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Visiting Scholars

Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship
Visiting Scholar Program

Purpose:

• Provide a campus context for a new PhD in Religion to experience a college community which actively nurtures the call of its students exploring church vocation.
• Provide the visiting scholar with a practical experience in which they gain exposure to the holistic nature of religious education, immersed in a United Methodist College which is truly developing leaders for the Church.
• Provide the visiting scholar a year of experience with a model which supports students’ spiritual, intellectual, and emotional preparedness for ministry. Our goal is for the visiting scholar to bring religious vitality to the College or University where they later serve.
• Provide a time and place to finish their dissertation or prepare their dissertation for publication.
• Provide a network for visiting scholars to collaborate over the years.

Program Description:

Each school year, a new or near completion PhD in an area of religion is selected and is provided with a $20,000 fellowship and housing.

During the school year, the visiting scholar teaches in both the undergraduate and the online MASM graduate program, participates in campus ministry, assists with the Discipleship program and preaches/teaches with the Worship Outreach groups.

Selection Process:

Dick Wilke, Bishop in Residence; Cheryl Rude, Division Chair for Social Science; Andy Sheppard, Academic Vice President; Stephen K. Wilke, Executive Director of the Institute for Discipleship, and Danny Moss, IFD board member make up the selection committee.

Applications are taken by March 1 of each year. Selection is made by March 15.

History:

	Kevin Minister Kevin Minister has a PhD in Religion from SMU and is the visiting scholar for the 2012-2013 school year.
	Meredith Minister For the 2011-2012 school year our visiting scholar was Meredith Minister from SMU. Meredith is the Assistant Professor of Religion at Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro, Kentucky.
	Stephen and Sarah Sours For the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 school years, Stephen and Sarah Sours from Duke shared the position. Stephen is now the pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Mountain Top, PA. Sarah is teaching in the theology department at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, PA.
	We did not have a visiting scholar for the 2008-2009 school year.
	Matt Thompson Matt Thompson was our visiting scholar for the 2007-2008 school year. He is now on the humanities faculty of Trinity School at River Ridge in Eagan, MN.
	Kevin Carnahan The first visiting scholar was Kevin Carnahan who was with us for the 2006-2007 school year. He is now the Assistant Professor of Religion at Central Methodist University.