Kruschwitz Named Director Of Center For Christian Ethics
Dr. Robert B. Kruschwitz, currently chair of the department of philosophy at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky., has been appointed director of Baylor University's Center for Christian Ethics by Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. The appointment is effective June 1.
"I am truly excited about the appointment of Bob Kruschwitz as the director of the Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor," said Dr. Donald D. Schmeltekopf, Baylor provost and vice president for academic affairs. "We have had many conversations together and with others about the many positive things the new center at Baylor can accomplish. Dr. Kruschwitz has fresh and sound ideas for the center, ideas grounded in the best traditions of both Baptists and Christians everywhere."
Chartered in 1990 and related to Baylor since 1997, the Center for Christian Ethics fosters a range of projects that bring together promising and established Christian scholars, lay people and ministers to engage the moral dimensions of North American culture. Under Kruschwitz's leadership, the center will examine and encourage discipleship both within the churches and academia from a rich Baptist perspective that is deeply rooted in the Bible and committed to a free church in a free society.
"I am looking forward to this new role at Baylor," said Kruschwitz, who also will hold a tenured appointment in the department of philosophy. "The center's headquarters at Baylor, with its George W. Truett Theological Seminary, religion and philosophy departments, J. M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, Center for Christian Education, Institute for Faith and Learning and other excellent programs, offer a wonderful opportunity to network with Baptists and other Christians around the world."
In addition to the center's current publication of the periodical Christian Ethics Today (edited by Foy Valentine), Kruschwitz is planning a new quarterly magazine of public discipleship for a wide Christian audience, complementing its articles with book reviews,
interviews and resources for witness--including sermons, lessons, liturgy and art. "Each thematic issue--whether it addresses the death penalty, abortion, forgiveness, or the ethical resources for Christians in the Hebrew scriptures--will be a resource for small groups and church classes, helping Christians grow as disciples with 'salty' influence in their communities," he said.
The center also will host a range of conferences for laity, ministers, students and professional people; offer resources on social discipleship both in print and electronically; and sponsor grants both for research and for developing innovative discipleship programs in churches.
A native of Kentucky, Kruschwitz graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown College with a B.A. in philosophy and earned his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. A visiting instructor of philosophy at Baylor in 1978, he has served since 1979 on the faculty of Georgetown College, where he is professor and chair of the philosophy department, and was elected five terms as faculty chair.
Kruschwitz is a founding member of the Society of Christian Philosophers (1982) and the Baptist Association of Philosophy Teachers (1988), which he serves as secretary-treasurer. For his leadership in integrating Christian faith with teaching and research, Georgetown College presented to him the inaugural George Walker Redding Faculty Award for Outstanding Christian Service in 1997. Co-editor of The Virtues, a pioneering anthology of recent essays on moral character, he also has published articles on Christian ethics in the journals Faith and Philosophy, Perspectives in Religious Studies, Faculty Dialogue and The Thomist.
Kruschwitz and wife, Vicki, are members of Faith Baptist Church in Georgetown, Ky., where he serves as church moderator, Sunday School teacher, choir member and chair of the administrative committee. He also served on two pastor search committees and has chaired the deacons. In addition, Kruschwitz chaired the Resolutions Committee of the Kentucky Baptist Convention in 1998-1999.