EDUCATION
In the School of Education we seek to
develop teachers who can discern biblical
truth and appropriately communicate it in
the classroom. We believe that Christian
teachers, whether in Christian or public
schools, do not have to disregard their
faith when they enter the schoolhouse
doors. Regardless of context, we believe
that Christian teachers should not simply
preserve the veracity of God’s truth, but
also advance the Kingdom by presenting
truth in creative, excellent, and innovative
ways that both transform and bless their
students and their schools.
To accomplish this goal, School of
Education faculty teach future teachers
using four principles of integration —
stewardship, reconciliation, image of God,
and justice — to align God’s truth with
both the content and the methods they
use to teach. For example, reconciliation
means repairing the damage of sin in a
fallen world and seeking to restore the
relationships between humanity and God,
others, nature, or one’s self. This means
understanding how sin has distorted the
intent of God evident from Scripture or the
natural order and seeking ways in which
that intent can be restored.
In my education psychology class,
we noted how one theorist believes
that the human motivation to learn is
driven by a desire to have mastery over
one’s environment, which is really a
manifestation of the sin nature. The
integrative correction is to demonstrate
that the motivation to learn is active and
placed in us by God so we can be stewards
of creation and use our time, talents, gifts,
resources, and abilities (including our
learning) to glorify God and work for the
betterment of others.
Eddie K. Baumann, Ph.D.
Senior Professor of Education
PHARMACY
As a faculty member in the Department of
Pharmaceutical Sciences of the School of
Pharmacy, I oversee the department that
teaches the foundational science course
work in the first year of the professional
pharmacy program. As scholars in the
basic sciences, our job is to discover God’s
truth, elucidating the amazing complexity
with which God created us. In doing so, we
are obeying the mandate laid out in Psalm
111:2: “Great are the works of the Lord; they
are pondered by all who delight in them.”
We already understand somany wonderful
examples of the complexity of the human
body, yet we continue to be amazed by how
much more there is to learn.
One small example of God’s intricate
design can be seen when we study the
blood-clotting process. Even as a clot
forms, which is the body’s defense against
hemorrhaging, there is an opposing
process at work that prevents the forming
clot from becoming large enough to
obstruct the blood vessel. The more we
understand the body and how it works,
the better equipped we will be to design
and develop medications that can be used
to help the body function the way in which
it was designed.
Our study of how the body works so
clearly reveals God’s power and creativity.
We join the psalmist in praising God that
we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”
(Ps. 139:14).
Rebecca Gryka, Ph.D., Pharm.D.
Chair, Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical
Sciences
INDUSTRIAL AND
INNOVATIVE DESIGN
The experience at the International
Center for Creativity in Columbus is
unique in so many ways for students in
the Industrial and Innovative Design
program. To our knowledge, Cedarville
is the only evangelical Christian school
to offer industrial design, and we have an
important responsibility to impact this
professional field for Christ.
From day one we communicate that
in order to unlock creativity and develop
a creative vision, you need to know the
Creator. God is the master designer, and
He has surrounded us withHis handiwork.
Our idyllic studio setting in the natural
beauty of woods and streams provides the
perfect backdrop to illustrate that every
day. It is a humbling experience to see
His handiwork.
In the Industrial and Innovative Design
program, we teach students that true
discovery is not finding something new but
rather training your heart, mind, eyes, and
ears to experience — and then reveal —
what has been there all along. That process
begins with humility. The apostle Peter
writes, “Humble yourselves, therefore,
under the mighty hand of God, that He
may exalt you in due time” (1 Pet. 5:6). God
desires that we seek Him first (Matt. 6:33)
and approach Him with a humble heart,
and then He will add “all these things.”
The art and occupation of creativity is a
masterful giftGod gives to the humble who
turn their talents over to Him.
Jim “J.D.” Orr
CEO and Lead Instructor,
International Center for Creativity
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Cedarville Magazine
