Faculty member, Dr. Don Pope, has been showing God’s love through his actions for as long as COBA has known him. We were fortunate enough to get to ask him a little bit about how his faith has shaped his journey and who he is now. As a part of the COBA Management Sciences department, Pope teaches quantitative classes including business statistics.
At some point in everyone’s educational career, they wonder how their teacher or professor decided they wanted to teach. It is a puzzle that differs from person to person, but it reveals a lot about each individual. This is no different in the case of Don Pope. After graduating from Texas A&M, Pope was offered a position teaching Industrial Engineering at a reputable university. The timing just wasn’t right. “I decided at that time, however, to accept a position in the aircraft industry closer to my aging parents and I felt that the industry experience would make me a better teacher someday if that opportunity ever came.”
Faith played a large role in Pope’s journey and continues to do so today. It taught him to be humble and aware of the value of others. Pope says, “Faith shaped how I did my job at the aircraft plant – it shaped how I treated people, it shaped my level of effort and attention to detail, it shaped my honesty in things like travel expense reports, it shaped my language used in conversation, it shaped my choices to leave work on time and go home and be with my family. I tried to treat all people the same, from the janitor to the Vice President, and not wear my PhD on my sleeve for status. I tried to avoid being called Dr. Pope.”
Pope did fulfill that goal of becoming a professor and now teaches in ACU’s College of Business saying,
Don and his wife, Beth
“Eventually, faith was a factor in leaving a good job and choosing to come teach at a Christian university.” Pope is loved by the students and faculty. His integrity is apparent through his intentional Christ-like actions. “I try to treat everyone – students, staff, everybody with respect. I am no more important than the hard-working people who clean our building every night, out of sight. I try hard to get to know all my students, even in large classes. I ask them individually for what I can pray for. Although I teach quantitative courses, I still try to consider Christian perspectives in arriving at best decisions in business. Working with amazing faculty and staff colleagues has been very special.”
Each phase of life brings new lessons and opportunities. When asked what he has learned from teaching at ACU, Pope said, “I have learned from seeing students mature over the 4 years here and beyond that the Christian journey is a slow transformation into His (God’s) image and not to be too frustrated when students are not there yet. Neither am I. Like Forrest Gump, that is all I have to say about that.”