I Have Accepted a Position at United Theological Seminary - Le Donne

I have some very exciting news to share. Exciting to me, at least. I have accepted a position at United Theological Seminary to teach New Testament. My family and I will be moving to the Dayton, OH area this summer to begin in the fall term. I am looking forward to working alongside a stellar and gracious faculty at one of the largest and fastest growing seminaries in the UMC.

For those readers who have followed this blog for a few years now, you may recall that United Theological Seminary co-sponsored (with University of Dayton) the conference related to this book. This conference might have otherwise been untenable. Chris Keith and I were deeply grateful for the hospitality shown to us in Dayton. I should mention here that Joel Watts (a former student at United) went to bat for us. I don’t doubt that his efforts planted the seeds necessary for the 2012 conference and my recent good news. May his beard grow ever longer.

It has become clear to me that United is a place that values collegiality and academic freedom. These two qualities are becoming quite rare in the world of higher learning. Moreover, United’s continued investment in social justice was very attractive to me as I was weighing my options. All in all, I think that after (the better part of) ten years on the job market, I’ve found a home.

I will also take this opportunity to say that United boasts some of the best graduate-level online and hybrid courses in the field. I will continue to teach online and invite you to consider my course offerings at United. If you live in the Dayton area, I invite you to consider my brick-and-mortar classes where we will discuss Run–D.M.C., "Welcome Back, Kotter," good films by M. Night Shyamalan, the "Third Quest," and other old skool topics.

One last word on a serious note: I know all too well that there are hundreds of unemployed and (worse) underemployed scholars out there. I know well the feeling that comes from watching yet another job cycle pass by with disappointment and depression. My present joy has not wiped away my experiences—as unemployed, as adjunct, and as undervalued employee—of institutional dysfunction over the last decade. I know that those of you who have suffered most do so silently or in hushed commiseration. I offer no consolation to you who continue to be undervalued and abused. The problems are real and getting worse. I only offer understanding.

-anthony