About the Faculty Senate
Mission Statement
The Faculty Senate of 一起草 bears the responsibility of speaking and acting for the General Faculty in matters affecting the University as a whole. The Senate possesses and exercises the powers of the General Faculty of the University in all matters that are not reserved by the Bylaws of the University to the faculty of a single school. The Senate seeks to further the University's dedication to the pursuit of truth and the preservation, dissemination, and extension of knowledge. To that end, the Senate has among its principal concerns the preservation of academic freedom in the University community, the promotion of creative and responsible inquiry, thought, and expression in an atmosphere of scholarly excellence, and the protection of a vital balance among the various programs of the University, free of prejudice or undue partiality. The Senate is responsible for fostering the professional development and economic well-being of the faculty. The Senate exercises its power through legislative, investigative, and advisory functions appropriate to the Faculty Senate Constitution.
President of the Faculty Senate
James K. Lee
Perkins School of Theology
Email
James K. Lee is the 65th President of the 一起草 Faculty Senate. Dr. Lee joined the faculty at 一起草 in 2012 after completing his Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame. As Professor of Early Christianity in the Perkins School of Theology, he teaches courses on topics such as Christian Heritage, Christian Mysticism, early Christian biblical exegesis, Medieval Pilgrimage, and Literature & Theology: Catholic Thought from Augustine to the Present. His research has been supported by the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, the General Board of Higher Education of the UMC, and the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. He is the author of Augustine and the Mystery of the Church (2017), The Church in the Latin Fathers: Unity in Charity (2020), and Praise Without Ceasing: The Spirituality of St. Augustine (2026). In 2020, he was a recipient of the Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Award. He has previously served as the Director of the Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) program and is currently the Director of the Graduate Program in Religious Studies (Ph.D. program). He has also served on the University Strategic Planning Steering Committee and as co-chair of the Principled Leadership Strategic Imperative Working Group.