Union University’s three faculty-in-residence, Frank Anderson, Jason Crawford and Phil Davignon, hosted the final of three fireside forums for the 2021 spring semester. This event featured guest speaker Ashley Fitch Blair and was held at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, May 3, in the Student Union Building (SUB).
The forum, titled “Communicating Christ-Like Community,” centered around a discussion about Blair’s time at Union as both an undergraduate student and faculty member, her personal stories and the role of the communication arts department.
“I enjoyed being with people, and I enjoyed making people laugh,” Blair said. “Community and laughter is good for the soul. It’s chemically good for our brains. This is a hard week for everyone. It doesn’t matter who you are, faculty, staff or students, these last two weeks are brutal for different reasons. I think taking time within all of that to laugh together, share a conversation, share a cup of coffee, to have a Pirouline and then keep doing the work we’re called to do is a really good way to balance out our lives.”
The forum was scheduled to take place in the Bowld patio, but it was moved to Harvey Hall due to possible inclement weather. In preparation, the hosts decided to hold the event in the SUB hallway.
“As a communicator, I love how different environments engender different conversations,” Blair said. “We created our own environment because I knew it would be a different kind of conversation; and yes, there was a little bit of camaraderie of saying, ‘yes we’re just going to create our own space in the SUB building.’”
Previous fireside forums featured discussions with Matthew Henderson, assistant professor of sociology, and Haelim Allen, associate professor of art.
“The other three [fireside forums] went back to our original approach, which was to invite faculty members with the purpose being to give students the opportunity to see a side of the faculty members that they wouldn’t normally see in the classroom,” Anderson said. “Here at Union, I think the importance takes on a different significance than most of the schools that are doing it. This is Christian community. The stories from faculty members on this campus are incredible.”
Faculty-in-residence have held fireside forums since the fall 2019 semester. They are working to integrate further programs focused on living and learning, including common table groups that met in the fall 2020 semester.
“I think it’s great that the faculty-in-residence are involved in that as a way to create new connections between faculty and students,” said Blair. “One of the unique things about Union is that you have an opportunity to get to know faculty in a different way, at a different level, if you want to. This opportunity and other opportunities are out there. We’re delighted to connect with you. If you want that, it’s available to you.”
The faculty-in-residence intend to release a schedule of fireside forums for the fall 2021 semester. Anderson encourages students to suggest future faculty speakers.
