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Letter Sample Essay

Decent Essays

I am enthusiastic to apply for the Theology and Religious Studies Chair at the College of St. Scholastica. I am Dean of the Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) program at Community of Christ Seminary, Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. As Dean, I am an experienced teacher and collaborative administrator. I teach online graduate courses in theology and Christian ethics, as well as face-to-face undergraduate courses in religion on our residential campus. I am academic advisor for our MAR students. I am also responsible for supervising seminary faculty and staff, budget oversight and assessment. I bring pastoral experience having served as Campus Minister over a body of diverse students and faculty at a faith-based university. I …show more content…

Your commitment to academic excellence is demonstrated by the average 3.5 GPA for incoming freshman (2014). Your fall-to-fall retention rate for freshman (81-84% for 2011-2015) also shows faculty’s commitment to student success. The college’s 6-year graduation rate is higher than Minnesota’s average and national graduation rates. This sets you apart as a school of educational quality.

More importantly, however, is your commitment to underrepresented minority students. The 6-year graduation rate for underrepresented minority students is lower than your average. This, of course, reflects the systemic injustices of America’s education system. What inspires me is your strategic plan for Inclusive Excellence. It responds to this statistic with goals that prioritize the needs of underrepresented minority students. This demonstrates your commitment to Catholic Social Teaching and Benedictine values. I share your vision. My own theological and ethical commitments, shaped by feminist and liberation theologies, reflect your vision for justice and community in education. The common good begins with God’s love and preference for the oppressed and disadvantaged. Justice and the worth of persons lie at the heart of theological institutions and education. In addition to teaching liberative social ethics, I have developed undergrad religion courses that attempt to reach underrepresented minority students.

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