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Faculty: In Their Own Words – Dr. John Brubacher

Dr. John Brubacher, Assistant Professor of Biology, has worked at CMU since 2008.

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What do you love about your work here?

One of the things I appreciate is that at CMU, we have our four commitments: Educate for Peace – Justice; Learn through Thinking and Doing; Welcome Generous Hospitality… Radical Dialogue; and Model Invitational Community. To work at a place that’s seriously trying to make those sorts of things the undergirding aspect of an education is exciting.

What are you excited about teaching in the coming school year?

This winter I’m teaching a course called The Genetic Revolution. I’ll guide students through a series of the greatest experiments in the history of genetics. I’m excited because I’ll be teaching it in historical progression, with the idea being that it will help give students some insights into not just what we know about genes and how they work in organisms, but how we figured it out.

What are you researching and writing right now?

I’m researching little flatworms that are called planarians. You can take one and chop it into 100 pieces, and each piece can regenerate and remodel itself to form an intact worm. That allows us to start asking all sorts of questions about how these flatworms – and animals generally – develop and heal. I’m working with colleagues at the Morgridge Institute for Research in Wisconsin, and I’m helping them with a micro anatomical study of the worms to understand how the cells are arranged in a normal worm, and then how they behave when you cut a piece off the worm. The cells need to migrate around – they need to differentiate and specialize to become different types of cells, and we still have a lot to learn about the basics of cell behaviour in that process.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

I like a little mindless mystery every now and then, so I picked up a commemorative set of four famous mysteries by Agatha Christie featuring one of her most famous characters, the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. I just started Murder on the Orient Express. But these days, I’m mostly reading for school and watching the Olympics.

Where or how do students give you hope?

There’s a sense of generosity to our students that gives me hope. One thing that exemplifies what I’m thinking of is that every November, students celebrate Tuition Freedom Day, which marks the end of the fiscal year paid for by student tuition, and the beginning of the year made possible by grants and donations from the Manitoba government, churches, and individual donors. Students host a big festival to celebrate the importance of donor and government funding just to keep this place operational. That’s really powerful.

What saying or motto inspires you?

For my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary, an aunt of mine cross-stitched them a wall hanging of Micah 6:8: “What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” I grew up with that on the wall and that’s always been one of those things to aim for.

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Faculty: In Their Own Words – Dr. Irma Fast Dueck

Dr. Irma Fast Dueck, Associate Professor of Practical Theology, began her teaching career at Canadian Mennonite Bible College, one of CMU’s predecessor colleges, in 1991.

What do you love about your work here?

I love the students and I love my colleagues. I also love the fact that we’re a small enough university that we can’t develop silos. Theology spills into music, which spills into math, and so on. Our lives don’t fit into neat categories—most of our lives are this muddy, murky in-between—and we have a university that embodies that.

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What did you teach this past year that most excited you?

Theologies of Power. It’s an upper level course in theology, and students come from all over the place, including business and communications. It was fascinating to teach them a concept in thinking of power, and then watch them take that concept and read it through their discipline. Power is so insidious—it’s everywhere. For these students to recognize that and work in this interdisciplinary way was awesome to watch.

What are you researching and writing right now?

I’m working on a book about baptism, which I’ve been researching and writing for three years now. The big question that I’ve been wrestling with is: Why aren’t young adults getting baptized? I’ve noticed in my tradition, Mennonite Church Canada (MC Canada), many young adults are actively involved in church organizations but aren’t baptized. Why is that? Why are they hesitant to make commitments to the church? What’s going in in terms of how they interpret the meaning of baptism?

What are you reading for enjoyment?

I just finished reading Lawrence Hill’s The Illegal, about a marathon runner who becomes a refugee. And, I’m always reading poetry, so Mary Karr and Kei Miller are two poets that I’m working through right now. Someone introduced me to them when I was on sabbatical in Scotland. I read a poem a day by each of them.

What do you most long for in your work?

