SCHOOLS OF thought thought thought
PreparingGordon students to tackle the pressing issues of today
Gordon launches new schools
Adams School of Music and the Arts
School of Business l
Led by industry experts, backed
Gordon in Orvieto: Celebrating 25 Years
Over 100 alumni, faculty and staff gathered in Orvieto, Italy, on June 13 and 14 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Gordon in Orvieto study abroad program. Filled with art, gelato, food from Chef Maria Battistini, an illuminated bell tower and a brand-new gallery space, it was a wonderful time of honoring the program’s history while looking to the future.
“The First Servites left everything to follow God by serving the needs of others. While we may not be friars, this convent is still a place of learning and devotion. Its mission—to be a caring community that loves and serves—is still alive today. But what takes place here is not meant solely for those on the inside. It is meant to be shared. That is why we celebrate. It is our pleasure, but also our responsibility, to give back—to signal presence and express gratitude.”
—Matt Doll, Director of the Gordon in Orvieto program
SCHOOLS OF thought thought thought
Gordon has announced the establishment of seven new schools, under which all academic offerings will
Undergirded by substantial philanthropy and led by industry experts, the schools bring new opportunities and
Community and Diversity in the Kingdom
Meet Dr. Nathaniel Perez
Pastor. Educator. New Yorker. Community champion. Diversity advocate.
“Community” is commonplace in Christian circles, but what does the word really mean?
“People slap the ‘community’ label on things very easily. If you have a large gathering, people call it a community, and that, at its core, is superficial,”
says Dr. Nathaniel Perez. Gordon’s new director of diversity, community and belonging and Title IX coordinator first experienced true community during seminary. “I was amazed by the diversity I saw within the body of Christ as I met students from all over, with different ethnicities and cultures,” he says. “As a new Christian I saw a glimpse of what the Kingdom looked like this side of Heaven.”
Perez dove into cross-cultural ministry, eventually planting and leading a predominantly Asian and African American church in New York. When his church plant dissolved, Perez realized that diversity itself cannot be the end goal. “The gospel should always be our focus,” he says. “The gospel in its totality has the power to reconcile people to God, and the power to reconcile people to people.”
Moving into higher education, Perez recently served as the director for the Center for Racial Reconciliation at a Christian college in New York City. Once on campus he recognized the familiar, deep need for nonsuperficial community. With the gospel as the focus, Perez worked to educate, disciple and empower the campus community—“to bridge the gap between diversity and community through racial reconciliation.”
Since joining the Gordon community in 2023, Perez has continued planting seeds for Kingdom-minded community. “We’re working to grow more diverse, not just with students, but with faculty and staff. Diversity must be part of our mission as an institution; there must be a biblical framework for why we’re doing it.”
Perez is optimistic for Gordon students to graduate prepared for a diverse and complex world and to build communities that thrive as they model the body of Christ. “We’re looking to reflect the Kingdom of God on earth,” he says. “When we come together in solidarity to educate, do justice, love mercy and walk humbly, we help make things right in the world.”
STILLPOINT
The Magazine of Gordon College VOLUME 39 NUMBER 2
Dr. Mike Hammond, President
Heather Korpi, Editorial Director
Stephen Dagley ’08, Creative Director
Neal Ericsson, Design Center Director
Joanne Steward, Senior Graphic Designer
Madison West ’22, Graphic Designer
Kristine Western, Staff Writer
Sydney Cooney ’19, Staff Writer
Anne Lang, Staff Writer
Marilyn Helgesen, Alumni News
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Opinions expressed in STILLPOINT are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Gordon College administration. Reproduction of STILLPOINT material is permitted; please attribute to STILLPOINT: The Magazine of Gordon College.
MISSION
STILLPOINT magazine is one of two keynote communications (along with Gordon’s website) that exist to connect the extended Gordon community to the life of the College. STILLPOINT offers meaningful, relevant news and stories to educate, inspire and engage Gordon and Barrington alumni, parents, donors and friends.
Send feedback and story suggestions to stillpoint@gordon.edu
Elect to Love UP FRONT with President Hammond
As this issue of STILLPOINT hits mailboxes all around the country, it’s likely arriving along with a stack of election mailers. Party conventions have saturated newsfeeds and will soon be followed by a host of presidential and vice presidential debates. It’s election season, and politics dominate public consciousness.
I love politics. And even as we all grow weary of a more contentious and caustic national dialogue, we have a responsibility to engage with the issues of the election season. Right out of college I spent a few years working on Capitol Hill, and I feel energized any time I can revisit D.C. Working on the Hill provided a behind-the-scenes look at American politics. It was in Washington that I first met Gordon alumni who were motivated to serve out of their Christian convictions. What impressed me the most during those years were the public servants who leaned into their faith, leading with integrity even when it generated criticism.
Sadly the national political climate we experience today often falls short of the basic bounds of civic principles, leaving little room for respectful dialogue. An interest in complex issues, driven by compassion and curiosity, may be snuffed out in an environment of contention and division. It can be hard for us to imagine how we could live out loving our neighbor in this context. I’m grateful for the work of Gordon faculty like Dr. Paul Brink, who spent his sabbatical exploring reasons behind political dissatisfaction and seeking to find a different approach to fairness and justice. You can read more about his work on page 14.
