Keith Beebe (2003-present) associate professor of theology
The past year has been quite full, but gratifying. I had a busy summer teaching three intensive courses, starting with a three-week New Testament summer school course in May-June, followed by my History II: Reformation & Renewal course for the M.A. program in July, followed in August by three weeks of travel and teaching throughout Britain with 25 students on the first leg of the Britain & Ireland Study Program. In the middle of the summer, I took 10 days off to travel with Jim and Janie Edwards' Core 650 trip to Turkey, followed by several days of solo travel in Greece (Athens and the Peloponnese Peninsula).

In fall semester I taught Jesus and the Kingdom of GodandSenior Seminar for the department, and directed the Core 150course. Taking one of my department chair course releases in January allowed me to get back to my research projects that had been put on hold for a couple of years because of other responsibilities. I secured a student research assistant to help me footnote scripture references and begin the topical index for my 1,300-page McCulloch Manuscript project. I also completed a formal book proposal for submission of the McCulloch MSS to a Scottish publisher that has showed strong initial interest in the project. I'll receive final word from the publisher in May - prayer is welcome.

I was originally scheduled to be on sabbatical leave this spring, but several programmatic realities made it clear that I should defer until spring 2010. Besides teaching Core 150 and History of Christianity II, I continued the research and writing I started in January, with additional technical help on the McCulloch MSS from my student research assistant. In April I presented a paper, Facilitating Student Engagement with Archival Resources, at the Northwest Archivists Association annual conference, in Portland. I have also been planning and recruiting staff for a double section of Core 150 this coming fall to accommodate the ever-growing student population .The fall "Uber-Core 150" will serve 490 students in 40 discussion groups, and will require 23 staff/faculty personnel. (We will need to offer double sections of Core 150 every few years to keep up with the demands of a growing institution.) Prayer is welcome.