What I long for is that love is at the core of who students are, even as they are aware of the complexities and problems of life, and deal with very real fears. I hope that in spite of the complexities, they don’t slide into cynicism or despair, but that they still love—they love God, they love creation, they love the wonder of this world, they love each other, and they love those who are different from them.

Do you have any interesting projects underway in the broader community or church?

I just finished the Listening Church project with my friend, Darryl Neustaedter Barg, where we interviewed Mennonite LGBTQ people about their experiences in MC Canada congregations and created a video. That was a great project—it gave me a sense of hope for the church. Right now, I’m on the steering committee put together by MennoMedia, MC Canada, and Mennonite Church USA that is overseeing the development of a new Mennonite song collection. We are trying to figure out what congregations need and how the church can resource them for their singing and worship. I’m excited about it.

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Faculty: In Their Own Words – Dr. Tim Rogalsky

Dr. Tim Rogalsky, Associate Professor of Mathematics, has taught at CMU since 2000.

What do you love about your work here?

There are so many things. One is that my students are really, really fun to work with. I just taught a chaos theory course, and student papers at the end of the semester included a paper on spirituality and environmentalism, a paper on Shakespearean literature, and a paper on God’s omniscience. I love the way they think deeply about so many different but interconnected things, and the way they come up with some really profound insights derived from the mathematical theory of chaos and its applications.

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What did you teach this past year that most excited you?

My favourite course is Intro to Calculus, because it’s easy to apply. That’s what makes math really exciting for me: To think about how the way the real world operates can be understood through mathematics.

What are you researching and writing right now?

I just finished a project on Salvador Dali that I would like to continue. Salvador Dali is fairly well known as a surrealist painter, as someone who was rather crass, someone who you certainly wouldn’t think of as a religious person, but there are a lot of depths to him that I’ve found, and some of those depths involved using mathematics and science as a conduit to spirituality. I call it mathematical mysticism.

What do you most long for in your work?

I love the a-ha moments. Sometimes it’s in the classroom and I watch the light bulb come on in a student’s eyes. Sometimes it’s in my own mind or in my heart; I’m teaching a concept and I suddenly get these intense shivers, and I think about how amazing all of this is in the way that it works together. Sometimes it’s in my own research. I can be in the shower or wake up in the middle of the night, and suddenly there’s this idea that just kind of pops forth in full glory that the day before, the hour before, the minute before I didn’t know, but in that moment I suddenly know and understand.

Do you have any interesting projects underway in the broader community or church?

I have given a handful of noon-hour talks at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. In April I presented, “Why Beauty Matters: The Art of Nature,” on some of the really beautiful mathematical patterns we find in the world. I’ll be sharing a version of that at a CMU Face2Face event in November. Explaining mathematics in ways that are understandable to people who don’t have a mathematics degree is something that I love to do. Watching an audience of non-mathematicians says, “Wow!” about mathematics is so, so cool.

What saying or motto inspires you?

The Franciscan friar and author Richard Rohr has been known to say that mystery is not that which is unknowable, but that which is endlessly knowable. That is so often true in both mathematics and theology. We’re always learning, always striving to know better, and that journey is always thrilling.

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Faculty: In Their Own Words – Dr. Candice Viddal

Dr. Candice Viddal, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Physics, has taught at CMU since 2010.

What did you teach this past year that most excited you?

I began teaching a sequence of courses in biochemistry. Biochemistry is essentially a course about the chemical reactions that underlie the way that biological organisms work. I find it very fascinating. In particular, I really enjoy learning about proteins. Proteins are essentially the workhorses of the cell. They do all kinds of different things and each protein has its own task. In the last 50 years, there have been so many advances in our knowledge of what specific proteins look like in terms of their three dimensional structure. I can often find in the literature new stories, new contemporary findings, and new discoveries to share with students in the class.

04 - Candice Viddal (May 2016)What are you researching and writing right now?

