Tag: dean

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Campus News

Dr. Clem Appointed Dean of School of Music

By Collin Zehr (’22)


Dr. David Clem, assistant professor of Music History and previous Houghton graduate, was announced as the new Dean of the Greatbatch School of Music at Houghton College beginning in June of 2021. 

Over the past academic year, the search for a new Dean for the Greatbatch School of Music has been underway since Dr. Armenio Suzano stepped away from the position at the end of the 2020 Academic year. Since Dr. Suzano’s departure, Dr. Timothy McGarvey, Professor of Conducting and Director of Instrumental Music Activities, has served as the interim Dean of the School of Music. 

The Dean of the Greatbatch School of Music runs the school, including tasks concerning, “budget, overseeing a faculty/staff of 30 people, curriculum, policy, liaison with all other Houghton entities and our outside constituents, and the day to day administrative work.” as described by Dr. McGarvey. 

While serving in this position, Dr. McGarvey has worked alongside Dr. Sara Massey, assistant professor of Music Education. Dr. Massey described the search for a new Dean along-side a revisioning process for the Greatbatch School of Music. As liberal arts colleges all across the country deal with financial struggles, Houghton is alongside them in recognizing the need to adapt in order to remain viable as an institution of higher education. In order to confront this challenge head on, Dr. Clem became the apparent choice to serve as Dean due to his creativity, intelligence, integrity, and forward thinking. “No one else could do it,” described Dr. Massey.

Since his first experience with Houghton College as a Music Composition undergraduate student about 20 years ago, Dr. Clem could tell that God had a hand in bringing the right people to Houghton and the School of Music. Dr. Clem described how the “great communities” fostered at Houghton were something that he wanted to contribute to.  “The faculty are invested in students on a somewhat personal level” describes Dr. Clem, “[they] are preparing students for whatever is down the road” and “how to live and practice a Christian lifestyle in the world of music.” Dr. Clem was among one of the first groups of Graduate students to earn his Master’s Degree from the Greatbatch School of Music as well. 

Though Dr. Clem never necessarily sought an administrative role, he notes that he has “ended up in leadership positions throughout his life” and this is a role he is equipped to fill. Before accepting this position, Dr. Clem described his thought process as determining three things. As someone who often says “yes” to things asked of him, he has “had to learn to stop and think before saying yes. This means stopping and talking to God about things. Is this an obligation? Is this something I want? is this what God wants?” After considering this, he said yes willingly. Since Dr. Clem is a current faculty member at the school of music and is already serving on the committee to re-envision the school of music, he has been working closely with Dr. McGarvey, resulting in a more gradual transition. So, Dr. Clem has already begun learning about the administrative role that the Dean will fulfill. 

The general consensus among other students in the Greatbatch School of Music is one of excitement for Dr. Clem to assume the role of Dean. Current Junior Education Major, Caleb Durant, described his excitement “because [Dr. Clem]  knows the students really well and has a great rapport with the rest of the faculty. He is a great choice to represent the interests of the school and students.” 

The Greatbatch School of Music’s mission statement expresses the goal to develop “musical excellence” in order to be “effective musical practitioners” and advocate “in the Christian community and in the broader world.” When asked about his goals during his tenure as Dean, Dr. Clem described how “faith is a journey, not a destination. Excellence is the same. The bar is constantly moving” and we must treat it as such. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Houghton College and the Greatbatch School of Music have had to embrace the importance of maximizing the resources available in order to maintain the high standards we seek to achieve. 

