2022 Speakers
Meet the Speakers
The 2022 CSC will feature 5 diverse and stimulating plenary events, all under the theme, “A Livable World: Partnerships in Creation, Justice, Wellness & Economy.”
Plenary Events
Frank and Della Pack Plenary Speaker
Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding what climate change means for people and the places where we live. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law in the Dept. of Political Science at Texas Tech University. Her book, “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World,” was released in September, 2021 and she also hosts the PBS digital series Global Weirding, currently in its fifth season. Katharine has been named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People, the United Nations Champion of the Environment, and the World Evangelical Alliance’s Climate Ambassador. Click the following link to see more information regarding Hayhoe in our newsletter.
Hayhoe will deliver the Frank and Della Pack plenary on Wednesday, June 8 during Plenary Session 1 at 10:00 a.m. in Collins Alumni Auditorium. She will also participate in the following sessions: “Teaching Katharine Hayhoe’s Saving Us: An Interdisciplinary Examination of ‘What I Did, What Worked, and How to Reach Students’” on Wednesday, June 8 during Panel Session 1 at 1:00 p.m. in Ezell 363. “The Politicization of Science, A Roundtable Session” on Wednesday, June 8 during Panel Session 2 at 2:45 p.m. in Ezell 363 and “Zero Carbon Emission Energy: The State of Research, Common and Emerging Technologies, and Future Trends, A Roundtable Discussion” on Thursday, June 9 during Panel Session 5 at 3:30 p.m. in Ezell 363.
Fred D. Gray Plenary in Human and Civil Rights Speaker
Catherine earned a BA from Pepperdine and a PhD from Emory University and is the retired Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Socio-Cultural Studies at Wesleyan College. She currently Directs the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in Atlanta who has just received the Joseph R. Biden Lifetime Achievement Award for her career work, will join us at the CSC after preaching at the National Cathedral in Washington DC and then, in a national broadcast with David Brooks, discuss the "Beloved Community." She is the author of six books and most recently the editor of the bestselling Living Into God’s Dream: Dismantling Racism in America and co-author of Passionate for Justice: Ida B. Wells as Prophet for our Times. Click the following link to see information regarding Meeks in our newsletter.
Meeks will deliver the Fred D. Gray Plenary in Human and Civil Rights, titled “Rags of Love in the Quilting Circle: A Metaphor for Transforming Oppressive Systems” on Friday, June 10 during Plenary Session 5 at 10:45 a.m. in Collins Alumni Auditorium. She will also participate in the session “Beloved Community: A Workshop” on Thursday, June 9 during Panel Session 4 at 1:45 p.m. in Ezell 241.
Abraham Malherbe Plenary Speaker
James W. Thompson is Scholar in Residence in the Graduate School of Theology at Abilene Christian University and editor of Restoration Quarterly. He is the author of numerous articles and books on the Pauline correspondence and the Epistle to the Hebrews. His MA thesis, completed in 1965, was the first thesis directed by Abe Malherbe. Click the following link to see more information regarding Thompson in our newsletter.
Thompson will deliver the Abraham J. Malherbe Plenary titled “The Groaning and Redemption of Creation: Does Paul Speak to the Environmental Crisis?” on Wednesday, June 8 during Plenary Session 2 at 4:30 p.m. in Collins Alumni Auditorium.
Robert and Bonnie Cone Hooper Plenary Speaker
Michael Anastasi is Region Editor for USA TODAY Network South and Vice President and Editor of The Tennessean. He earned a Master of Arts in Leadership and Public Service from Lipscomb University and while in Los Angeles led his team to a Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting (2015). Click the following link to see more information regarding Anastasi in our newsletter.
Anastasi will deliver the Robert and Bonnie Cone Hooper Plenary titled “Freedom of the Press: Interpretational Contestation Engaged in the Trenches” on Thursday, June 9 during Plenary Session 3 at 10:45 a.m. in Collins Alumni Auditorium.
Lectures
Everett Ferguson Lecture in Early Christian Studies Speaker
Laura Nasrallah's (Yale Divinity School) research and teaching bring together New Testament and early Christian literature with the archaeological remains of the Mediterranean world, and often engage issues of colonialism, gender, race, status, and power. Click the following link to see information regarding Nasrallah in our newsletter.
Landon Saunders Lecturer
Kristin Kobes Du Mez is a writer and scholar who explores the intersection of religion, gender, and politics. With a style described as "equal parts winsome and hard-hitting," her unflinching examination of the American church is ultimately a call to confession, lament, and greater faithfulness. Kristin teaches at Calvin University and is the author of Jesus and John Wayne. Click the following link to see more information regarding Du Mez in our newsletter.
J.J.M. Roberts Lecturer
Ellen Davis, Professor at Duke Divinity School, is an author and researcher who focuses on how biblical interpretation bears on the life of faith communities and their response to urgent public issues, particularly the ecological crisis. Scripture, Culture, and Agriculture: An Agrarian Reading of the Bible integrates biblical studies with a critique of industrial agriculture and food production. Professor Davis' work on an agrarian reading of the Bible helps retrieve the ancient text's own voice while speaking to today's greatest challenges and opportunities. Click the following link to see more information regarding Davis in our newsletter.
Gailyn Van Rheenen Lecture in Mission and World Christianity Speaker
Kirsteen Kim will give the inaugural Gailyn Van Rheenen Lecture in Mission and World Christianity, titled "The Spirit of Mission and the Mission of the Spirit." Kim is the Paul E. Pierson Chair in World Christianity and Associate Dean for the Center for Missiological Research at Fuller Theological Seminary. Her research interests include theology of mission, pneumatology, world Christianity, Korean studies, and development studies. Kim is also and editor and has authored nearly 150 publications. Click the following link to see more information regarding Kim in our newsletter.
