MACON — Prominent evangelical scholar the Rev. Dr. Anthony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University, and founder and president of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, has been named the 2008 Harry Vaughan Smith Distinguished Visiting Professor of Christianity. Campolo will give three lectures as part of his appointment. The lectures are free and open to the public.
Campolo will deliver his lectures in Newton Hall on Mercer’s Macon campus; each lecture will build upon the theme “A Sociological Deconstruction of American Christianity.” The times and subjects of each lecture are: Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 10:50 a.m. “Durkheim and Marx Considered and Critiqued;” Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m., “Being Christian in a Post-Modern Society;” and Wednesday, Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. “Becoming Red Letter Christians.”
“Tony Campolo’s deep and broad understanding of society and his unwavering commitments to justice make him an excellent selection for this professorship,” said event organizer Richard F. Wilson, the chair of the Roberts Department of Christianity. “His energetic and passionate style promises a rewarding lecture series this year.”
Through his EAPE ministry, Campolo has worked to create, nurture and support programs for “at-risk” children in cities across North America, and has helped establish schools and universities in several developing countries. He is the author of 35 books, with the latest release coming this month, with “Red Letter Christians, A Citizen’s Guide to Faith and Politics,” and July 2007 “The God of Intimacy and Action.”
Campolo is a media commentator on religious, social and political matters, having been on such television programs as “The Colbert Report,” “Nightline,” “Crossfire,” “Politically Incorrect,” “The Charlie Rose Show,” and “Larry King Live.” He co-hosted his own television series, “Hashing It Out,” on the Odyssey Network, and is also a highly respected and sought after guest on radio stations across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Campolo is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Eastern University in St. Davids, Penn. He previously served for 10 years on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Eastern College and earned a Ph.D. from Temple University.
An ordained minister, Campolo has served American Baptist Churches in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and is presently recognized as an associate pastor of the Mount Carmel Baptist Church in West Philadelphia.
About the Harry Vaughan Smith Professorship:
The Harry Vaughan Smith Distinguished Visiting Professor of Christianity was established at Mercer University in 1990 through a generous a gift from Dr. and Mrs. Harry Vaughan Smith. A 1924 graduate of Mercer, the late Harry Vaughan Smith served as pastor of several prominent churches in Georgia before becoming alumni secretary and assistant to the president at Mercer in 1946, a post he held until 1955. From 1955 to 1970, he served as the executive director of the Georgia Baptist Foundation. Smith is remembered for his faithful work on behalf of all Georgia Baptist causes and his support of Christian education.
About Mercer University:
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University has 7,300 students; 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies; major campuses in Macon and Atlanta; four regional academic centers across the state; a university press; two teaching hospitals — Memorial Health University Medical Center and the Medical Center of Central Georgia; educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta; an engineering research center in Warner Robins; a performing arts center in Macon; and a NCAA Division I athletic program. For more information, visit
www.mercer.edu
.
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