I study protein dynamics with computer modeling. This means that I track the motions of the tens of thousands of atoms that compose a protein as a way of trying to understand how it performs its function. When proteins do their job, they have to jiggle around. They’re generally very, very dynamic. One of my particular interests is in tracking the energy flow. That is, if an event happens in a protein, I’m interested in knowing how the information of that event, like the binding of a chemical, transmits throughout the protein so that the rest of the protein responds to it.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

I’m reading Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears. It’s a historical mystery novel about the rise and fall of a wealthy man named John Stone around World War I. The story has a very interesting structure: three different people in three different locations at three different times tell it. What I find particularly interesting about the book is that Iain Pears understands the human condition very well. He gets into the characters’ minds and plumbs the depths of their experience, which makes for an engaging narrative.

What do you most long for in your work?

One dream I have is for CMU to eventually offer a Bachelor of Science degree program. Another dream I have is to teach a “Big Ideas” course in science. Right now, I teach very rigorous scientific courses, and I enjoy that. But I would also love to be able to teach courses that engage with students that are not necessarily interested in the real heavy duty mechanics of the subject, but maybe are intrigued by the concepts. I’d love to teach “Science for Poets,” or something like that. It always fascinates me to think about how I would approach a course like that.

What saying or motto inspires you?

I don’t know who said it, but “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” I often think about that. It inspires me to grow daily and to live courageously. It also serves as a reminder that we can do a lot more than we imagine sometimes.

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Faculty: In Their Own Words – Andrew Dyck

Andrew Dyck, Assistant Professor of Ministry Studies, has taught at CMU since January 2013. Prior to coming to CMU, Andrew worked as a pastor for 16 years in Abbotsford, BC.

What are you researching and writing right now?

I’m working to finish my doctoral dissertation this summer. I’m writing about the nature of Mennonite Brethren spirituality. I’m looking at 150 years of Mennonite Brethren history and asking what place spiritual direction or Taizé singing, and lectio divina—these so-called contemplative practices—have in a tradition that wouldn’t normally have gone there, but that includes people who are finding those practices helpful.

Where or how do students give you hope?

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I teach a graduate seminar called Supervised Ministry Experience. The course provides an opportunity for a supervised internship experience in a congregation or other ministry setting, and runs for two or three semesters. In the last six weeks of their last semester, I watch students own their identity as a Christian minister. My priority is to say, it’s not just about what skills you have, it’s about what kind person you are. And I watch them becoming those kinds of people. Seeing men and women becoming leaders gives me a lot of hope.

What do you most long for in your work?

At CMU I interact with students from all over the world and from all different Christian backgrounds, including Mennonite, Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, and more. One of the things I long for is that Christians will treat each other with generosity from their different backgrounds; that they will say, “I can learn from you,” and vice versa: “I’ve got something to offer that I think you could use.” CMU started as two denominations committed to doing that. Now, there’s this explosion of all kinds of other groups here, and that generosity is something I long for and I think is happening.

Do you have any interesting projects underway in the broader community or church?

Last year, I spent about five months memorizing the book of Ephesians. I did it walking to and from work. Thirty hours of work and it was basically memorized. I’ve had a chance to recite it as a sermon three times now, and I’ve just gotten another invitation from a church to do that. It takes 17 minutes, and then afterward we talk about what people heard. People hear things they’ve never heard before, which I can relate to: I’d taught Ephesians at Columbia Bible College, and I’d preached it as a pastor, but by memorizing it I saw connections I’d never seen before. It’s very powerful.

What saying or motto inspires you?

In Matthew 13:52, Jesus says, “Every scribe [or Bible scholar-teacher] who has been discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” That verse sums up what I try to do. I get to draw on treasures from ancient times and from current times, and I get to package them and offer them to people and say: Look, is there something here you can use? Hopefully I do it in a way that’s in the service of the Kingdom.

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Faculty: In Their Own Words – Dr. Janet Brenneman

IMG_7244Dr. Janet Brenneman, Associate Professor of Music and Dean of the School of Music, has taught at CMU since 2001.

What do you love about your work here?

One of the things that I love about working here is that I can continue to explore, work through, and express the deep connection between music and my faith. Faith and music have always been integral in my life, and to be able to bring that into an academic setting is something I really appreciate about this particular place.

