Philosophy Forum to Feature Faculty Panel on Climate Change and Creation Care May 3

May 2, 2019

The 2019 Philosophy Forum series will continue Friday, May 3, on the OBU campus in Shawnee. The forum will feature a faculty panel discussing the theme “What Should Christians Think (and Do) about Climate Change and Creation Care?” The event will take place from 4 to 5:15 p.m. inside Tulsa Royalties Auditorium in Bailey Business Center.

The faculty panel will include Dr. Tawa Anderson, associate professor of philosophy and director of the honors program, as moderator; Dr. Christopher McMillion, assistant professor of political science; Dr. John McWilliams, professor of natural science; Dr. Benjamin Myers, Crouch-Mathis Professor of Literature and professor of literature and English; Dr. Jessica Rohr, assistant professor of English, TESOL; and Dr. Joy Turner, director of global mobilization.

Anderson organizes the Philosophy Forum series. He earned a B.A. in political science at the University of Alberta, a Master of Divinity in pastoral ministry at Edmonton Baptist Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Worldview and Apologetics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, Kentucky. He joined the OBU faculty as assistant professor of philosophy in fall 2011. Before arriving at OBU, he served as a Garrett Fellow at SBTS, guest lecturing in a broad variety of philosophy courses. Prior to that, he served for seven years as the English pastor of Edmonton Chinese Baptist Church and part-time Baptist chaplain at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

McMillion earned a B.A. from Baylor University, and both an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. In his scholarship, he focuses on constitutional law, federalism, and American political thought. He is particularly interested in the connections between political theory and the American constitutional and political experience. He teaches a broad variety of political science courses at OBU and also serves as a manuscript referee for the journal “American Political Thought.”

McWilliams earned a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Ed.D, all from the University of Arkansas. He has received the Crosstimbers RC&D Community Service Award and the Shawnee Conservation District’s Teacher of the Year Award for his work in environmental education and conservation. His fascination with nature shines through in his teaching, as his students gain hands-on experience in field research through the North 40 Outdoor Classroom, a site he has developed just north of campus. They learn the basics of earth science, ecology and science curriculum design by participating in inquiry-based activities from habitat assessment to paleo-forensics.

Myers earned a B.A. at the University of the Ozarks, an M.A. at Washington University in St. Louis, and a Ph.D., also from Washington University. He served as the 2015-16 Poet Laureate of the State of Oklahoma. He is the author of three books of poetry and of numerous essays and scholarly articles. His poems have appeared in The Yale Review, Image, 32 Poems, Measure, The Christian Century, and many other journals. His essays and reviews may be read in First Things, Books and Culture, World Literature Today, Oklahoma Today, and The Imaginative Conservative, as well as in various scholarly journals. He is a frequent lecturer at conferences and literary festivals around the country.

Rohr earned a B.A. at Baptist Bible College, an M.A. at Missouri State University, and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Arlington where she also taught courses in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). She joined the OBU faculty in 2017. She previously spent several years teaching English to second language learners in the United States and in China. Informed by these experiences, her research interests include TESOL, second language acquisition of phonology, and learner corpus research.

Turner earned a bachelor’s degree in religion from OBU, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry also from SWBTS. She previously served as the director of international ministries (North American Missionary) with the Oahu Baptist Network (North American Mission Board) from 1992 to 2011.