Dr. Clem hopes to implement an array of summer programs within the Greatbatch School of Music including a summer music camp for highschool students. The graduate program will also expand to an online Music Education Masters Degree that will contain a summer intensive in-person component. The School of Music will be adding a new Worship Arts degree program that will hopefully benefit from summer songwriting classes with a workshop. Dr. Clem hopes that this summer program will allow students to learn and work with named CCM artists. Beyond the addition of summer programming, Dr. Clem wants to embrace the expertise within the School of Music to partner with local schools and churches to provide opportunities for those not directly involved with Houghton College. ★

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Opinions

L.I.F.E. Club Panel Disappoints

I was horrified when I first received the L.I.F.E. club email stating in big bold letters “Abortion: A Modern Day Holocaust?” that was accompanied by the feet of what appeared to be an infant.  I was horrified not because of my views on abortion, but because of the way the e-mail presented the event. The email claimed to be a panel “discussion” yet the way information was presented did not suggest any “discussion” would occur.  Instead the email suggested that one viewpoint would automatically dominate the event. In addition to my horror, we must realize that even in this small community; there are most likely people who have experienced the effects of abortion to one degree or another. Therefore I do not feel that we should abruptly equate our fellow sisters and brothers to Nazis. Regardless of the impressions I received from the email, I decided to attend, hoping that researched opinions and detailed thought would be respectfully presented.

allysonSadly my hope was, for the most part, in vain–the panel quickly veered in one direction and rarely slowed down to think about other avenues of opinion.  However, though the conversation repeatedly traveled in one direction, I as well as fellow students, were very thankful to have Dean Jordan present. He continually inserted thought-provoking responses that were honest; reminding the students that there are not easily deduced answers when it comes to society’s issue of abortion. However, this was not as true of the other two speakers.

The male guest speaker was a Bible-thumper, who continually repeated kitschy catchy phrases such as, “We have the World View, and then we have the Word View” or “God is Scripture and Scripture is God.” I assure you, Scripture is not cut and dry. Issues dealing with morality are rarely-if ever- black and white. Yes John 1 does say, “In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” but the Bible speaks in metaphor. As one student at the panel pointed out, there are thousands of denominations within the Protestant Church alone: clearly believers do not commonly agree on many issues regarding the hermeneutics of scripture. In relation to this, Dean Jordan again pointed us to the important realization that the Bible never addresses abortion, but instead discusses the value of life as a theme prevalent within the Bible. We should approach abortion as intellectuals who can support opinions within secular communities, not just as believers who speak up in our small, faith-based town.

The female guest speaker reverted to a repeated tactic of statistical references throughout the discussion, and at one point admitted to looking up facts online recently to ensure she would have information to bring to the panel.  Statistics work for initial effect, but we have heard them before and we will hear them again. When bombarded with statistics, one does not often come away with new thoughts to dwell on, but rather one comes away with a jumble of disorienting facts that are hard to process. Also this guest speaker was a Catholic and I, like other students, expected the discussion to at least briefly deal with the differences between Catholic and Protestant viewpoints on contraception, but this was never formally addressed. Instead, references were made to the differing thoughts, but time was not devoted to discussing this rift within the Church.

Lastly, the discussion was not clearly focused from the beginning. I expected the first question to be a starting point that dealt with the definition of when life truly starts. This question was only addressed at the end, when a student asked for individualized definitions from each panelist.

Overall I was disappointed. The issue of abortion is regarded as a very heated discussion both inside the church and within the secular world. Students should experience a discussion that holds differing opinions respectfully presented in a way that stimulates an individual’s thought instead of staunching it. Students who are not encouraged to carefully think about issues will not be ready to confidently present his/her own thoughts when given the chance later in life.

Next time the L.I.F.E Club creates a panel discussion, I suggest they bring in a pro-choice opinion–there are academics in our community who hold this view. I also propose they find more readily equipped panelists to argue each side.  This campus also holds people who have devoted time and energy into Pro-Life viewpoints through continual research from both a Christian perspective and a secular perspective.  Once again, I was extremely glad that Dean Jordan had a voice in this discussion, but I wish the panel had been better prepared and more diverse.