What are you teaching right now that most excites you?

This is the first year I’m teaching a conducting class and it has become a source of great joy for me. It’s fun watching students explore the ways they can invite sound through gesture to create something they’re wanting to hear.

What are you researching and writing right now?

In May, I’m headed to Edmonton, AB to attend Podium, Choral Canada’s annual conference. At the conference, I will be part of a panel of women choral conductors discussing community building and leadership, and what that means for women on the podium. I focused my doctoral dissertation on gender issues and the formative experiences of women choral conductors, so I’m looking forward to getting back into that research and exploring it further in preparation for the conference.

What are you reading for enjoyment?

I’m reading Ru by Kim Thúy, which won the CBC’s Canada Reads: One Book to Break Barriers competition last year. It’s based on the author’s experiences of having to leave Saigon, and then spending time in a refugee camp in Malaysia before finally settling in Quebec. This is in the ‘70s during the Vietnam War. I remember that time because there were refugees that came from Vietnam and settled in my hometown of Wellesley, ON. I remember clearly how that impacted our community, and how the community responded to that.

IMG_7245What do you most long for in your work?

I long for students to feel as though they’ve been challenged and pushed, but also nurtured along the way. I want students to feel that they have a voice and that they’ve had opportunity for that voice to develop and grow. I’ve seen that happen. I’ve seen students come in who have been quite shy, quite introverted, and I think we have allowed them to really bring out the best in themselves, whatever that is. I want it to be individualized. I want them to feel they can be genuine and open in their music making.

What saying or motto inspires you?

American poet and feminist Adrienne Rich said, “[Y]ou cannot afford to think of being here to receive an education: you will do much better to think of being here to claim one.” What I take this to mean is that you have to be proactive. You have to put into something what it is that you want to get out of it. Education is this reciprocal kind of relationship—you can’t simply expect yourself to be fed without also helping to prepare and be part of the process.

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Faculty: In Their Own Words – Dr. Paul Dyck

Dr. Paul Dyck,  Professor of English, has taught at CMU since 2000.

What do you love about your work here?
Paul Dyck Interview 2 retouch

Many things, but one is that I get into interesting conversations with professors from different disciplines. Kenton Lobe, who teaches international development, is in the office across the hall from me, and we’re constantly batting around ideas. We were just looking at a four-book poem by Virgil, The Georgics, which are about farm labour back in classical Rome, and tossing around the idea of maybe putting together a course that would look at poetry about the farm from Virgil to Wendell Berry. It’s a real privilege to work in a place with such a gifted and dedicated group of interesting people.

What are you teaching right now that most excites you?

I’m teaching an upper level course that I haven’t taught before on the sonnet as a poetic form. The sonnet was developed in 14th century Italy, and it’s one of these inventions that just worked really well. There’s no rule that says poets should keep writing them, but pretty much all the significant poets have at least one sonnet. It’s a poetic form that has this kind of attraction that goes beyond questions of culture and language and even topic. It starts off as something devoted to love poetry, and today you’ve got sonnets on practically any topic you could name.

What are you researching and writing right now?
Paul Dyck InterviewI’m working on a book about George Herbert. George Herbert was an early 17th century poet and also an Anglican minister. He’s got this masterful use of the language where he can use the plainest of utterances and make them carry such depth so that you can read and re-read his work. It’s very inviting, but also very profound. I’m combining my interest in Herbert with my interest in book history, which looks at the material history of the books that we read. Typically in Herbert studies you get a lot of theological criticism, and you might get some material criticism, but I don’t think it’s really been adequately explored how the two go together. In Herbert, the material becomes incarnational.

What are you reading for enjoyment?
I just finished In The Rose Garden of the Martyrs: A Memoir of Iran, by Christopher de Bellaigue, an English writer who is married to an Iranian woman and who spent many years living in Iran. This past December, I travelled to Iran and took a short course on Islam at an institute that CMU has a partnership with. Reading In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs revealed a more complicated story than I would have understood just being there for a week. It’s fascinating how reading can broaden and give more depth to the experience of travelling somewhere.