We’re dedicated to fostering an environment where passionate young Christians can prepare to become thriving contributors in their communities, churches and careers. Our hope for students is that they will graduate from Gordon confident in who God made them and prepared to make a difference with hope in the face of a changing world. That’s why academic innovation and faith integration have been at the forefront of our efforts over recent years.
This year we were pleased to announce the establishment of seven schools, backed by substantial philanthropy and led by industry experts. In addition to new majors, these exciting developments bring new partnerships and professional development opportunities for our students. On page 15 you’ll hear how three of these schools are leading the way in preparing students to contribute to the pressing issues of our day with a uniquely Christian voice. Herschend School of Education Dean Ellen Ballock discusses the literacy crisis in America and how Gordon is at the forefront of preparing teachers to combat it. Adams School of Music and the Arts Dean Sarita Kwok paints a picture of how creativity can be a balm for brokenness. School of Business Dean Steve Nelson shares lessons learned from leading Harvard’s MBA program.
In every area we’re asking: How can we make a difference? How can we serve God and neighbor with excellence? How can we foster values of compassion, curiosity, wonder and respect that our world so desperately needs?
Dr. Michael Hammond is the ninth president of Gordon College. His favorite way to talk politics is over a home-cooked family meal.
president@gordon.edu www.gordon.edu/president @mike_hammond_gc
My visits to Washington demonstrate that followers of Jesus—and indeed, Gordon alumni—continue to make a difference in the nation’s capital. But at Gordon we believe that politics isn’t the only sphere in need of redemption. Our world needs people willing to tackle hard questions, engage in civil dialogue and feel a responsibility to bear witness and truth in every corner—in the education system, entertainment and the arts, business, healthcare and so much more.
This election season, whenever we feel angst over the depth of our divisions, let us remember this: Our love for our neighbor is most courageous when we are so moved by the work of grace in our own hearts that we point people back to the same place of grace, to the feet of Jesus.
Grace and peace,
Michael Hammond
Hammond Happenings
Deeply grateful for the investment of Dan Tymann and his wife, Andrea. We were honored to celebrate Dan’s retirement this past spring and thank him for almost two full decades of service to Gordon.
What a gift we have in Norm Jones and Jess Modoff. They led our students through a wonderful, moving retelling of Godspell in a contemporary setting.
Congratulations to the Class of 2024! We are so proud of what you’ve accomplished over the last four years and are honored to now welcome you into the alumni community.
A great service-learning trip to Atlanta with the Presidential Fellows. I am so excited to see these students thrive in the calling God has for each of them.
Gordon in Orvieto is truly special! Jen and I had a wonderful week in the Italian countryside celebrating the program’s 25th anniversary with alumni, friends and supporters.
The Golden Goose tradition continues! This year’s teams brought talent, laughter and wit, and were such a joy to watch.
So blessed by the leadership of the Gordon College Student Association. They care deeply about making the Gordon experience the very best it can be, and I’m grateful for their partnership.
Vinnycius Alves ’25
FROM ADVERSITY TO ADVOCACY
First-gen student Vinnycius Alves’ mission to bridge mental health gaps in urban communities
According to the National Institute for Mental Health, more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness or struggle with a form of mental illness (57.8 million in 2021). Global Health found that the prevalence of psychological distress in children of immigrants is nearly double (10.1 percent) that of their parents (5.9 percent). But for Vinnycius “Vinny” Alves ’25, a first-generation student who grew up in Lowell, MA, these stats are a reality. In his BrazilianAmerican urban community, he witnessed the burdens of overcommitment, stress and burnout plague his church and neighborhood.
Alves wanted to do something about this. He felt God was calling him to be the first in his family to attend college, where he could combine psychology and biblical studies into a practical career that helps heal others through God’s love. “I have always loved talking about God and learning theology, even when I was very young,” Alves says. “And then I’ve always loved learning about people. That’s the nature of what I want to do: See people, love people, love God.”
“I have always loved talking about God and learning theology, even when I was very young.”
SEEING HEALING IN OTHERS’ LIVES
Alves has witnessed God’s healing power firsthand in his personal and familial life. His dad came from a broken home, with parents who were involved in Macumba, a type of Brazilian voodoo, and divorced when he was young. Alves’s dad left home around age 14 and immigrated to the States. There he met Alves’s mom, who immigrated to the U.S. as a child, and she led him to Christ.
The two of them married and settled in Lowell to start a family. But finding jobs to support three young
kids, Alves being the oldest, was tough. As finances got tighter, his family moved into his grandmother’s house, with all five members squeezing into one room. Alves’s dad worked two jobs for four years, sometimes only coming home for 20 minutes in between, until they made enough money to move into their own place once again.
Despite their hardship Alves was inspired by his father’s growth. Through his hard background the Lord grew him into a loving father and devoted husband who was willing to sacrifice everything to ensure his family had a better life than he did. “Seeing my dad’s growth within his faith and within his own character throughout the past years has been inspiring,” Alves says. “He’s been definitely a monolith in my family.”
SEEING GOD PROVIDE
While Alves’s parents always hoped that he would go to college, there were several barriers in his way. First was his career goal. “There’s this taboo in my culture where the people who go to therapy are the people who are crazy,” he says.
As a first-generation student Alves had to navigate the road to that career without a map, finding his way through the college search, application process and the FAFSA on his own. There were a few college readiness programs like Upward Bound and Gear Up, but with only three staff members at his school of 4,000 students, resources and answers were scarce.
