Live United! Unity in Faith, Science, and Practice Campaign

Exhibit

Upper Division Graphic Design Students and Courtney Mayer, MFA, Associate Professor of Art & Design

Location: PLNU Caf Lane and Love Gallery

This is the first in a series of faculty/student projects throughout the academic year designed for the Live United! Unity in Faith, Science, and Practice campaign theme. Senior graphic design students will use human-centered design and visual communication across media to focus on the integral connections between our faith, values, ethics, and behaviors, the science of climate change, and care of God’s creation.

Conversations in Community

Scott Kennedy, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, Anderson University

Moderator | Michael Wiese, PhD, Professor of Marketing

Location: Colt Hall Forum

Scott Kennedy will tell his story of cutting-edge science leading to significant discoveries and innovation. As a Christian, Scott strives to find unity in science, his faith and his sense of personal calling. Learn how Scott Lives United! as a scientist through his past work in the United States government and his current work with Google/Verily.

Conversations in Community

Society of Physics Students with Faculty Advisor, Heide Doss, PhD, Adjunct Professor in Physics and Engineering

Scott Kennedy, PhD, Professor of Chemistry, Anderson University

Host | Michael Wiese, PhD, Professor of Marketing

Location: Colt Hall Forum

Scott Kennedy will talk about how his work in science has led to significant innovations and how he finds God’s providence in the journey. This discussion will be designed for the scientifically inclined student.

Scott will also be a visitor in business courses as he shares more about the integration of science and business in the new product development process.

Conversations in Community

Courtney Mayer, MFA., Associate Professor of Art & Design

Location: Fermanian Conference Center

As part of the Wesleyan Lecture Series, Professor Mayer will talk about the development of Pope Francis’ reimagined and redesigned encyclical, Now More Than Ever, Laudato Si': On Care of Our Common Home. She will discuss how human-centered design practices, processes, and methods have influenced the outcome, and what she hopes it will do for readers that engage in this new proposed book edition.

Film 

By Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, screening followed by Q&A

Location: Latter Hall, Room 101

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power is a 2017 American documentary film, directed by Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk, about former United States Vice President Al Gore’s continuing mission to battle climate change. The sequel to An Inconvenient Truth 2006, addresses the progress made to tackle the problem and Gore’s global efforts to persuade governmental leaders to invest in renewable energy, culminating in the landmark signing of 2016’s Paris Agreement. 

Activity

James Payton, Campus Horticulturist

Location: Meet Outside Brown Chapel

Horticulturist James Payton will lead a campus tour to demonstrate the sustainable aspects of the PLNU landscape. He will show and explain the difference between native plants, California friendly plants, and invasive plants. He will also discuss how and why PLNU maintains a sustainable landscape. 

Conversations in Community

Michael Lodahl, PhD, Professor of Theology & World Religions

Darrel Falk, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Biology

Moderator, April Maskiewicz Cordero

Location: Cooper Music, Choir Rehearsal, Room 115

Moderator April Maskiewicz Cordero interviews Michael Lodahl and Darrel Falk about the case for the compatibility of science and Christian faith. These scholars will share how the integration of science and faith inform their practice as a Christian in the world. 

Conversations in Community

Dave Cummings, PhD, Professor of Biology

Location: Latter Hall, Room 101

Biology professor and author shares his story about how he discovered tools for healing and recovery from stress, anxiety, and depression. 

Conversations in Community

Harry Watkins, PhD, Professor of Strategy, Marketing and Sustainability

Linda Beail, PhD, Professor of Political Science

Location: Smee Hall, Room 100

Harry: Science and my understanding of God's call on my life and God's purpose for business itself are deeply connected in both my personal and professional lives. Together, they inform how I understand the Fermanian Business School's "More than the bottom line; business education to change the world" tagline, and they have changed the classes I teach and the content of those classes, and how I live at home.

But this wasn't always the case. In fact, in spite of the fact that my undergraduate degree was in Biology, and despite having become a Christian at the age of 30, I didn't think much about the intersection of science, my faith, and how I think about the purpose of business until several years after I started teaching at PLNU.  

Isn't the purpose of business simply to make a profit for shareholders?  I don't believe so.  In fact both science and Christian scripture strongly argue for a different view.

I will share my journey to what I believe to be a much more defensible and encouraging view of the purpose of business: to leave both people and the planet better off -  which I believe aligns well with both scientific and biblical truth. What are the implications of this view for how we live personally? How we engage with businesses as consumers and executives? I hope we will be able to discuss these issues together.

Linda: I grew up in a Nazarene household that was always concerned with issues of social justice. Thus, studying Political Science, and with it, systems of power and discrimination as they impact women, minorities, and the powerless were natural areas of interest for me.

Conversations in Community

Dawne Page, PhD, Chair and Professor, Department of Biology

Montague Williams, PhD, Associate Professor of Church, Culture and Society

Location: Smee Hall, Room 100

Lunch provided for the first 20 attendees

Learn about the possibilities and perils of CRISPR technology using various ethical frameworks in a Christian perspective.

Conversations in Community

Michael Wiese, PhD, Professor of Marketing

In this casual conversation, the basics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be explained, with possible life applications of this technology presented.  How can AI predict our behaviors, based on prior behavior?  How can machine knowledge make decisions for us, solve problems, inform diagnosis, assist in completing tasks and replace current ways of doing things and getting things done?  As consumers, is this a good or a bad thing?   As Christians, what are the implications of AI?  

What are your thoughts on AI?  How do we Live United with our faith in an emerging world when human intelligence is creating and using artificial intelligence?  

Interested? Come and join in the conversation.  

Location: Nicholson Commons (NC), Cunningham #A Dining Room (Grab your lunch in the caf, and go through the north doors to Cunningham #A)

Conversations in Community

Ross Oakes-Mueller, PhD, Chair and Professor, Department of Psychology

Sharon Smith, PhD, Associate Professor of Nursing

Location: Smee Hall, Room 100
Lunch provided

Dr. Oakes-Mueller will share about the three ways that, as a Christian clinical psychologist and researcher, he feels pulled by the telos of research, the telos of therapy, and the telos of Christian faith. Dr. Smith will speak about how her mission trip to Africa led to her research on understanding the role of spirituality in HIV positive adolescents and emerging adults.

Conversations in Community

Mark H. Mann, MDiv, PhD, Professor of Theology

Heather Ross, MA, Associate Professor of Philosophy

Jimiliz Valiente-Neighbours, PhD, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Work

Location: Latter Hall 101

Many scientists believe that within our lifetimes artificial intelligence and robotics will have advanced enough that ’thinking machines’ will be capable of accomplishing virtually any task that humans can, raising serious challenges to how we think about what it means to be human. This session will present theological, philosophical, and sociological perspectives on this issue, with special focus on the ethical implications of developing human-like machines.

Conversations in Community

Sam Powell, PhD, Professor of Philosophy and Religion

Rebecca Flietstra, PhD, Professor of Biology

Location: Nicholson Commons (NC), Cunningham #A Dining Room (Grab your lunch and join us).

Dr. Flietstra will be sharing about how her understanding of the human person is influenced by Neuroscience and her Christian faith. Dr. Powell will share the results of a quantitative case study of University students regarding the changing behavior and renewing of the brain through spiritual formation practices.