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News

Appointment of Dean Michael Jordan is “Slam Dunk” for College

Courtesy of www.houghton.edu
Courtesy of www.houghton.edu

After serving as Interim Dean of Chapel for the past semester, Dr. Michael Jordan has decided to accept the position permanently.

“I look forward to helping to shape Houghton’s spiritual life. I especially look forward to helping people see that our spiritual life is not something the administration creates for the students, but something that we create together as we give ourselves over to the rhythm of worship and work, study and rest, prayer and play.” said Dean Jordan.

Hailing from southern New Jersey, Jordan entered college at Houghton for undergraduate studies where he earned a B.A. in History and Bible with a minor in Linguistics. There he met his now wife, Dr. Jill Jordan, mathematics. After graduating from Houghton in 1999, he went on to attend Eastern Baptist (now Palmer) Theological Seminary where he graduated with a Masters in Divinity in 2002. He was a pastor at Exton Community Baptist Church in Exton, Pennsylvania from 2002 to 2009. During this time, he studied to receive his P.H.D. in Liturgical Studies from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. In 2009, he left his position as a pastor to come back to Houghton after Jill was offered her current professorship.

Jordan enjoys working at the college in a position of religious leadership. He said,”I’ve always enjoyed both preaching and the academy. Pastoring had a lot of the latter without the former; the people in my church didn’t always get my drive to study. Teaching as an adjunct on the other hand is great, but doesn’t let me explore my full pastoral side. The dean position will be great in allowing me to mix and enjoy both the academic and pastoral parts of my role here at the college.”

Dean Jordan hopes to serve the community as a “spiritual tone setter.” He wants to take chapel in a direction that is more deeply liturgical with a focus on worship and connection with God. Instead of having a chapel focused on information, he wants to see one focused on formation. He plans to provide more opportunities for communication between students and chapel speakers.

Jordan’s view of chapel in the next year is one that moves away from a previously consumerism-like model. As it stands currently, students tend to choose which chapels they attend based on who is speaking, who is playing worship, or any other small aspect of the service and decide whether or not that chapel will interest them. In the future, Jordan wants to make chapel into a practice and experience that allows the students at Houghton to take some time out of their day to give back to God and refocus on His teachings.

He jokingly refers to this as taking time to “paint pictures for God’s refrigerator” through our worship and, more seriously, as taking the time to lift our voices up to Him and devote our hearts to His glory.

When asked what he enjoyed seeing this past semester in chapel, Jordan recalled several highlights including faith journeys, the gospel choir’s performances, and the support he has received from the students as he has taken on the position. He remarks that even the complaints about chapel that he receives do not give the impression that they are personal, but rather critical of the institution of chapel as a whole.

In some ways, this worries the Dean. He would like the chapel to move from being a faceless body and towards being an accessible and organic part of campus. While he has avoided shaping the structure of chapel in his interim period as the dean, Jordan hopes that he can more deeply integrate chapel into the lives of students as something they can openly discuss and feel that their opinions are heard.

When discussing how Houghton has changed since his time here (’95-’99), Jordan remarks that very little has changed. “There is still the same mix of academics and Christianity that was present when I attended,” he said. One change he notes is the increase in mobility and accessibility to the outside world. The college is a lot less isolated than it was in the past.

 

When asked about social justice movements at Houghton, Jordan replied,“I’m a social justice guy.” The seminary he attended is very well known for its unique focus on social justice, which has shaped his views on Christians in society. Defining his goals for social justice at Houghton, he wants to call out sin to rectify it and, in his words, “make a world here that Jesus will recognize as good when He returns.”

Academically, Jordan would like to see more engagement with students about social and political issues. One source of engagement he views as being successful is the meeting of panels on social issues including same-sex attraction and sexual assault. The topics of these panels are often controversial and harsh, but Jordan sees them as bringing about positive change through open discussion.

“I hope students find me invitational: I know that they will not always agree with what I say, or my ideas, but I’m very open to the input of others and want to help us find our best way together,” expressed Jordan.