Restoring the Soul of the University – Unifying Christian Higher Education in a Fragmented Age

Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year Award of Merit - Politics/Public Life Has the American university gained the whole world but lost its soul?In terms of money, prestige, power, and freedom, American universities appear to have gained the academic world. But at what cost? We live in the age of the fragmented multiversity that has no unifying soul or mission. The multiversity in a post-Christian culture is characterized instead by curricular division, the professionalization of the disciplines, the expansion of administration, the loss of community, and the idolization of athletics. The situation is not hopeless. According to Perry L. Glanzer, Nathan F. Alleman, and Todd C. Ream, Christian universities can recover their soul—but to do so will require reimagining excellence in a time of exile, placing the liberating arts before the liberal arts, and focusing on the worship, love, and knowledge of God as central to the university. Restoring the Soul of the University is a pioneering work that charts the history of the university and casts an inspiring vision for the future of higher education.

"Combines a critique of the fragmented, secular 'multiversity' with a vision for Christian institutions to focus on the worship, love, and knowledge of the triune God.", "I share the passion of professors Glanzer, Alleman, and Ream for breathing new life into the institutions of modern higher education. I share, especially, their deep conviction that the Christian university is the most attractive path toward recovering a unity of purpose for higher education. As this book demonstrates so ably, the deep and nourishing roots of the Christian university wait to be tapped in fresh ways in order to restore a vibrant university with purpose. The promise of the Christian story has always been to offer up a vision of human flourishing for our broken world. May that vision shine with splendor from the halls of learning at the Christian college and university.", "A thorough and ambitious book, Restoring the Soul of the University issues a stirring call to Christian institutions of higher education. The authors offer a deep historical analysis, along with a careful framing of the questions, philosophies, and challenges that define the mission of the university.", "As someone who has studied Christian higher education for over a decade, I see this work as a milestone contribution to the literature and ongoing conversation. It is academically sound yet easily accessible, respectful of historical contributions yet breathtaking in its vision, and clear-eyed about problems yet hopeful about solutions. In short, the work does what it urges all of us in Christian higher education to do—integrate everything we do around the worship of the triune God. As I read the book, I found myself cheering on nearly every page; they have said what has needed to be said for a long time. While they acknowledge that 'a university with a soul will never be fully embodied on this earth' (p. 323), they still long for it. When you read their book, you will too."

Perry L. Glanzer (Ph.D., University of Southern California) is associate professor in the school of education at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. Glanzer is the author of several books, including Christianity and Moral Identity in Higher Education (with Todd C. Ream). Nathan F. Alleman (PhD, The College of William and Mary) is assistant professor of educational administration at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Todd C. Ream (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University) is senior scholar for faith and scholarship and associate professor of humanities at Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion, Indiana. Ream is author of several books, including A Parent's Guide to the Christian College (with T. W. Herrmann and C. S. Trudeau).