< PreviousREFLECTIONS20scholarshipFor the past twelve years, students at Lubbock Christian University have had the opportunity to participate in a practice usually reserved for graduate school students—working with a Ph.D. mentor on academic research. The undergraduate research culture at LCU has steadily grown so that the university continues to have a very broad base of research conducted in a variety of disciplines. The notable results of this emphasis—LCU‘s consistent representation by students at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research—has also been evident at the annual LCU Scholars Colloquium, as it continues to see an abundance of student scholarship over a breadth of topics.This spring, the LCU Scholars Colloquium was held for the twelfth consecutive year, with over ninety presentations made during the two-day event. This experience, which provides student scholars a venue to communicate the results of their research from various areas of study, has had a growing number of attendees and participants over the past several years. It has featured esteemed speakers including, in 2017 two of LCU’s own—Crystal Silva-McCormick (’02), who presented a plenary address on her work with 21SUMMER 2017the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and Dr. Matt Joyner (’05), professor of Chemistry at Pepperdine University. The Committee for Undergraduate Research and the Scholars’ Colloquium Committee have each made great contributions to the success of the LCU Scholars’ Colloquium.“We are pleased that the quality of the colloquium continues to reflect the truly excellent research work of our students and faculty at LCU," said Dr. Stacy Patty, Dean of the University Honors College. "Our university produces undergraduate research, for example, that is certainly among the best in the nation, as evidenced by the number accepted to present at national conferences as well as on our campus."Beginning with a poster presentation session in the Student Union Building, the colloquium featured students from every department across campus and presentations from an incredibly diverse collection of topics. Each day featured breakout sessions made up of student research presentations. In addition to the breakout sessions, presentations, and keynote speakers, two students were selected as plenary speakers for this year’s colloquium. Hannah Harbin, senior chemistry major, presented her research entitled The Intersection of Chemistry and Archeology: Analysis of Fatty Acid Residue Extracted from Early Bronze Age Pottery Found at Khribat Iskander, Jordan, and Cora Peterson, senior science major shared her paper, Alanine Scanning Mutagenesis of MsbA, a Bacterial ABC Transporter. Additionally, senior Brandon Greer presented his original play, “A Friend Out of Stone,” which he both wrote and directed, highlighting the diversity of the content showcased by the Colloquium.CRYSTAL SILVA-MCCORMICK (LCU, ‘02) Adjunct Professor at UTEP, PhD. Candidate in Interfaith Relations“So That the Birds of the Air Can Perch in Its Shade”MATT JOYNER(LCU, ‘05) Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Pepperdine University “Exploring the Medicinal Potential of Nature”Crystal Silva McCormick completed the B.A. degree in Missions at Lubbock Christian University in 2002 and the M.Div. at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. She is now a doctoral candidate in Interfaith Relations at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago. Crystal has taught Women’s Studies and Religious Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso. She is a scholar with the Hispanic Theological Initiative, and she is an activist for fostering inter-religious dialogue and service, as well as advocacy for immigrant and immigration reform. Crystal now serves on the board of directors of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and in 2016 she was appointed chair of the Parliament’s Women’s Task Force. Currently she lives in Austin and works with domestic violence victims.Matthew Joyner completed B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Mathematics at Lubbock Christian University in 2005, and then, went on to complete his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oklahoma in 2010. As a student at LCU, he was a founding member of Dr. Julie Marshall’s peanut research project and a member of the very first Honors Program cohort. As a scientist, he has pursued research in the areas of drug discovery, ethnobotany, microbial chemistry, metabolomics and protein-misfolding neurodegenerative diseases. Matthew is currently an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Pepperdine University, where he teaches Biochemistry and investigates the chemical and pharmacological properties of native medicinal plants used by local American Indians.21SUMMER 2017LCU's Scholars Colloquium undergraduate research award winners Hannah Harbin and Cora