Even though Alves secured scholarships to a few local colleges, it wasn’t enough to cover tuition. Fortunately, Gordon’s Clarendon program made tuition feasible. “That’s why I’m pretty sure God wants me here,” he says. “Every single time I wasn’t supposed to be here, something else comes up to keep me here.”
“There’s this taboo in my culture where the people who go to therapy are the people who are crazy.”
SEEING PEOPLE THROUGH GOD’S EYES
Alves college career thus far has been a journey of him learning to see others through God’s eyes, but also allowing others to see him. “I have a very wide perspective in different areas of hardships because I come from the inner city,” he says. “And then at Gordon, you now have people who have been through the same hardships but you’re adding the faith elements. It’s something that has opened my mind, built upon my own theology and corrected me in certain things.”
After he graduates Alves plans to return to an urban environment and use his degree to treat people in a very practical way within the city but also within the church. “I believe a lot of times we neglect the mind, and we hide behind the language of ‘give it to God,’” he says. “When God’s asking you to go through the process of healing—that looks different than just getting on your knees and praying ‘God, take this from me’ or ‘Help me escape from this.’ It looks like him leading you by hand through the things that hurt you in order to heal you.”
“When God’s asking you to go through the process of healing...it looks like him leading you by the hand through the things that hurt in order to heal you.”
ON THE GRAPEVINE
Congratulations, Class of 2024
Gordon College honored the Class of 2024, conferring degrees on 292 undergraduate students and 119 graduate students, including the inaugural graduate cohort for the Master of Public Health, on May 11, 2024. The weekend was marked by celebrations with family and friends, including the Baccalaureate service the night before. Baccalaureate speaker James Chen, M.D., Ph.D., was awarded an honorary doctorate. Dr. Chen is the founder of ChenMed, a physician-led primary care practice whose goal is to deliver affordable care and a superior experience to seniors across the United States.
Gordon alumni survey results
Thank you to the alumni who participated in the alumni survey, which helps us better understand how to communicate and engage with you. Notable results included that half of respondents indicated they would take advantage of opportunities provided by Gordon to inspire their love for God, neighbors and the world. For more information about results and participating in further surveys, please get in touch with alumni.office@gordon.edu.
Clarendon scholars program receives $1.49 million endowment gift
In celebration of the Clarendon Scholars program’s 20th anniversary, the College announced the receipt of an anonymous $1.49 million gift toward endowing the program. This gift, given by a Gordon alum, was one of the largest to Gordon this year and the largest to the Clarendon program in the College’s history. It undergirds the College’s commitment to the program, which is specifically designed to equip students from urban areas to lead in their communities.
New partnership with North Shore Christian School
A partnership was announced this past spring between Gordon College and North Shore Christian School (NSCS). The School’s Beverly campus is renting on-campus space from Gordon in the 2024–25 academic year, providing opportunities to enrich the already robust classroom experiences Gordon teacher candidates have across diverse school settings. We are excited to welcome NSCS to campus!
Farewell and thank you, Dan and Marie!
Gordon College bid farewell with gratitude to distinguished faculty and staff in 2023 and 2024 as they entered a new season of their professional journeys—retirement. We are grateful for their years of faithful service and commitment to Gordon College.
The Center for Balance, Mobility and Wellness welcomed over 100 guests in recognizing the retirement of Marie Lucey, CBMW director. Her leadership has touched so many students, alumni and staff in her 21 years of service and employment.
A cornerstone of campus, Dan Tymann worked in nearly every department at Gordon during his 18 years of faithful service. In all of them he served with humility, tireless care, a prayerful heart and a commitment to keep Christ at the center of everything.
Outstanding performances by Gordon business students
For the second year in a row, a team from Gordon’s Business Club competed at the International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition and had stellar results, winning awards for “Best Overall Performance” and “Best Documents in Their World.”
A team of Gordon students hosted and competed in the National Student Advertising Competition for the New England district, placing third for a second year in a row. Led by Professor Greg Smith and project manager Gabby Bergstrom ’24, the team created a comprehensive marketing campaign and case study for Tide, the highest-selling detergent brand in the world.
New grant for fostering leadership for communities of faith
Gordon College is part of a select group chosen by NetVUE to receive a Grant for Fostering Leadership for Communities of Faith from the Council of Independent Colleges. This grant, totaling $39,844, may be used to develop or strengthen programs designed to support students who are exploring future leadership roles in communities of faith. The grant will oversee a collaboration between the Dokes Fellows program and the Strategic Partnerships Office with Andrew Breton.
Wisdom from guest speakers
Gordon welcomed numerous well-known and accomplished speakers in 2023–24, including:
• Georgetown University’s Steven Harris, a faith-based public policy expert and scholar of American religious history and African American studies
• Micheal O’Siadhail, an Irish poet who presented his approach to navigating questions of self and service
• Award-winning, best-selling author Andre Dubus III
• Dr. Michelle Loyd-Paige, author of The Diversity Playbook and 30-year veteran in the diversity education field
• Rev. Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, Robert Boyd Munger Professor of Evangelism and founding senior pastor of Cambridge Community Fellowship Church
Gathering faith leaders together
In February Gordon welcomed faith leaders from across New England for a Faith Leaders Gathering marked by prayer, encouragement, communitybuilding and learning from J. R. Briggs of Kairos Partnerships. In May the College partnered with Vision New England to welcome Russell Moore to campus for speaking engagements.
