The inaugural AddRan Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Series will be an opportunity for faculty and students to reflect on a big question of our time, an associate religion professor said.

Jack Hill, associate religion professor, said his lecture, “How Do We Educate Ethical Leaders for a Post 9/11 World?” will address issues of ecology, diversity, particularly race and class, and issues of social change and transformation in an increasingly complex, multicultural world.

The creation of the lecture series is fostered by the success of a faculty lecture series AddRan Dean Andrew Schoolmaster began at Eastern Kentucky University, where he was previously dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

“The event proved very successful in showcasing the quality of the faculty that we had,” Schoolmaster said of the event at ESU.

The event, planned to take place every year, will feature research of an AddRan faculty member, chosen by an AddRan faculty committee, he said.

“Sometimes we almost overlook the real jewels that we already have within our faculty,” Schoolmaster said.

He said the faculty member selected to give the lecture is given a cash award and a one-course reduction in their teaching load during the next year to pursue further research.

Schoolmaster said he hopes the series will become a signature event the college can be known for.

“We learn an awful lot in the classroom, but we also learn just as much outside the classroom in a university setting,” Schoolmaster said.

Hill said he will argue three pervasive problems destructive to the modern West – evolutionary amnesia, cultural narcissism and pervasive cynicism.

“Humanities and social sciences have a critical role to play in educating ethical leaders,” Hill said.

Hill said he will draw on his experiences of teaching and living abroad in Fiji at the Pacific Theological College, Jamaica and South Africa to support his arguments.

Hill’s cross-cultural encounters bring an international feel to his teaching and research, said David Grant, religion department chair and professor.

The event is funded by AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Schoolmaster said.