Service

The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
–II Timothy 2:24-25

It is difficult to read the Scriptures and miss the importance of service. In reflecting on service, I am struck by Paul’s instructions to Timothy in the context of charging others for teaching the Gospel. I am challenged by the lesson that even in so-called “leadership positions” I am called to be a servant. When I am tempted to argue, I need to choose kindness. When I am wronged, I need to choose patience. When correcting, I need to choose gentleness with a goal of restoration. I fear I will never run out of areas to improve in this role, but I am grateful to work at an institution that encourages service stemming from our identity as children of God.

Service Roles

On service, the faculty handbook states the following:

A faculty member’s service is directly related to the university’s mission statement. Service should grow out of his or her academic and professional commitments, as well as out of a generous understanding of Christian discipleship. Service may extend to the profession, the university or its constituent parts, the church, and/or the community. The applicant must provide specific examples of service along with personal reflection on how service is informing and shaping work as a faculty member.

Examples of service in any of these areas include, but are not limited to, the following items:

  • Advisory and consultative positions
  • Holding an office or chair
  • Committee memberships and work
  • Administrative responsibilities
  • Student organization sponsorships
  • Service awards

Service to the Profession

My primary academic service has been through my roles on STAR, specifically as Deputy Spokesperson from 2017-2020 (described in detail in a forthcoming section) and as co-convener of the Spin Physics Working Group from 2014-2017. I also currently serve as the ACU representative to the STAR institutional council and in the regular shift leader rotation during data-taking runs at STAR. In Fall 2018, I was asked to serve on as a co-convener for one of the parallel sessions at the 2018 International Spin Physics Symposium in Ferrara, Italy, which gave me the opportunity to work alongside two colleagues from the international community outside my immediate collaboration, an experience I have thoroughly appreciated.

Service to the University

My primary service to the university and its constituent parts has been in the following roles

Additionally, I have made myself available for university-level committees at ACU, but I have not yet been selected.

Letter_Dowdy_Jess

Service to the Church and Community

I have been an active member of the local church in each community I have called home. In my time on the faculty at Lamar, my family and I worshipped with the Meadows church of Christ in Beaumont. There, I served as the deacon over education, as a Bible class teacher, song leader, and periodically filled in for our preacher, Rick Walker. When we moved to Abilene, my family settled near the Wiley area, and we worship with the Oldham Lane church of Christ. There, I have served as a Bible class teacher, song leader, and recently on the missions committee.

I have enjoyed giving periodic public lectures on physics to the Abilene community through venues such as the Cosmic Cafe (sponsored by the ACU SPS) and the Rotary Club. I also arranged an SPS “Spooky Physics” show at Abilene Christian School on Halloween 2019.

During Spring 2019, I was selected to serve on a Taylor County Grand Jury for the 104th District Court, Judge Lee Hamilton then-presiding. We met from 9 AM until around 2 PM on the second Tuesday of each month from January through June. I served as the grand jury foreman during our May meeting and as backup foreman during the other sessions.

During the recent pandemic, I volunteered my time in an unpaid and unofficial capacity as a data analyst. I provided basic analyses and graphical representations of publicly available data released by the Taylor County Public Health Department and the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Reflections on Service

My professional service has benefitted tremendously from the continuity of my research activities. I have been an active member of STAR since 2005, which has enabled me to grow organically into leadership roles within the collaboration. I am gratified to say this has been an area of strength in my ability to serve my professional community. In contrast, leaving Lamar for ACU has forced me to be more intentional about my university service activities. Each university and department has a unique set of needs. When I arrived at Lamar, I chose service roles that matched the needs of the Lamar Physics Department, e.g. stepping into the role of the SACS Liaison. The ACU Engineering and Physics Department has a different set of needs. My desire was to use my service experience in needed roles rather than attempting to force my way into roles already capably handled by my outstanding colleagues. In conversations with our chair, I was encouraged in these initial years at ACU to continue devoting my primary service to the profession, e.g. fulfilling my term as STAR Deputy Spokesperson and serving as the ACU representative to the STAR institutional council. In the meantime, I have been able to identify areas to continue in university service roles I held at Lamar and to find new areas of need at ACU. I have been able to continue serving as a McNair Scholars mentor at ACU, a role I initially began at Lamar. Dr. Larry Isenhower has been gracious to welcome me as a co-sponsor for the ACU SPS Chapter, another role I initially began at Lamar. I have been able to leverage my experience with undergraduate research activities at Lamar to serve in new but related roles at ACU, e.g. serving on the Undergraduate Research Festival Planning Committee. I have also deeply enjoyed service activities completely unique to ACU, e.g. giving devotionals and leading singing in department small group chapel. I have made myself available for other university-level committees and am eager to serve, when selected. In the end, while the discontinuity has been challenging, I have appreciated the perspective that accompanies service experience at two very different institutions.

The move from Beaumont to Abilene has also provided challenges to my community and church service accompanied by the benefit of different perspectives. At Meadows church of Christ in Beaumont, I served a church in transition, as the congregation moved from the Ridgewood neighborhood to the Meadows neighborhood. My family and I served on the ground floor of new ministries. Finding opportunities to serve was easy, as there was far too much work to do for the number of people available to work. Shortly after our grand opening, Southeast Texas, including Beaumont, was devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Again, there was no shortage of service opportunities, as we coordinated with sister congregations, e.g. Westgate church of Christ, to perform disaster relief and distribute goods to the thousands in need. In Abilene, again, I have needed to be more intentional in my service. In comparison to Meadows, Oldham Lane is more mature in its present location. Opportunities for service are there but not as glaringly obvious as at Meadows. I have found opportunities for continuity, e.g. teaching class, working with the university ministry, song leading, etc.; but I have also needed to train myself to be patient. Serving at Meadows was an exercise in “urgency.” We were in new locations with new challenges and much learning on the fly. Over time, I became conditioned to the “crazy,” such that stillness began to feel like laziness. From this transition, I have learned the benefit of being still. I have also gained a new appreciation for the ministry partners I had in Beaumont and the scale of what we were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. I have also developed a deeper gratitude for the opportunities I do have to serve.

In Abilene, I have been able to grow my direct service to the community, as well. I have been more intentional about outreach to the community in terms of science education and literacy. I embraced an opportunity to serve on the grand jury and to see my new hometown and its needs in a much different way than I had done in Beaumont. I have continued to be more intentionally aware of these needs and opportunities to support community servants. This intentionality led to serving a particular need during the COVID-19 pandemic. While I could not serve the community in as direct a role as, e.g. my wife, who is a physician, I was able to serve in a support role for those at the Public Health Department who do serve the community directly.

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