Do you have any interesting projects underway in the broader community or church?
Recently I was involved with the Anglican Diocese of Rupert’s Land in its Theological Education Commission, which reassessed how the church prepares ministers for their work, and also how the church thinks about theological education broadly. It was very engaging work.

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Event planned to celebrate books published by CMU faculty

‘The CMU faculty is doing very significant work,’ says vice president

CMU faculty who will be a part of the book celebration. From top-left; Froese; Doerksen; Gerbrandt; Sorenson
Among the published CMU faculty to be featured in the December 9 book celebration are (clockwise from top-left) Froese, Doerksen, Sorensen, and Gerbrandt.

Peacebuilding in Laos, the history of Mennonites in California, Deuteronomy, and the portrayal of clergy in pop culture—recent books by faculty from Canadian Mennonite University cover a wide range of topics.

The university will recognize faculty who have published work in the last year-and-a-half at a special celebration happening on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 3:00 PM.

The celebration will take place at folio café in Marpeck Commons (2299 Grant Ave.). Admission is free, and all are welcome to attend.

In addition to selling and signing their books, CMU faculty will give brief presentations about their work.

“The CMU faculty is doing very significant work,” says Dr. Dietrich Bartel, Interim Vice President Academic. “We want to highlight that.”

The event will celebrate the following books:

  • Deuteronomy (Herald Press, 2015) by Dr. Gerald E. Gerbrandt, President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Bible. The 29th volume in the Believers Church Bible Commentary series, Deuteronomy examines divine grace and the practices of justice and right living.
  • Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding in Laos: Perspective for Today’s World (Routledge, 2015) by Dr. Stephanie Stobbe, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution Studies. Using the case study of Laos, a small country that has seen brutal poverty and violence, this book examines the power of traditional and indigenous conflict resolution systems as a tool for social justice.
  • The Outsiders’ Gaze: Life and Labour on the Mennonite West Reserve 1874-1922 (Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, 2015), co-edited by Dr. Adolf Ens, Professor Emeritus of History and Theology. This book is a perspective of Mennonites through the eyes of outsiders from 1874-1922 when 7,000 Mennonites emigrated from southern Russia and settled in Manitoba.
  • Inner Peace Through Conflict Transformation (2015) by Dr. Paul Redekop, Professor Emeritus of Conflict Resolution Studies. This is a groundbreaking guide that aids readers in achieving a more peaceful relationship with themselves by applying basic strategies of conflict resolution to inner conflict.
  • James and Paul: The Politics of Identity at the Turn of the Ages (Fortress Press, 2015) by Dr. V. George Shillington, Professor Emeritus of Biblical and Theological Studies. This book seeks to understand the different but complementary missions of the apostle Paul and James of Jerusalem.
  • Voices of Harmony & Dissent: How Peacebuilders are Changing Their Worlds (CMU Press, 2015), co-edited by Dr. Jarem Sawatsky, Professor Emeritus of Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies and Valerie Smith, Co-Director of CMU’s Canadian School of Peacebuilding. This book explores the stories, theory, and tools of 16 peace leaders, trainers, and activists from around the world.
  • California Mennonites (John Hopkins University Press, 2015) by Dr. Brian Froese, Associate Professor of History. This book examines the Mennonite experience in the Golden State, from the 19th century migrants who came in search of sunshine and fertile soil to the evangelically oriented, partially assimilated Mennonites of today.
  • Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology: Law, Order, and Civil Society (Wipf and Stock, 2014), edited by Dr. Paul Doerksen, Associate Professor of Theology and Anabaptist Studies. This collection of essays by the late theologian Dr. A. James Reimer pursues the investigation of theological realities that are to serve as the engine of a political theology that seeks to articulate both a critical and a positive-constructive approach to public/political life and institutions.
  • The Collar: Reading Christian Ministry in Fiction, Television, and Film (Cascade, 2014) by Dr. Sue Sorensen, Associate Professor of English. This is a wide-ranging study of the many ways Christian ministers have been represented on page and screen. Ranging across several nations, denominations, and eras, The Collar is an inquiry into pastoral passion, frustration, and fallibility. 