Fighting Scots Nation welcomes new director
This past spring Gordon College announced Jason Linders as the new director of athletics for the Fighting Scots. Linders comes to Gordon with nearly 20 years of experience in sport management at organizations including Chicago State University, Grand Canyon University, the University of South Florida and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Most recently Linders served as director of athletics and director of operations for the Southbridge Public Schools District in Massachusetts. “Gordon College excites me because of the opportunity to work with Christ-centered students, faculty and staff who are purpose-driven. I look forward to working with them to build a department in alignment with the mission of the College, centered around faith, learning, service and leadership, while holistically developing student athletes who are competing in a sport they love,” says Linders.
Gordon dining services improvements
Gordon College entered into a new partnership with Metz Culinary Management, which will offer expanded hours, new stations and food options and enhanced meal accessibility for student athletes.
Rising to the top in rowing and running
In the same weekend as the 2024 Commencement celebration, rowing powerhouse duo and 2024 graduates Lucy Hopkins and Tiana Fox (pictured below) celebrated back-to-back National Championships in the women’s 2x event. This is the second national title the team has brought to Gordon.
In the fall Rachel Brennan ’24 placed 62nd in the country at the 2023 Cross Country National Championship. In the spring Brennan returned to the National Championships, this time for track. Brennan placed 12th in the 10,000m, earning her a Second-Team All-American recognition.
Scholarship SNAPSHOTS
Oleksiy Svitelskiy (physics) secured his fourth NSF grant, which will bring $400,000 to the College and to Oleksiy’s and Kristen Siaw’s labs, as she is serving as co-primary investigator on the grant with him. The grant is a continuation of a collaboration with Dr. Kamil Ekinci, leading researcher at the Ekinci Group at Boston University, and is the largest NSF grant Gordon has ever received.
Mary Montgomery Koppel (music) enjoyed two world premieres this spring. In February her orchestral work Harmonia was premiered by The Orchestra on the Hill and the Ipswich Art Association. In March Mary also presented the premiere of a new arrangement of her song cycle House on Fire: “Three Songs on Responsibility”.
Karl-Dieter Crisman (mathematics), along with former research students Abraham Holleran ’22, Micah Martin ’22 and Josephine Noonan ’23, published their research article, “Voting on Cyclic Orders, Group Theory, and Ballots” in Contemporary Mathematics Volume 795: Mathematical Analyses of Decisions, Voting and Games, one of the most prestigious journals in the world of higher education mathematics.
Greg Deddo (art) had an exhibition, “How the Morning Itself Appears,” featured in the Gallery at Barrington Center for the Arts last December. Greg’s art asked difficult questions about the ways digital media—photography, AI, video—shape our understanding of ourselves and our families and communities.
Gordon’s Department of Mathematical, Computer and Data Sciences had several presentations at the biannual Conference of the Association of Christians in the Mathematical Sciences at Dordt University: Karl-Dieter Crisman (mathematics) on “The Crooked Made Straight: Alfonso’s Geometric Work,” Erica Oldaker (mathematics) on “Joyful Mathematics: Worshiping the Creator by Delighting in His Creation,” Russ Tuck (computer science) on “Selfishness in Computer Science” and Shelley Zhang (computer science) on “Faith Lighting in the Shadow of AI.”
The College archivist, Sarah St. Germain ’17, collaborated on “The History of The Gordon Review: Faith Integration’s ‘First’ Journal” in the most recent edition of the Christian Scholar’s Review.
Faculty Sabbaticals Faculty Sabbaticals
Kristen Cooper (economics) is conducting a project to find a scientific means of measuring a person’s—and a nation’s— well-being. She will be analyzing survey findings from several colleagues across the country and securing a grant to gather more data to find what dimensions over a person’s lifecycle and economic standing can be changed to improve their well-being.
Mark Stevick (English) is finishing and publishing a new book of poems that is a collection of works from past issues of The Idiom, a student-led publication that’s been running on Gordon’s campus for over 60 years. He’s also planning to complete a play, write lyrics for a musical and plan the fourth iteration of the Five Ponds Creative Writing Festival at Gordon College.
Ming Y. Zheng (biology) is researching doubled haploid production from corn micropores through embryogenesis as a means of accelerating crop breeding in plant biotechnology. He is also networking in the overseas academic exchange for international cooperation in the scientific community on the collection and research of medicinal plants to strengthen the offerings of medicinal botany.
Navigating Political Discontent
Dr. Paul Brink’s sabbatical on fairness and justice
As the presidential campaigns for the 2024 election season start to heat up, many Americans are already exhausted thinking about politics—about 65 percent, according to the Pew Research Center. Dr. Paul Brink, professor of political science, spent his sabbatical this spring exploring reasons behind this political dissatisfaction and seeking to find a different approach to fairness and justice. He believes our country is in desperate need of a political theory that takes better account of the diverse communities and identities of American society—a theory scholars refer to as “covenantal pluralism.”
“A pluralist political theory attempts to see our differences not as problems that we need to solve but as resources upon which we can depend,” he says. “Given the range and the scale of the problems confronting American society, we need as many resources from as many voices as we can get. Just as Gordon College conversations are richer, not poorer, by welcoming students from different Christian traditions, so America’s public conversations are richer, not poorer, by inviting citizens and communities to express and practice their deepest commitments in their public political lives.”
