The Wheaton Center for Early Christian Studies (WCECS)

Director: Dr. George Kalantzis, professor of theology

THE WHEATON CENTER FOR EARLY CHRISTIAN STUDIES hosted Dr. Daniel H. Williams, professor of patristics and historical theology at Baylor University, who delivered the 2017 Papatheofanis Lecture on Early Christianity, titled “A Lamp Unto my Feet? How the Early Fathers Teach us to Read Scripture.” In collaboration with Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and the University of St. Mary of the Lake, WCECS convened the Fall Reading Group of the Chicago Theological Initiative, where Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox theologians and historians analyzed one of the earliest surviving treatments of the Genesis creation narrative, Basil of Caesarea’s Homilies on the Hexaemeron. This spring, WCECS will co-convene with Dr. Matthew Levering of the University of St. Mary of the Lake and The Center for Scriptural Exegesis, Philosophy, and Doctrine an ecumenical discussion on creation and the problem of evil.

The Wheaton Center for Faith, Politics & Economics (FPE)

Director: Captain David Iglesias ’80, Judge Advocate General’s Corps, United States Navy (Ret.)

THE WHEATON CENTER FOR FAITH, POLITICS & ECONOMICS hosted Peter Wehner, who presented “Christian Political Witness in the Age of Trump” last spring. Wehner is a Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times, and the former deputy director of speechwriting for George W. Bush. During the summer, the Center sponsored students in the study abroad program Iron Sharpens Iron (ISI), where they learned about the state of free market capitalism in the former Eastern Bloc countries of the Czech Republic, Poland, and the Baltic States. In the fall, Nigel Cameron, president of the Center for Policy on Emerging Technologies, presented “Robotics and Emerging Technologies—Friend or Foe of the American Worker?” 

Billy Graham Center (BGC)

Executive Director: Dr. Ed Stetzer, The Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism

THE BILLY GRAHAM CENTER hosted its second GC2 Summit in October, which focused on mass incarceration and the role of the church, following the January 2017 Summit on the global migration crisis. Throughout the fall, the Center also hosted “Evangelism in the Public Square” events and lectures and launched the Send Institute for church planters in partnership with the North American Mission Board. Ed Stetzer, the Billy Graham Distinguished Chair of Church, Mission, and Evangelism, became the new North American regional director for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. The Center is also preparing for Amplify 2018, which will be held June 26-28, 2018 at High Point Church in Naperville, IL. 

Opus: The Art of Work

Director: Dr. Chris Armstrong Assistant Director: Ben Norquist

OPUS: THE ART OF WORK partnered with the Chaplain’s office to host three vocation-themed chapels in the fall. Speakers included Max Anderson on the vocation of being a student; Will Haughey on responding to vocational failure; and Ruth Haley Barton ’81 on vocational discernment. On the heels of a successful summer 2017 Colloquium on Christian Social Thought, Opus plans to collaborate with the Acton Institute once again to offer a new colloquium on current topics. Opus will also partner with the Graduate School to host a Q Union event featuring David Brooks, Kara Powell, and Propaganda (spoken word artist) sharing the stage with hand-picked Wheaton students. Chris Armstrong, director of Opus, collaborated with external partners and Wheaton faculty for a session on vocation and human flourishing at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in November. 

The Marion E. Wade Center of Wheaton College 

The Marion E. Wade Center will host the second and third talks of the 2017-2018 Hansen Lectureship  series titled “Community or Chaos?: Searching for Clues in the Works of Dorothy L. Sayers,” by Dr. Christine Colón, associate professor of English, on February 1 and March 22, 2018. This spring at the Wade, the last two in a series of four lectures on literary works by C. S. Lewis titled “The Neglected C. S. Lewis” will be presented by Dr. Jerry Root and Mark Neal on January 23 and April 19. For the Lenten season, Dr. David J. P. Hooker, professor of art, is leading reflections on C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters, Wednesdays at noon February 21–March 28. In June 2018, the Wade will co-host a C.S. Lewis conference at Wheaton College with the C.S. Lewis Institute of Chicago. 

The Center for Urban Engagement at Wheaton College (CUE)

Dr. Christa Tooley, assistant professor of urban studies and anthropology, had her peer-reviewed article titled “Competition and Community in Edinburgh: Contradictions in Neoliberal Urban Development” published in Social Anthropology. Dr. Noah Toly, professor of urban studies and political science, published an essay on “The New Urban Agenda and the Limits of Cities” in The Hedgehog Review. Matt Desmond, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, visited campus on November 9, 2017, to discuss his best-selling book, Evicted, which explores poverty and economic exploitation in housing in the American city. Lastly, a record number of students (22) participated in Wheaton in Chicago program in the fall.

Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI) 

Director: Dr. Jamie Aten, the Dr. Arthur P. Rech and Mrs. Jean May Rech associate professor of psychology

HDI launches its new Master of Arts in Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership in June 2018. HDI faculty, staff, collaborators, and students presented research at the American Psychological Association convention in Washington, DC in August. While there, HDI founder and executive director Jamie Aten and managing director Jenny Hwang met with leaders from the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services as well as USAID. Jenny Hwang and communications specialist Laura Leonard both presented at the Crisis Publishing Initiative in Sopron, Hungary in October. From there they traveled to Kenya, where they spent time with partners at the International Association for Refugees in the Kakuma Refugee Camp. HDI will host their annual Disaster Ministry Conference at Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, June 21-23, 2018. The theme of this year’s event is “Do Justice. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly.”