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[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

13-September-1999 
99298 
 
    College News 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
BATESVILLE, Ark. -  Dr. Bruce Johnston, the vice president of student life 
and dean of students at Lyon College, announced that Patricia Baxter has 
been chosen as the school's new chaplain. Aug. 1 was Baxter's first day on 
the job. 
 
    "I'm delighted to have someone with Pat's experience and background," 
Johnston said. "She was chosen because of her ability to relate with the 
students she met when she was interviewing, and also because of her 
background in developing programs and devotionals." 
 
    Baxter is an ordained minister in the Presbytery of Transvaal West in 
South Africa. She earned a B.A. in psychology and Biblical studies from the 
University of South Africa in Pretoria. In 1986 she Baxter received an M.A. 
from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond,Va. She 
received a master of theology degree from the University of South Africa in 
1992 and is currently pursuing a doctorate of education. 
 
    Baxter has taught theology and religion in Korea, South Africa and 
Richmond, Va. She has also served as a pastoral minister at St. Columba's 
Church in Pretoria in South Africa. 
 
 
DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Board of Trustees of the University of Dubuque has 
named Bradley J. Longfield dean of the University of Dubuque Theological 
Seminary. Longfield, a professor of church history at the seminary, has 
been serving as interim dean for the past year. 
 
    Longfield, who holds degrees from Wesleyan University, Yale University 
and Duke University, is author of "The Presbyterian Controversy: 
Fundamentalists, Modernists, and Moderates," and co-editor of "The 
Secularization of the Academy." 
 
    University President Jeffrey F. Bullock said of Longfield's 
appointment: "Dr. Longfield's contributions to the University of Dubuque 
Theological Seminary and to the wider church as both a professor and 
administrator are true gifts. His love for Jesus Christ, his vision for 
theological education and his leadership will help this institution embrace 
its bright future." 
 
 
SPOKANE, Wash. - "Christian Teachers in Public Schools," a book by attorney 
and Whitworth College Associate Professor of Political Studies Julia 
Stronks, was recently published by Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich. 
 
    Stronks co-wrote the book with her mother, Gloria Goris Stronks, an 
education professor at Calvin College in Grand Rapids. The Stronkses' 
primary goal in writing the book was to assist teachers with the important 
but often ambiguous and confusing task of staying true to their faith 
commitments while they are educators in a secular arena. 
 
    "Christian teachers want to teach in ways that are authentic given 
their beliefs, but they also have to understand the very complex legal area 
in which they work," Julia Stronks said. "This book explains how teachers 
can develop curriculum that reflects their faith commitments but also 
remains sensitive to the pluralistic world in which we live." 
 
    In the book, the authors explain the rulings of the Supreme Court and 
the federal government and demonstrate that people's faith commitments do 
not have to be left at the door when they walk into public schools. 
"Christian Teachers in Public Schools" also explains how to teach Christian 
values in a multicultural community; how to plan curriculum in ways that 
stay true to one's faith; which laws determine the religious rights of 
students and teachers in public schools; how to apply these laws to real 
situations in the classroom; and why schools cannot be neutral about 
religion. 

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