Read the full story on The Bell
SCHOOLS OF thought thought thought thought
As Gordon welcomes the largest incoming class of students in many years to campus this fall, it is ushering in a new era of academic innovation.
Six months ago the College announced the establishment of three schools: the Adams School of Music and the Arts, the Herschend School of Education and the School of Business. These three schools served as models for a future arrangement wherein every academic program at Gordon would be housed under a school.
This fall an additional four schools are being assembled, moving Gordon’s academic operation from disparate departments and majors into a discipline-specific structure comprised of seven cohesive schools. Led by industry experts and backed by substantial philanthropy, the schools open new doors for opportunity and resources. Enhanced experiential learning, professional development and academic programming will prepare students with maximum relevance for today’s rapidly changing marketplace.
FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE:
Herschend School of Education:
Nationally ranked for evidence-based reading instruction, with specific commitment to preparing educators to teach diverse populations of learners.
School of Business:
Leveraging faculty industry experience and practical learning opportunities to prepare students for high-demand areas of work.
Adams School of Music and the Arts:
The collaborative home for Gordon’s 20 creative and performing arts programs and a vibrant venue hosting 70+ annual events.
COMING SOON:
School of Humanities and Social Sciences:
Where a curiosity about the past and a vision for the future join to foster hopeful transformation for a hurting world
School of Ministry, Theology and Biblical Studies:
Layering scholarship with practical skills to help students understand the diversity of Christianity and connect it with service.
School of Psychology and Human Services:
Facilitating healing and fullness of life for people who are hurting.
School of Science and Health:
Where real science and real faith come together to bring solutions to a suffering world.
100% job placement for eduation majors
A+ rating from National Council on Teacher Quality
The Peter Herschend School of Education builds on Gordon College’s decades-long reputation for offering nationally ranked teacher preparation programs and producing excellent teachers. Gordon-trained teachers are committed to changing the trajectory for all students, regardless of learning ability and background, by using evidence-based methods for teaching reading. The Peter Herschend School of Education is poised to expand Gordon’s reach as a leader in language and literacy research and practice. New initiatives include:
A 9-credit online certificate in the Science of Reading
An Ed.D. program in development, with an anticipated launch in 2–3 years*
An expanded partnership between Gordon and North Shore Christian School
A license in Digital Literacy and Computer Science to equip education majors to impart knowledge of new, essential literacy tools
Gratitude to Peter Herschend
The Peter Herschend School of Education is named in honor of Peter Herschend, in gratitude for his longstanding commitment to education and his dedicated service to the Gordon community. Herschend is cofounder and co-owner of Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation, parent company for entertainment attractions including the Harlem Globetrotters, Dollywood theme parks and Silver Dollar City. He has served with distinction on Gordon College’s Board of Trustees since 2000. For 32 years, under seven state governors, Herschend served faithfully on the Missouri Board of Education to empower students of all ages with the strongest academic programming the state could offer.
Demystifying the Reading Landscape
By Ellen Ballock, Ph.D., Dean, and Priscilla Nelson ’74, Ed.D.
What’s all the buzz about the science of reading? From newspaper headlines, social media feeds and education associations to civic action groups and state legislators—it seems everyone has something to say about reading instruction. Is there really a literacy crisis in the United States, or is this media hype? Is the science of reading a silver bullet to change the educational landscape, or the next “here today, gone tomorrow” fad? Is it a new teaching approach, or is it the shiny new packaging for old-fashioned phonics?
First, let’s acknowledge that concerns about literacy are well-grounded. In our current Information Age, the bar for proficient reading is higher than ever. Adults need to be able to read materials with higher complexity than any previous generation, even in the context of jobs that didn’t previously require much reading at all. For example, plumbers and mechanics must now be able to read and interpret complex technical manuals. Illiteracy restricts access to education, employment and economic opportunities, contributing to income inequality and social exclusion. Furthermore, there has long been a link between illiteracy, delinquency, violence and crime. Failure to read proficiently at the end of grade 3 has been linked to loss of interest in school, dropping out and poverty.
According to results from the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, often nicknamed the Nation’s Report Card, many children are at risk. About a third of U.S. 4th, 8th and 12th graders cannot read at a basic level, and only about a third read proficiently. Persistent disparities in reading achievement between different demographic groups heighten the concerns, causing some to frame literacy as one of the major civil rights issues of our time. There is an urgent need for a collaborative effort to empower all children with the literacy skills needed to thrive in the world as adults.
Is there really a literacy crisis in the United States?
The Science of Reading
Within the field of education, few debates have been as contentious as those surrounding the teaching of reading. In past decades various ideologies, strategies and fads have surfaced, each promising to revolutionize literacy education. Yet each has fallen short. Could the science of reading really make a difference? Herschend School of Education faculty are convinced
the science of reading provides a true beacon of hope because it is not an ideology, strategy or technique. Rather, the science of reading is an immense body of scientific research conducted using experimental and quasi-experimental designs across a variety of academic disciplines, including neuroscience, cognitive psychology, linguistics and education. This body of research is growing exponentially and now includes technologies like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that actually allow us to look at what is going on inside the brain and how that changes over time (or not) in response to particular types of reading instruction. As a result researchers now understand what it takes to train a reading brain, and have come to agreement that all but five percent of children can become proficient readers with evidence-based instruction.
