Fall Faculty Workshop

It's hard to believe that classes start tomorrow!  My last few weeks were consumed with teaching an intensive five weeks summer course and then getting things ready for the Fall semester.  Unfortunately one of our retired Jesuit faculty who had been assigned to teach an elective on Sacraments needs to take some extra time off and so I had to pick up his course.  While I'm qualified to teach the course, I've had to spend lots of time prepping for it and building a webpage for the course.

Yesterday we had our Fall Faculty Workshop during which we discussed our mission, pedagogy, and the up-coming re-accreditation process that happens every ten years.  Rockhurst faculty are commited to offering high-quality education that ever adapts to the needs of students in a changing global environment.

I look forward to an exciting semester and year!

Graduating to the Next Level

Well it's that time of year when students graduate and go off into the great beyond.  For many, it truly is going beyond, beyond their previous confines, comfort levels, accomplishments.  One student of mine, Andew Wessling, who is a cool and zany guy, is entering into the Master's Program at Creighton University, a fellow Jesuit institute, and will be part of the Magis Program.  Magis is the Latin word for "more" that encapsulates the Jesuit ideal of continuing growth in excellence.  Andrew, while pursuing his Masters in Education, will be working at a Catholic high school in South Dakota on an Indian Reservation, serving as an English teacher and soccer coach. http://www.creighton.edu/magis/

The spirit of magis and cura personalis, care for the whole person, pervades the student experience at Rockhurst University.  A Rockhurst education is not an end in itself but a door to new beginnings and continued development.  Check out how our program can prepare you to realize your future dreams. http://www.rockhurst.edu/

All the best to all of our graduates!

"Doc"

The Road to Service

Where did April go?  Well, besides the Royal Wedding on April 29th, I had something else to celebrate.  One of my Department members Dr. Bill Stancil, received the prestigious Harry B. Kies Award for outstanding service.  He was commemorated at the annual Faculty Dinner that evening.

Bill has served the university in innumerable ways some of which are being a Department Chair, Chairing the Rank and Tenure Committee, and being the Director of the Rockhurst University Press.  Thanks to his selfless work, our centennial book, Rockhurst University the First 100 Years, was a success.  He likewise contributed significantly to our centennial celebrations.  Bill truly embodies our Jesuit values of service, magis, and cura personalis.

This same spirit is inculcated in our students.  The road to service is the road to personal enrichment and fulfillment.  By walking on such a path one leads by example and inspires others.  Rockhurst students have many opportunites to be engaged in Service Learning projects.  Check us out.

http://www.rockhurst.edu/services/service/index.asp

Shaken to the Core

I think a lot of us have been shaken to the core with the 9.0 earthquake, subsequent tsunami, and now the danger of nuclear meltdowns.  The event was so profound that it even shook the Earth's axis and now our tilt towards the sun has been changed.  A lot to ponder.

While I hardly wish to diminish the reality and human tragedy that has transpired and continues to unfold, or to ignore the practically miraculous discovery of survivors eight and more days afterwards, this whole thing about the Earth's axis changing has caused me to think, and even philosophize.

What events have shaken me to the core and caused me to get off balance or re-orientate my relationships?  Sometimes being shaken to the core can be a good thing.  Maybe I was already off-balance and teetering in a dangerous path and needed to be re-alligned.  Or what things do I let shake me up more than they need to?

It just amazes me that the Earth itself was so deeply impacted that it's orbit has changed, even if ever so slightly.  But WOW!  Causes me to think about what lies at the core of my being and what I value.  And of course I could be really cheesey and talk about Rockhurst and its core values etc, but I don't mean this as a "sales pitch" whatsoever.  I mean, Think about it—the Earth's orientation has changed!  How often does that happen?  Yes, there was a previous quake that had such an impact as well.  But moving planets is not an everyday occurence.  It can serve as an opportunity to pause and reflect upon life itself.  Life is a very precious and wondrous thing. Embrace life.  (And I'd encourage you to help support our fellow human beings [and other life forms—What about that dog protecting its wounded friend?] in Japan.)

