences and Religion • One at-large endowed chair to be designated by the President to address evolving opportunities
2) $1 million to create a faculty development endowment to support initiatives in teaching and learning
Possessing a passion for teaching in an academic culture that cares about student success is descriptive of the McMurry academic community. Students are attracted to a faculty member who possesses a passion for teaching that permeates everything he does. When this same professor takes a personal interest in the students, he is a tremendous asset to any university. Dr. John Eric Swenson, Assistant Professor of Psychology, has
Dr. John EricSwenson a s s i s ta n t p r o f e s s o r o f p s yc h o lo g y
a deep passion for teaching and an unconditional love for his students. “What I do in the classroom is only a small part of what my role is on this campus,” he shares. “My real joy comes in seeing
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young men and women grow—not only in knowledge, but in character, and most importantly, in their Christian faith.” Dr. Swenson received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Abilene Christian University and his doctorate from The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee. He worked in private practice in New Braunfels, Texas and served as an adjunct professor at Texas State University before joining the faculty at McMurry University in 2005. John Eric and his wife, Ronda, have a two-year-old son named John Eric IV and are expecting another baby in August. Dr. Swenson and Ronda are very active in the lives of McMurry students. They lead a Bible study in their home twice a month, and Dr. Swenson is credited with developing a campuswide Prayer Initiative. He helps plan monthly prayer breakfasts, and he collects and edits prayers