More Than Just Phonics
You may wonder: Is “science of reading” just a new spin on the phonics exercises you remember working through in the primary grades as you learned to read? While phonics is a crucial part of reading, it’s not synonymous with the science of reading. Instead, the science of reading recognizes skilled reading as a complex process, involving multiple factors working together to support both word recognition and language comprehension.
Could the science of reading really make a difference?
Let’s home in for a moment on just that first piece: word recognition. Proficient readers can decode words quickly and accurately. Explicit, systematic phonics instruction does lay important groundwork for decoding (and spelling) words because it helps children connect the sounds heard in oral language to the letters or combination of letters used to represent those sounds in written language. But start with phonics, and you’ll be missing an even more foundational skill essential for word recognition: phonological awareness. This is an awareness and sensitivity to the sounds of oral language. It’s difficult to map written symbols with the sounds they represent if one struggles to isolate those sounds auditorily. On average it takes about 17 hours of instruction, just 15 minutes per day throughout kindergarten, to develop phonological awareness.
What does this instruction look like?
Here’s one example. Imagine a teacher holding up two pictures, one of a mat and one of a cat. Listen as the teacher says, “Mat. Cat. Mat and cat rhyme. Say mat. Say cat. They rhyme.” She then continues, “Say mat. Say cat. Now
say sat. Does sat rhyme with mat and cat? Do cat and cab rhyme? Do sat and bat rhyme?” As lessons progress over time, the teacher would focus on other aspects of phonological awareness, such as alliteration, syllables and eventually the smallest unit of sound, the phoneme. When children can identify the individual phonemes in words, such as the three phonemes in wish—/w/ /i/ /sh/—then they are fully ready to connect letters to sounds.
Phonological awareness relies on the brain’s ability to process sounds. The phonological processing system is one of several neural networks that must become coordinated to process spoken and written language. Interestingly, it turns out that brain wiring differences in this phonological processing system are one distinguishing feature of dyslexia. Phonological awareness, specifically the ability to segment individual phonemes, is one early indicator of whether a child is at risk in reading. Screening for phonemic awareness allows us to identify children who may need extra instruction with multisensory practice and targeted feedback. This extra practice can train the brain, building
stronger neural pathways, preparing children with a stronger foundation for reading and preventing reading failure.
Reading for All
Nelson Mandela once said, “It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education.” Advances in the science of reading mean this is true in the world of literacy. We can truly imagine a time in the not-too-distant future when all children can read proficiently. All education programs should prepare highly qualified teachers. And Gordon has led the way for over 30 years.
Herschend School of Education faculty have an even higher motivation. As Christ followers, faculty are committed to living out the commands of Scripture in Micah 6:8, that we act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God. It is in light of this commitment that faculty continue learning from this body of research as it advances to prepare teachers to live out the significant call to teaching all students how to read and prepare for future opportunities.
We can imagine a time in the not-too-distant future when all children can read proficiently.
Gordon’s new School of Business builds on more than five decades of strength in the Economics and Business Department, home to the College’s historically largest majors.
Led by Steven Nelson, former MBA executive director at Harvard Business School, the School equips future business professionals and leaders to effect positive social change through business—to make a positive impact while making a profit. Faculty bring decades of industry experience at companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, General Electric, UKG and three Fortune 200 firms to the classroom.
4 new majors in 2024–25
$8 million in start-up capital 2,300 business alumni
5 decades of ECB programs
Q&A with Steve Nelson, inaugural dean of the School of Business
Get to know the scholar at the helm of the new School of Business, who came to Gordon following a lengthy tenure at Harvard Business School, most recently serving as senior director of external relations and executive director of the MBA program.
STILLPOINT: You have an undergraduate degree in chemistry. What set you on the path to a Harvard MBA?
STEVE NELSON: Well, it certainly wasn’t a direct path from one point to the other. I tend to think of my educational journey more like walking on stepping stones across a creek. I enjoyed the liberal arts aspect of my undergraduate education, so much so that I also considered
concentrating in English, history, education and math along the way. Business school didn’t actually come on to my screen until I was a year out of college. My boss and mentor encouraged me to pursue an MBA, suggesting that business school would provide me with a set of skills in leadership and management that would be helpful as I pursued a career in higher education.
SP: What were a few of the highlights of your tenure at Harvard?
SN: A couple highlights come to mind: First would be watching our community come together on September 11, 2001. It was such a terrible and unthinkable day in history, but it proved to be one of Harvard Business School’s finest moments in terms of the faculty, staff and student response and their outpouring of love, goodwill and compassion. The MBA students planned and led an interfaith memorial service that afternoon of 9/11/01. I still remember the president of the Christian Fellowship (CF) singing “Amazing Grace” on her acoustic guitar and CF students making themselves available in the school’s chapel to pray with and comfort their fellow classmates. The second highlight that comes to mind is leading the Social Enterprise Initiative in its early, formative years. I was able to witness what previously had been a small but committed group of MBA faculty and students interested in nonprofit management, which was pretty much at the periphery at the time, grow in scope and scale to its current iteration of the Social Enterprise Initiative, which is now at the very heart of the school’s mission to educate leaders who make a difference in the world.
SP: What eventually brought you to Gordon?
SN: I have long been a fan and friend of Gordon College. It’s a top-notch college committed to its Christian mission and to excellence in academics, athletics, music and the arts and spiritual formation. Gordon is a vibrant place for engaging students, faculty and staff, and it’s situated on a beautiful campus ideally
suited for living and learning. I have great admiration for the Gordon alumni and students I’ve known over the years, and I am excited to be joining the Gordon community in helping build, launch and lead the new Gordon School of Business.