All the best, Daniel

Competitive Edge

What will make YOU stand out from the crowd of 2011 graduates in the job market?

To help in that daunting task,

Rockhurst University is launching a new two-week early summer program.  It's called the Summer Business Camp—Mensch Management.  This is for NON-BUSINESS majors (juniors and seniors) to help you learn the basics and the language of business in areas such as ethics, accounting, finance, economics, marketing, as well as leadership.  As we all know, most often the bottom line is $$$ so being able to navigate in a tough economy is essential.

The program lasts May 16-27, meeting all day with some evenings, plus Saturday morning.  You'll get hands on experience meeting with CEOs and a seasoned team.  The Certificate can help strengthen your resumé.

If interested, follow this link or on Facebook search for Mensch Management. 

http://cte.rockhurst.edu/s/945/faculty.aspx?sid=945&gid=1&pgid=2120

And see what Rockhurst can do for you!  Open to non-Rockhurst students.

666 & the Mark of the Beast

New Release

Besides delivering conference papers and writing articles, Rockhurst University faculty also publish books.  Here's my first academic book in print which I'll incorporate into my Book of Revelation class.

Read what some endorses have said about it:
"Daniel Stramara whirls his way through Revelation, imaginatively unfolding a complex web of intriguing possibilities to argue that Revelation draws from liturgical lections associated with the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). Read along—it's certainly a fun ride."
—Warren Carter
Professor of New Testament  Brite Divinity School

"Daniel F. Stramara, in his engaging new work, God's Timetable, sheds light on many of the exegetical enigmas in the Book of Revelation. Stramara reads Revelation within the liturgical context of the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost (Shavu'ot), a festival whose apocalyptic significance is attested by other important Jewish writings of John's time. Ultimately, Stramara's work reveals a community very much at home in the world of first century Judaism."
—Paul B. Duff  Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies  The George Washington University

"As strange as it may seem, some two millennia after the writing of the Book of Revelation we now have a work that provides an original and convincing account of the meaning of the last book of the Bible. In this blockbuster, Daniel Stramara deciphers some of the most mysterious and puzzling images in Revelation. Carefully grounded in Jewish and Christian scholarship, God's Timetable will be a standard against which future works on Revelation will be measured."
—Wilburn T. Stancil  Professor of Theology and Religious Studies  Rockhurst University

"While many recent studies on the Apocalypse focus on the resistance of Christians to Empire, Daniel Stramara challenges readers to interpret the Apocalypse in its Jewish setting. His placement of the Apocalypse in the context of the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) is both compelling and convincing. By proposing the Feast of Weeks as a hermeneutical key for understanding the theological and ideological focus of the Apocalypse, Stramara opens a new window and lets in fresh light on this enigmatic work."
—David M. May  Professor of New Testament  Central Baptist Theological Seminary

If you're interesed in getting a copy follow this link:
http://wipfandstock.com/store/Gods_Timetable_The_Book_of_Revelation_and_the_Feast_of_Seven_Weeks/

Here's a list of other books published by my departmental colleagues:
http://www.rockhurst.edu/academic/theology/scholarship.asp

Rockhurst faculty are expected to be deeply engaged in teaching, scholarship, and service.

Blizzard Babies

Bring it on!

Well, once again Rockhurst University is closed due to bad weather.  This time the blizzard of 2011 that's supposed to be a whopper striking about 3/4 of the nation in some way or another.

Of course you know what that means: November there's going to be a baby boom!  This'll be good news for Rockhurst's enrollment in eighteen years!  Hopefully that crop of blizzard babies will be a hardy breed, poised to learn how to weather whatever gets thrown at them.

That's actually the over-arching thrust of Rockhurst right now: preparing young men and women for whatever life throws at them by giving them a well-rounded and well-grounded education in the Catholic Jesuit academic tradition.  The Catholic Church has endured the many storms and major events of history and managed to find a stability, and ability to survive by adaptation.

So why don't you check us out?  http://www.rockhurst.edu/
And we have a pretty gnarly Nursing Program as well through the Research College of Nursing, ready to deliver all those blizzard babies!  http://www.researchcollege.edu/