Common Day of Thinking - In Focus - Azusa Pacific University

Common Day of Thinking
By Janna Perrien

Open your minds and let the thinking begin. Wednesday, March 7, classes will cease, and students will put their books and assignments aside for the Ninth Annual William E. and Ernest L. Boyer Common Day of Learning (CDL). This year's event will encourage students to Think – an appropriate theme for a day devoted to stretching and exercising one's mind. "We want the community to think about God and scholarship in dramatically different ways," shared Robyn Reid, CDL graduate intern.

With regularly scheduled classes canceled, students will gather on West Campus, where the entire day's events will take place. This year's keynote speaker, Kelly Monroe, cofounder of the Harvard Veritas Forum , will kick off the day in the Felix Event Center. The Veritas Forum was established as an interdisciplinary exploration of truth (veritas) in relation to Jesus Christ. Directly following her address, students will take part in breakout sessions in the Darling Library or Mary Hill classrooms.

In 1993, CDL was established to bring the APU community together to celebrate the academic heritage of the university and examine current issues from a Christian perspective. The event honors William E. and Ernest L. Boyer's dedication to higher education. William served as dean of APU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the founding director of institutional research. His brother, Ernest, was the president of the Carnegie Foundation, which pursues advancement of education.

"Students will be challenged to think critically about what they believe through interactive, hands-on kinds of activities discussing a wide range of topics including the Holy Trinity, women and the media, and human sexuality," said Reid. The sessions will be led by faculty, staff, and students, many of whom will present papers and research. "CDL is significant because as a university dedicated to Christian scholarship, we are giving students a chance to explore what that means, by raising questions and having intellectual discussions," said Reid. CDL will also feature special guest speaker J. P. Moreland, Ph.D., author and coauthor of Love God with All Your Mind, Christianity and the Nature of Science, and Saving the Secular City, Does God Exist? The day will conclude with a concert by All Together Separate – the first official concert in the Felix Event Center.

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