Archive for July, 2019

You are invited to attend a retirement reception to celebrate Carolyn Jeter’s 18 years of service to Abilene Christian University. The reception will be Tuesday, July 23rd from 3:00-5:00 p.m., with recognition at 3:30 p.m., in the Hunter Welcome Center lobby. Please join us as we celebrate a wonderful lady who will be greatly missed.

Save $100-200 off of previous generation MacBook Air and MacBook Pro. Limited quantities available.

Back To School Promo: get free Beats with purchase of Mac, iPad Pro, or iPad Air. See for store for details.

Apple Watch demo sale: new lower prices on 2 demo Apple Watch’s. See store for details.

The Home Away From Home Program is a program designed to connect international students at ACU with families in the Abilene Community. This is not a home stay program, but rather, families will spend time with their student at least once a month throughout the 2019-20 school year through various activities. Be a part of giving students a place to call home away from their own! See http://www.acu.edu/hafh for more information on how you can get involved! For questions, contact acu.hafh@gmail.com

Note: This includes the fourth set of thought questions related to Austin Channing Brown’s book, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.

Thought Questions for July 15 (pages 112-130)
Chapter 8: The Story We Tell
Chapter 9: Creative Anger
Interlude: How to Survive Racism in an Organization that Claims to be Antiracist

“Anger is not inherently destructive. My anger can be a force for good. My anger can be creative and imaginative, seeing a better world that doesn’t yet exist. It can fuel a righteous movement toward justice and freedom” (Brown 126).

Anger is an appropriate reaction to injustice, but Austin shares that she really struggled to become comfortable expressing that anger. How can we do a better job of listening to the anger of people of color? How can predominately white organizations make space to respond in supportive ways to the anger people of color express?

Understanding our racial history gives us context for current racial disparities. How much do you know about the racial disparities in the following systems? How can you learn more?
Education
Home Ownership
Health/Health Access
Criminal Justice
Wealth
Wages

Laura Bolin Carroll, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Adams Center for Teaching and Learning

Next Reading

July 29 (pages 131-164)
Chapter 10: The Ritual of Fear
Chapter 11: A God of the Accused
Chapter 12: We’re Still Here
Interlude: A Letter to My Son

The Siburt Institute for Church Ministry invites you to the 2019 Summer Seminar. Randy Harris, along with a team of ministers and scholars, will lead the exploration of the topic “Rich Heritage, Unfolding Future: Renewing Churches for God’s Mission.” This year’s Summer Seminar explores the rich heritage of the Stone-Campbell Movement, offers a snapshot of the present, and compels us all to catch a renewed vision of God’s preferred future. The seminar will take place in the Hunter Welcome Center from 1-8:30 pm on August 9 and 7:30-12 pm on August 10. The regular cost of the seminar is $60, which includes two meals and handout materials. The cost is $50 for ACU faculty and staff (use code THEHILL19); and if you happen to be a student, the cost is just $30 (use code STUDENT19). Register today at acu.edu/alumni.

It is time to complete the ACS Tuition Benefit Application for the 2019-2020 school year. If you have children who will be attending ACS in the Fall, please complete the application by August 19, 2019. Here’s more information regarding the Abilene Christian School tuition benefit.

Note: This includes the third set of thought questions related to Austin Channing Brown’s book, I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness.

In White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism, Robin Diangelo identifies key pillars of whiteness: (1) the belief that only bad people are racist; (2) how white people are taught to think of racism “as discrete acts committed by individual people, rather than as a complex, interconnected system”; and (3) how defensiveness when these dynamics are named maintains the racial status quo.

I challenge us to examine the ways we may be resistant to conversations of race — conversations that may reveal we are complicit in an oppressive system — and how we can work to build emotional stamina around conversations of race.

As you begin thinking about your Fall semester, the Adams Center would like to remind you that Austin Channing Brown will be on campus Monday, September 9, 2019. She will be speaking in chapel; leading an extended lunch session in the Adams Center from 11:45 a.m.-2 p.m.; and giving a public reading in Cullen Auditorium at 7 p.m.

Laura Bolin Carroll, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Adams Center for Teaching and Learning

Thought Questions for July 15 (pages 112-130)
Chapter 8: The Story We Tell
Chapter 9: Creative Anger
Interlude: How to Survive Racism in an Organization that Claims to be Antiracist

Read the selection on pages 71-76 describing one day in the professional life of a black woman. What stands out to you within this section? What is your internal response to what Austin describes?

In chapter 7 Austin writes, “Sadly, most white people are more worried about being called racist than about whether or not their actions are in fact racist or harmful.” Has this been your experience?

It’s almost time for the visit of the Ibaraki Christian High School students to ACU!  If you can spare two 30-minute spots on Friday, July 19th and 26th, email Lucy Dawson (lld09a@acu.edu) for the details. The students will be really excited to meet you, and just may come back as ACU students!