Petersen.REFLECTIONS22Vessels of Clay: Former LCU Art Major Returns for a Bachelor of Fine ArtsJAMI WHITEby dr. michelle kraft, art program coordinator23SUMMER 2017It’s a humid but cool June evening on Lubbock’s First Friday Art Trail as we venture into the Charles Adams Studio Project (CASP) to see the Cambium & Clay exhibition, featuring work by Kendra McCartney, Peter Keltz, and recent LCU art graduate Jami White. Several of her ceramic sculptures line the wall. They are segmented pieces, soda-fired to an earthy, rough patina, with a timeless, totemic feel, as if created by an ancient hand. Where we expect to see a face crowning each piece, there is a double-walled perfect ring of clay. The technique of the maker is captivating-her ability to fashion a material as fragile and temperamental as clay into a beautiful form. The phrase “treasures in jars of clay” leaps to mind: in the hands of the right creator, something transformative happens, even with mud. In May 2017, Jami White was among the first to graduate with Lubbock Christian University’s new Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), though her journey to this point was not so direct. Jami arrived as a freshman art major in 1986. At that time, LCU offered the Bachelor of Arts in Art. Professor Karen Randolph introduced Jami to clay, which would become her passion. Life intervened, though. Just short of graduation, Jami married, turning her attention to raising her family; her daughter Kirstin graduated from LCU with a B.A. in Art Education in 2013. Still, finishing her degree never left her mind. “I had been looking at going back to school for several years,” she notes. Jami investigated colleges in Dallas/Fort Worth, even in her home-state of California, but nothing seemed quite right—she would lose too many credit hours. She looked at returning to LCU in fall 2016, just as the new BFA launched. The BFA affords almost twice as many credit hours in art as the previous B.A. had, with an emphasis on studio professional practice. And, Jami adds, “LCU was flexible with my older credits, moving them to fill into the current degree plan.” The time was right to return and finish, though Jami admits, “There was definitely a learning curve to being back in the academic world after so many years.” Some challenges: online classes, remembering to be a student and not a facilitator during class group projects, reconciling new experiences with 1980s student memories. Some plusses: “fantastic library resources,” Starbuck’s on campus, the blessing of being both a mentor and student alongside her peers. Jami also acknowledges that her lived experiences provided her “passion and focus in direction of study. . .. I was serious about how the information I was learning was applicable to my life.”During her time at LCU, Jami’s presence has been felt in the campus art community as well as within the regional art community. She served as vice-president, then acting president, of the LCU Student Art Association, where she helped to lead art workshops for LCU students and staff, as well as for the Burkhart Transition Center for Autism. She’s an active member of the Helen Devitt Jones Clay Studio REFLECTIONS24at the Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts (LHUCA). Through these experiences and connections, Jami thrived creatively. “Amazing [LCU] professor Hannah Dean was open to me drawing and painting on whatever surface I wanted or needed for my senior exhibition,” Jami explains. “I took a printmaking workshop at CASP after Hannah had [printmaker/designer] Dirk Fowler come to speak to her class. . .. I loved it! This was my door to [the workshop] at Penland. Because I love clay, I couldn’t wait to see how to use clay and printmaking together.”Penland School of Arts & Crafts is a renowned art school in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. White was accepted to the competitive summer 2017 clay workshop, during which she studied printmaking techniques on clay under Harvard professor Kathy King and artist Paul Andrew Wandless. In fall 2017, Jami begins the MFA in Ceramics at Texas Tech University, one of only two accepted applicants. Jami points to not only the support of LCU art faculty and of the Lubbock arts community in achieving her academic success, but also to the support of her family: “After the movie McFarland USA [the biopic about her dad, cross-country coach Jim White], and I saw how supportive LCU was to my family, I really wanted to explore once again about finishing school. It was an area of my life in which I never felt completely successful.” But, she adds, “Honestly, if I had finished my degree in 1991, I would not have been as successful. . .. I was blessed to raise my two beautiful children, and that was my focus back then: to raise them to love the Lord, to be the best mom I could be.” Having begun her academic journey 30 years ago, Jami understands well the scripture in 2 Corinthians 4:7, that treasures in jars of clay show that the surpassing power of transformation belongs to God. “Graduating in 2017,” she says, “I have a different perspective. I want to be the best me that I can be, the person God created me to be when he uniquely formed me.” God’s timing is everything.