Because each author has a background in teaching and is also involved in a church community, their work will appeal to a variety of readers, including lay readers, pastors, teachers, and more.

 “These writers are not just speaking to other scholars,” says Dr. Vic Froese, Library Director at CMU, who is organizing the December 9 event. “They are aware that there is an audience that has a more practical interest in what they have written.”

Froese is looking forward to the celebration.

“I hope that people who attend learn more about the excellence we have here on our faculty,” he says, adding that the event is also meant to recognize the hard work of CMU’s professors. “We want to express our appreciation to them and congratulate them on a job well done.”

About CMU
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as graduate degrees in theology, ministry, peacebuilding and collaborative development, and an MBA. CMU has over 800 full-time equivalent students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses and in its Outtatown certificate program. 

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

For additional information, please contact:
Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB  R3P 2N2

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CMU prof completes unfinished book by mentor, friend

Paul Doerksen’s latest book is one he hoped he would never have to work on.

Doerksen, Associate Professor of Theology and Anabaptist Studies at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), is the editor of Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology: Law, Order, and Civil Society. Published this past October by Wipf and Stock, the book is a collection of essays by the late theologian A. James Reimer.

2015-03-12 - Doerksen Book (TaAPT) 03
Paul Doerksen (right), Associate Professor of Theology and Anabaptist Studies at CMU, is the editor of Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology: Law, Order, and Civil Society, a collection of essays by the late theologian James Reimer (left).

Reimer, who was diagnosed with cancer while working on the book, called Doerksen in 2010 and asked if Doerksen would finish the book and find a publisher for it if he were to die before completing it.

“I agreed in a heartbeat out of respect for him and his work,” says Doerksen, who developed a deep friendship with Reimer after Reimer served as the advisor for his Master’s thesis. “I recall hoping that I wouldn’t have to keep good on the promise – that he would survive long enough to finish it himself. That would have been great.”

Six weeks after that phone call, Reimer died.

Doerksen and Reimer had collaborated in the past, and Doerksen approached his work preparing Reimer’s essays for publication with sadness, respect, and a sense of privilege.

“His voice comes through so clearly in his writing that it just felt like the work was continuing, only more slowly than if he had been there,” Doerksen says.

2015-03-12 - Doerksen Book (TaAPT) 02
Reimer graduated from Canadian Mennonite Bible College, one of CMU’s predecessor colleges, in 1963.

More slowly, and not as fun. Reimer was a humorous, engaging man who enjoyed cooking for friends and family.

“I missed all those things,” Doerksen says. “Nonetheless, the voice and the development of an argument – and the passion for what he was trying to do – was sort of a constant companion when I was working with his material.”

Political theology is a burgeoning field. In the book, Reimer argues for a more positive embrace of law, order, and civil society than Anabaptists have historically offered.

“He was trying to do Anabaptist work in the field, but in a way that was far more open to classical Christianity, especially the kind that was developed in the first four centuries,” says Doerksen, adding that he appreciates the comprehensiveness of Reimer’s project. “I think it’s a fresh voice.”

Reimer was Professor of Religious Studies and Christian Theology at Conrad Grebel University College and at the Toronto School of Theology, and was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 2008.

2015-03-12 - Doerksen Book (TaAPT) 04
Doerksen with Reimer’s wife, Margaret Loewen Reimer, at the Waterloo launch for the book.

He was an alumnus of Canadian Mennonite Bible College, one of CMU’s predecessor colleges. In 2010, CMU presented him with a Blazer Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his contribution of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.

Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology is the third book by Reimer published posthumously.

Christians and War: A Brief History of the Church’s Teachings and Practices was published the month after his death, and La dynamique de la foi chrétienne: Quand les dogmes libérent l’imagination – a French translation of his 2003 book, The Dogmatic Imagination – was published last year.

