In this section, I provide some details of my service to the university at Lamar and ACU. Changing institutions has provided unique challenges to find continuity in my service activities between the two institutions in ways that fit ACU’s particular needs. I will provide some reflection on these challenges and the ways that I have attempted to fill needed roles.

Lamar Physics Department SACS Liaison

As a part of SACS accreditation, each department is required to produce annual reports that evaluate the effectiveness of their courses. A “SACS Liaison” is tasked with compiling this report using a web-based program called Weave. When I began as a new faculty member at Lamar in Fall 2015, the physics department was in need of a new SACS Liaison. I accepted the role as a part of my service activities and performed it until leaving for ACU in Fall 2018. Each fall, based upon the results of the previous report, I generated an updated reporting plan for the upcoming academic term, e.g. new measures or target goals. Our typical method for evaluating course effectiveness was through developing problems that gauge certain concepts or aspects of critical thinking. The department faculty would agree on a set of courses to target for each area of knowledge or critical thinking. We would strategically administer these problems in the appropriate courses, e.g. via exams, at certain points throughout the semester and grade them according to a rubric. Each problem would be graded by multiple faculty members and the results averaged. As liaison, I provided periodic reminders to instructors to administer and evaluate the problems. After evaluations were complete, I would compile the results in a report that compared our performance with our expectation and targets. I would submit the report through Weave in the summer following the spring semester. An example report is provided, below, for your reference.

When I arrived at ACU, the analogous task for Engineering and Physics was already in the capable hands of a new colleague. I have used my previous experience at Lamar to aid my assessment of my courses for accreditation and to participate in productive discussions on improving the effectiveness of our assessments, each year.

Lamar College of Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee

During my time at Lamar, I also served on the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) curriculum committee. Our responsibilities focused on reviewing and approving changes to curricula within CAS. Our meetings were typically held virtually. I provide a  link to an example virtual agenda for your convenient reference. At ACU, this particular committee assignment was not open, when I joined in Fall 2018. However, my experience on the CAS curriculum committee has enabled me to participate in our department-level curriculum committee and contribute in productive ways.

Department Hiring Committees

When I arrived at Lamar in Fall 2015, our current administrative associate was phasing into a role in another office on campus. We were in need of a permanent administrator, and I agreed to serve on the hiring committee. I link to some example committee correspondence for your convenience. As a part of my service, I reviewed and scored candidate resumes at the application phase, participated in on-site interviews, scored interviewee performance, and participated in the final selection. As a result of our work, we successfully hired Ms. Kristina Moffett, who served as an outstanding administrator throughout the rest of my time at Lamar. Our department was also in need of a permanent physics chair, and I also agreed to serve on this hiring committee. I again provide a link to example committee correspondence for your convenience. This search proved far more difficult and spanned multiple years until a successful applicant could be identified. I, again, reviewed and scored candidate applications, participated in virtual and on-site candidate interviews, participated in reference check phone calls, and participated in all committee meetings related to candidate evaluation and selection. Finally, in 2017, we were able to hire Dr. Philip Cole to serve in the role as chair, which he did throughout the rest of my time at Lamar.

This experience has proven valuable to me in my time at ACU, as we have conducted several interviews for faculty or staff positions, since I arrived in Fall 2018. Having seen the process at different institutions with different required practices has given me a unique perspective on effective evaluation of candidates, which I hope to continue using toward the benefit of ACU in the future.

Undergraduate Research Activities

Throughout my time at Lamar and ACU, I have prioritized service in undergraduate research and scholarship. In addition to mentoring students supported on my externally funded grants at ACU, I have also thoroughly appreciated the opportunity to serve as a research mentor through the Lamar and ACU McNair Scholars program. I provide further details of my service as an undergraduate research mentor in my scholarship section. An example of additional activities related to undergraduate research include service as a reviewer of Lamar undergraduate research fellowship grants and serving as a judge at the 2017 Lamar University Undergraduate Research Expo. These experiences led me to seek out ways to contribute in similar ways at ACU. In the 2019-2020 academic term, I joined the ACU Undergraduate Research Festival organizing committee. The experiences I had participating with the Expo at Lamar proved quite useful to me. My specific service area for the 2020 festival was on the Program subcommittee, working with Suzie Macaluso to prepare the festival program. In particular I organized the STEM presentations into thematic sessions with appropriate session titles. The experience was quite interesting, given the nature of the Spring 2020 semester. However, I believe the festival was quite successful and beneficial to the university community, perhaps in particular during such an unusual time.

Faculty Co-sponsor for Society of Physics Students

In my time as an undergraduate at ACU, I was an active participant in our renowned chapter of Society of Physics Students. When I joined the faculty at Lamar, the chapter was sponsored by Dr. Cristian Bahrim, and I was intentional about working with him in SPS activities. In 2017, I officially became a faculty co-sponsor. As one of my main service tasks, I revived the Lamar chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma, the SPS honor society. It had been several years since our last induction. I developed a new set of criteria for induction and distributed invitations to students deemed eligible under the new criteria. I assisted students with the organization of ceremony activities and served as the ceremony emcee.

One of the many serendipities of returning to ACU in Fall 2018 was renewing my participation with my old SPS chapter. Dr. Larry Isenhower has been an outstanding faculty sponsor for a number of years, now; and he graciously extended the opportunity for me to join him as a co-sponsor (see Larry’s letter for reference). We meet with students weekly to help coordinate the activities of our fantastically eager group of students, including on-campus and community outreach. I will discuss two particular areas of community service–Cosmic Cafe and “Spooky Physics”–in which I have participated in a forthcoming section. Another activity I coordinated was “Starry Night at the Farm.” On February 8, 2020, I hosted the SPS crew for a cookout and stargazing at my mother-in-law’s farm outside Abilene in Shep, TX.

Department Spiritual Formation

Spending the first portion of my faculty career at a state institution has helped to shape my perspective on the uniqueness of our spiritual identity at ACU. Furthermore, my perspective has also benefitted from working as a postdoc and visiting assistant professor at Valparaiso University, a school with Lutheran heritage. Certainly the simple ability to be open about our faith is freeing, much more the encouragement to deepen it. However, I have seen the ways that ACU is unique in this respect, even from schools like Valpo. While Valpo has a spiritual heritage, the school takes a very different approach concerning faculty commitment to faith, at the time of my employment simply requiring that faculty not actively oppose the “university mission.” The faculty of my department at Valpo were committed people of faith, and I valued learning from their unique perspectives. My experience with the university as a whole, however, was that faith was more “nominal historical fact” than “active guiding principle.” I humbly acknowledge that reasonable people will disagree strongly with me on this, at the very least disagreeing with me over root causes. Nevertheless, my experience at Valpo and Lamar have shaped my approach to serving students intentionally in their spiritual development. I have valued opportunities to serve as a leader in department small group chapel, both as a speaker and as a song leader. I have committed myself to beginning every class with spiritual reflection from the Scriptures. It is one thing to study with my students. The opportunity to worship and meditate with them is unique. I understand that reasonable people may disagree on the most effective ways to do that. Disagreement is often profoundly healthy, leading us to deeper understanding of who we are as God’s children. Regardless, I am simply thankful for the chance to be shaped spiritually in the ways that I approach my role as a faculty member serving my school. I have seen and experienced this as practiced in different ways in different places. I am grateful for what we have at ACU.

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