SP: What are some of the most pressing issues that businesses currently face, and how are we preparing students for them?
SN: Businesses face a myriad of complex challenges, including managing in an increasingly global economy; tackling skyrocketing costs of health care delivery and access; being at the ready against cybersecurity threats; and addressing emerging ethical considerations relating to artificial intelligence, biotechnology, genetics and the internet—to name a few. It’s in this context that our Gordon business students will learn to develop a mindset of redemptive innovation and imagination needed to help address the challenges facing the world and society today.
SP: How can business positively impact society, especially amid the challenges and complexities of our day?
SN: Business and social enterprise have the potential and power to add tremendous value, perspective and fresh insight into addressing some of the most challenging domestic and global problems. In the past there was a tendency for businesses to leave these challenges to governmental and nonprofit organizations to handle on their own. Now we are seeing an increasing number of public/private partnerships coming together to have a greater reach and impact than they could have achieved on their own.
Gordon business students will develop a mindset of redemptive innovation and imagination needed to address the challenges facing the world today.
SP: What’s on the horizon for Gordon’s School of Business?
SN: I envision the scope of the Gordon School of Business as an arc of activity that starts with our admissions and enrollment strategy and ranges to our academic course offerings, experiential learning, student clubs, full-time career and internship opportunities for students, all the way to lifelong learning and engagement opportunities for our alumni.
SP: What’s your great hope for the School of Business and its students?
SN: My great hope is that the Gordon School of Business will attract, equip and send forth our students as a new generation of courageous, humble, principled and faith-filled leaders of business, who will have a meaningful impact on their local communities and throughout the world.
Led by acclaimed performer and pedagogue Dr. Sarita Kwok, who has led Gordon’s Department of Music for 10 years, the School prepares creative contributors to bring meaning and beauty into an increasingly complex and divided world. Faculty have been nominated for GRAMMY Awards, performed at places like Carnegie Hall and released pieces with major record labels and publications. In 2019 Gordon’s theatre program was ranked by The Princeton Review among the “Top 20 Best College Theaters” in America. Students have access to Boston’s artistic hub, including the Boston Symphony and the Museum of Fine Arts.
About the Donors
The Adams School of Music and the Arts is named in honor of Stephen and Denise Adams for their faithful commitment to music and the arts at Gordon College. The Adams’s previous support for the arts at Gordon included establishing the Adams Endowed Chair in Music in 2018, which has since been held by Kwok and is one of two endowed chairs at Gordon in the arts. Stephen, who passed away in March 2024, parlayed his successful business career into a legacy of generosity. His passion for encouraging and supporting others, especially young people, shaped his giving. The Christian faith shared by Stephen and Denise compelled them to humbly give of their resources to equip generations of students to pursue their musical callings with excellence.
Faithful Creativity in a Digital Age
Q: How is technology impacting the arts, for better or for worse?
Kelly Foster (art): Though people are talking about the threat of generative AI to design fields such as graphic design, the ability of clients to get graphic work done without interacting with a designer has been around for a while. For instance, algorithms have
replaced much of the human processing of digital images, and clients can use web services that provide cheap, anonymous branding. None of these tools replace the thoughtful, specific, human interaction of a designer with a client that can generate truly new and meaningful design work.
Gerry Dolan (music): Speaking of tools, making music in a digital world is harder than people think. To work with video and audio at the same time for a three-minute performance could take 40 to 100 hours: recording it, editing it, getting the audio and video to match. In addition to the work, there’s the reality piece. During Covid, students in my remote conducting class would send perfect videos because they could rerecord and make it perfect. But in real
life you have nerves. I think technology is putting us out of touch with our imperfect human nature.
Rachel Yoo (communication arts): We all know real life gets distorted on social media, too. It can be a tool to connect to a wider world—or it can make you stuck. In one of my studies, I look at the comments of certain YouTube channels and how people interact with each other in the comments. As people share their reactions they interact with each other, with strangers. Those conversations can lead to authentic relationships. After all, we’ve never seen Jesus—we only know him through the Bible and the preaching of sermons. Mediated communications can be the same way.
Q: In an age of digital performances, virtual galleries and shows, why does in-person art matter?
Greg Deddo (art): Art and design is not an opt out/in thing—we interact with it all the time. Anything made by humans has some level of artistry to it. A life of stewardship requires thinking carefully and responsibly about our spaces and lives and how we care for them. Art matters because we’re embodied souls; those things go together. When you
paint or sculpt, you’re using the stuff of the earth. Seeing it in person is a radically different experience—even if you can’t touch it, you can see it, feel it, understand how it’s put together. Beauty is meaningless unless it’s shared. Galleries let you talk, think, ponder, have a conversation, which is important for the completion of art.
I think technology is putting us out of touch with our imperfect human nature.
Jess Modaff (music): The increase of digital awareness, livestreaming and sharing of music has become almost expected thanks to Covid. We livestream concerts so we can reach audiences and families outside our
walls. But recording is making people desensitized to live performance, which is why we teach our students to be excellent live performers. There’s something about in-person that technology can’t replicate.
So, the arts are for all of us.
