Speakers to Address Challenges, Transformations in ‘Higher Learning’ Symposium Hosted by Baylor’s Institute for Faith and Learning

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WACO, Texas (Oct. 25, 2016) — The 2016 Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture will focus on “Higher Learning” with nearly 200 presenters exploring the promise and challenges in contemporary colleges and universities.
Each year, the Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture, hosted by Baylor’s Institute for Faith and Learning, focuses on issues from the vantage point of Christian intellectual traditions.
“The 10th annual Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture may well be the largest conference we have ever hosted,” said Darin H. Davis, Ph.D., vice president for university mission and director of the Institute for Faith and Learning. “Scholars, teachers, administrators and students from more than 60 institutions will help us take stock of the present landscape of American higher education. It is an important time to think constructively about the future of higher learning, and especially in ways that are faithful to the mission of church-related colleges and universities.”
The cost of a college education, disagreements about what constitutes the core curriculum, technological advances, political conflict and social unrest are only a few of the challenges facing higher education in America.
Should colleges and universities be devoted to job placement for graduates? Should they be researching to expand knowledge? Should they focus on the formation of their students’ characters and minds? The 2016 Baylor Symposium on Faith and Culture aims to explore these questions and issues by addressing the goal of higher learning.
The conference will take place Oct. 27 to 29 at the Bill Daniel Student Center, 1311 S. Fifth St., featuring speakers from a multitude of colleges and universities.
“I am delighted to be contributing for a second time to the Institute of Faith and Learning’s Symposium on Faith and Culture,” said John Haldane, Ph.D., J. Newton Rayzor, Sr., Distinguished Professor in Philosophy at Baylor. “The symposium is a valuable opportunity to reflect on aspects of religious belief as this impacts and interconnects with cultural issues. As academic activity becomes increasingly specialized, it is important to find ways of maintaining conversations across fields and the symposium requires and encourages this.”
Speakers this year include: James Davison Hunter, University of Virginia; Candace Vogler, University of Chicago; John Haldane, Baylor University; David I. Smith, Calvin College; Patrick Deneen, University of Notre Dame; Minette Drumwright, University of Texas at Austin; Francis Su, Harvey Mudd College; Chad Wellmon, University of Virginia; and Simon Oliver, Durham University.
Registration is open to anyone. Regular registration is $225 and student registration is $100. All Baylor faculty, staff and students may register to attend conference events (except for meals) free of charge.
For a full schedule, information on speakers and to register, visit the Institute for Faith and Learning website.
by Kelsey Dehnel, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

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Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.