Reimer’s wife, Margaret Loewen Reimer, says she is happy Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology is available.

“Paul did a really good job of presenting the essays,” Loewen Reimer says. “Jim would have been delighted.”

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Canadian Mennonite University announces three new faculty appointments

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is pleased to announce three new faculty appointments.

Rachel Krause and Matthew Pauls will join CMU’s main campus faculty as Assistant Professor of Biology and Assistant Professor of Music, respectively. Jobb Arnold will join the faculty of Menno Simons College (MSC), a college of CMU, as Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution Studies.

All of the positions are tenure-track, and each person will begin work in time for the 2015-16 school year.

Gordon Zerbe, Vice President Academic at CMU, says he is pleased to have Krause, Pauls, and Arnold join the university.

“I’m excited about the way they will make their own unique contribution to CMU’s faculty culture and our programs,” Zerbe says. “They all fill in gaps in our program, and at the same time, they each bring something fresh and new.”

Zerbe adds that with these new hires, CMU has 31 full-time faculty members, 93 per cent of whom have earned PhDs.

“As evidenced by CMU’s number one ranking for academic quality in the recent CUSC survey of Canadian universities, we are dedicated to academic excellence,” Zerbe says. “Each of these professors brings an academic quality and background that will enhance our already robust interdisciplinary-minded faculty. They will provide our students with exciting new learning opportunities and expand the institution’s scope of research.”

About CMU’s new faculty:

Matthew PaulsMatthew Pauls is a CMU alumnus currently completing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Western Ontario. Pauls’ speciality is Voice Performance and his research focuses on Argentine Art Song, a body of repertoire that is virtually unknown in the greater performance and scholarly communities.

An accomplished baritone, Pauls has performed as a featured soloist with ensembles such as the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Paraguay, Windsor Symphony, Canadian Chamber Choir, Winnipeg Singers, Guelph Chamber Choir, Windsor Classic Chorale, and the Windsor Symphony Chorus.

“The way that CMU makes an intentional effort to create a caring, supportive environment that really helps encourage intellectual and interpersonal growth in terms of relationships was one of the reasons I wanted to come back and be a part of the community again,” Pauls says. “I’m excited to be part of students’ experience at CMU and to try to make their experience as good as the one I had.”

Rachel KrauseRachel Krause recently completed her PhD dissertation at the Institute of Parasitology at the McGill School of Environment at McGill University, and will defend it next month. For her doctoral research, Krause looked at how the health of preschool children in extremely poor rural communities in Panama has been affected by their families’ participation in a food security intervention based on agricultural development.

Krause’s background in ecology and environment has also led to broad experiences ranging from salmon habitat evaluation and restoration in her native British Columbia, to parasitism and pollution studies of fish in the St. Lawrence River.

Krause says she was impressed by the community she experienced during a campus visit while applying for the job.

“I get the sense that at CMU, there’s a strong desire to collaborate formally and informally across disciplines, which I love to do,” Krause says.

Jobb ArnoldJobb Arnold holds a PhD in Cultural Studies from Queen’s University and has research expertise in the comparative study of post-conflict cultures. Arnold specializes in genocide studies, the dynamics of social movements, and the role of aesthetics and public emotion in community building practices.

Arnold has a background in conflict studies theory and social psychology. His doctoral research took him to Rwanda and Northern Ireland.

Arnold’s research and teaching is motivated by a concern for social justice. He has taught in Conflict Resolution Studies, Development Studies, and Psychology departments.

“MSC has been a ground-breaking institute in developing Winnipeg’s reputation for progressive and engaged scholarship in the areas of conflict studies, human rights, and intercultural reconciliation,” Arnold says, adding that MSC’s core values of peace, service, and justice lie at the heart of much of his work. “I look forward to upholding these values and furthering the causes of peace and social justice in all my activities.”

About CMU
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as graduate degrees in theology, ministry, peacebuilding and collaborative development, and an MBA. CMU has over about 900 full-time equivalent students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses and in its Outtatown certificate program.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

For additional information, please contact:
Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB  R3P 2N2