2025 by the Numbers The Great Chase is Over [spoiler: the whale wins] This was truly an epic semester, studying the theological implications of Herman Melville's Moby Dick with BSU Associate Professor Laura Romano. From "Call me Ishmael" to Rachel weeping for her sons, every chapter ignited animated conversation and provided new perspectives on what … Continue reading Notes from Alcuin December 2025
Category: Notes from Alcuin (Monthly Newsletter)
In May 2023 we moved our newsletter to our website for a variety of reasons. Doesn’t really matter what they are. Just check in here to read Notes from Alcuin.
God of Wonder: Some Reflections on Thanksgiving by Brian Allred “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.” – G. K. Chesterton Read Full Article here Taking Stock The air is chill now. The leaves are almost gone. This season moves in me, haunts me. When I lived … Continue reading Thanksgiving 2025
ASC's 10th Semester is Off to a Great Start! New ASC Student Advisory Board Let me introduce you to the strongest student leadership we've had yet: Ariana Bell Marin Davies Cole Knecht Maverick Miller Paulie Mullin Charlie Clark Andy Heimlich Ethan Clark Quentin Brizendine Lily Ellis 2025-2026 Student President: Devon Humphrey Devon is a graduate … Continue reading Notes from Alcuin October 2025
Alcuin Study Center just turned 5! The Dream In August of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, with the university on lockdown and students soon to be sent home, we thought, "Hey...let's start a Christian study center for the Ball State community!" Some might question our strategy, but here we are. In reality, we—board … Continue reading Here We Raise Our Ebenezer*
So much to tell, so little time... June ASC Board Retreat & Strategic Planning About a month ago, the ASC board convened in Muncie for a two-day strategic planning session. We were led through this process by Dr. David Wright, a wise and generous guide indeed! We have all come away with a renewed sense … Continue reading Notes from Alcuin July 2025
Integrity Last month I was honored to receive the Personal Integrity Award from the Delaware County Committee for Integrity Enhancement for my work with Alcuin Study Center. While I, personally, am not a paragon of integrity (though I try), Alcuin Study Center is an institution founded upon it. Though we often think of integrity as … Continue reading May 2025
Annabeth Elston, class of 2025 In the Fall of 2021, I was asked to be the keynote speaker at the Fall Retreat of the Christian Campus House at Ball State. I spoke on Christianity and the arts. Annabeth was a freshmen at that retreat. The daughter of a visual artist and a musical theater major, … Continue reading Spring 2025 Student Spotlight
Student Engagement This Semester College Students Love Writing Letters! (Who would've guessed??) We've been setting up a table once a week in one of the large dinning areas on campus with handmade paper, ink wells, and fountain pens and then inviting students to sit down for a moment and write a letter to a friend … Continue reading April 2025
Two Poems and an Essay Seven Stanzas at Easter by John Updike Make no mistake: if he rose at allIt was as His body;If the cell’s dissolution did not reverse, the molecule reknit,The amino acids rekindle,The Church will fall.It was not as the flowers,Each soft spring recurrent;It was not as His Spirit in the mouths … Continue reading Anticipating Tomorrow
Cicero supposedly once said, "Times are bad. Children are disobeying their parents and everyone is writing a book." Today, we might change the last clause to "everybody is making content." Content is that non-descript term for everything from bad dad jokes to dash-cam wrecks, from panda and capybara videos to apologetic arguments (that last one … Continue reading Alcuin Recommends • March 2025