Chris Underation (communication arts): Jesus didn’t make it a habit to sit in one place and solve problems half a nation away. He solved the problems right in front of him. Because of our digital age, we can move in and out of a church and not connect with others. This affects how our faith forms, how tolerant we are, how often we listen to opposing
views. Because of international journalism, we can be worried about something across the world when we’re in Massachusetts, but be unaware of what’s going on locally. Involving ourselves in our local communities, staying up to date on our town halls and local news...that’s how we can love our neighbors.
Q: Why is it important for Christians to be part of the arts?
Sarita Kwok (music): We have a calling, being made in the image of God, to be creative and to be creators. We can all sing. We can all make music. We all create or are creative and make art in some way. So, the arts are for all of us. God is honored by those of us who contribute in the arts, who glorify him through the very process of creating. The Adams School is a celebration of that. The pursuit of excellence in
the arts can become an egocentric endeavor, but here at Gordon we purposefully acknowledge the source of our artistic gifts. We teach and mentor with Christ at the center, and this reorients us away from ourselves and back to our creator.
Norm Jones (theatre): Theater really is a place of ministry, not so much in what are the plays we’re going to do, but when you’re involved in a
play, we’re called to be salt and light. Theater always deals with conflict. That can make people uncomfortable. As a theater professor of now 39 years, I’ve been really helping to baptize the imagination of Christians to see that theater is a gift from God, because we get to hear the voices of people who are unheard, and listen to them carefully and be able to respond, to help others see Jesus as divine and human.
Jerusalem and Athens Forum Essay Competition
“The One and the Many”
Though We are One, Don’t Forget That We are Many
I used to feel like I was doing faith wrong. Honestly, sometimes I still do. Going to a Christian college and being surrounded by Christ followers has been such a blessing—however, it has simultaneously been one of the most challenging environments I have spent an extended amount of time in. Christian life at Gordon often features morning chapels filled with students raising their hands to the heavens during the familiar songs being played, late night chapel services filled with peers dancing with all their might and many an Instagram caption of a Gordon student exuding the essence of “being filled with the Spirit” through diction boiling down to being “on fire” for Jesus.
I consider myself a generally reserved individual. I have never raised my hands above my ribs during a worship set; I have never resonated with many modern, poetically-inclined K-Love lyrics about “opening up my heart,” shouting to the Lord, or any lyric about feeling God’s presence in a given moment; and I have never felt the rush of the Holy Spirit other than when I am being convicted of my sin. While others may feel led to pray aloud with hands laid on another’s shoulders, I feel safely held in the arms of the Good Shepherd when I pray quietly and stoically. I have always been an introvert—I do not thrive in large groups, let alone express my innermost emotions in public—yet, coming to a Christian college in which many of those around me resonate with the very things I do not, I began to question whether I was “doing faith” right in the first place.
Am I enthusiastic enough?
Do I even have the joy of the Lord? Do I have enough of the Spirit? Am I even saved?
These thoughts have all, in some capacity, consumed my mind at one point or another. I have known, believed and loved the Gospel from a young age and have been continually striving to cast myself at the feet of Jesus. But seeing this enthusiasm I had never before encountered spurred me to worry that my faith was hollow and I was actually deceived about being saved because I was not “feeling” as much as others seemed to.
In time, I have been learning how to process my fretting through Scripture. I have sought comfort and stability from the promises of
This year’s theme sought to explore the interplay between our unity and our diversity. How might we become a community that brings people together and enables these same people to honor each other’s deep differences? Full versions of these essays are available at www.gordon.edu/jafessay
old and have worked to apply them to these worries. One passage that is applicable to this is Psalm 139. David writes:
“You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar…Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?...For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb…Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:1-2, 7, 13, 23-24 NIV).
Scripture promises that the Lord knows me, all of my anxiety and overthinking included. He understands my thoughts and even, “before a word is on my tongue,” knows it completely (Psalm 139:4 NIV). I do not have to search for his presence through a worship set or feelings of being on fire for Jesus, as he is ever-present and is ever-sanctifying me (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV). Even further, I have been made just like this, as much of a reserved worshiper as I am. He knows my heart and convicts me of my sin and leads me to everlasting life.
Grounding myself in these biblical truths reminds me that I need not fret over my salvation or whether I am “doing faith wrong.” Just as the Lord has made me introverted by nature, he has made others in their unique personalities, too. The Lord seems to reach me in quieter moments, just as he reached Elijah in a whisper on the mountaintop (1 Kings 19 NIV). The Lord may reach others in louder moments, and they may express their devotion more enthusiastically, and those manifestations of faith are just as valid.
As the Creator he knows our hearts—therefore, there is no onesize-fits-all style of worship to prove we have received the Gospel. I have nowhere near perfected the practice of combatting my self-doubts with Scriptural truths; however, God does not expect my perfection. Similarly, God does not expect a cookie-cutter understanding and style of worship. Yes, the Church is one, but within the Church, we are many—there is beauty to be found in these differences. May we sing (however loudly or quietly we choose) the praises of the all-knowing and all-loving Father.
Giovanna Johnson ’26 is a political science major from Stoneham, Massachusetts. In her free time she enjoys writing, reading and surfing. In the future she hopes to pursue American constitutional law and is looking forward to working in the Office of the President at Gordon College as a Presidential Fellow for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Honorable Mentions
“The One and the Many: Juggling Cultural Identity in Larger Society” by Abi Eisner ’25
“Many Voices, One Sound: An Ecumenical Vision of Hope” by Eliza Weigelt ’25
Illustration by Jenna Jung ’25