“I have a different perspective. I want to be the best me that I can be, the person God created me to be when he uniquely formed me.”October 24, 2017Baker Conference Center • 6pmTickets Available For Sale Online September 11TO JOIN THE PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE: Visit our website, LCU.edu/Presidents-CircleART & CHRISTIANITYfeaturing a live painting event by nationally recognized west texas artistsJack & Jill MaxwellDevelops Practical Research ToolDr. JoAnn LongThe scholarly work and collaboration by Dr. JoAnn Long, Professor of Nursing and Director of Research & Development for the LCU Department of Nursing, has resulted in a research tool that is being used by local hospitals, as well as hospitals around the world. The research tool was recently developed by Dr. Long and Paula Gannaway (Former Director of the LCU Library) collaborating with other faculty, staff, and with Justin Brown, LCU webmaster. The IT tool is used to help guide student researchers through the process of gathering, evaluating, and using scholarly research. The Evidence-Based Research (EBR) Tool is meant to address how advancements in technology have changed how students access and use evidence-based information, and how many students over-estimate their ability to effectively locate and evaluate the sources they find during research projects. In the nursing field, clinical nurses are apt to rely upon personal experience, rather than on peer-reviewed literature, and so this EBR Tool has very practical, immediate benefits for the students and professional working nurses. The EBR Tool prompts users with key questions related to their research question(s) and interests, and it enables them to narrow their searches to the more relevant and credible sources that their searches discover. This development has application far beyond the particular field of nursing, though, as it is permanently available on the library website for all faculty, staff, and students to use as they gather resources for whatever research projects they pursue. Nursing faculty in Uganda and Lebanon have used the tool in their work, and recent inquiries about the EBR Tool have come from institutions in Norway and Canada. Locally, Covenant Health System, on the journey toward magnate status, has purchased licenses for the tool, and is currently utilizing it with their front line nurses.REFLECTIONS2627SUMMER 2017Dr. Mark WiebeAuthors New BookDr. Mark Wiebe joined the LCU faculty in 2013. Since then, he has established an impressive reputation as a careful thinker, a highly respected teacher, a model colleague, and a first rate scholar. Mark’s newly published book, On Evil, Providence, and Freedom: A New Reading of Molina, is a reflection on the work of the 16th-century Jesuit, Luis de Molina, whose commentary on Thomas Aquinas’ monumental contributions sparked a decades-long and rancorous debate. Especially provocative was Molina’s commentary on Aquinas’ arguments related to providence, grace, and free will. Molina’s perspective on these issues came back into some prominence among 20th-century philosophical theologians and philosophers of religion when Alvin Plantinga used an argument much like Molina’s to provide a response to a particular version of the problem of evil. It was Mark’s interest in the network of questions related to the problem of evil that initially drew him into these particular conversations. He found Molina’s work helpful, to a certain extent, in thinking through how to reconcile God’s goodness and providence with the prevalence of suffering in the world. Mark’s book begins with a defense of a strong view of providence, a defense which gives significant attention to scriptural voices that impinge upon these topics. Ultimately, he argues for a modified and softened version of Molina’s approach that attempts to uphold strong notions of both divine providence and creaturely freedom.Excerpts from the Celebration of Scholarship Magazine. To view the publication online, go to LCU.edu/17Scholarship.REFLECTIONS28study abroad in ÁVILA, SPAINFor many years, Lubbock Christian University has provided its students the opportunity to travel the world, offering short term experiences in missions and in various academic fields. Each experience makes a lasting difference in the lives of students. From all majors and all backgrounds, these students have broadened and deepened their educational journey in countries across the world, thanks to the guidance of faculty who were willing to extend their classroom and their signature LCU hospitality to cities near and far. 29by page carter, director of global campusNext >