Renee Reed
Reporter
April 22, 2005
Milligan College Drs. Lee and Pat Magness are preparing for their sabbaticals during the fall . They will be using their time away to write a textbook about Jesus in the arts.
“We have taught a course on Jesus in the arts for several years, and each time we have tried to find an appropriate textbook,” said Pat Magness, professor of humanities and English, who is also the director of humanities. “We are still looking, and several years ago we began talking about the possibility of developing our own textbook for the course. We made this proposal in our sabbatical applications, and it was accepted by the college.”
Both professors are eager to spend time writing the book together by focusing on the spiritual and academic images of Jesus. They also look forward to traveling and spending time reading and writing without the daily responsibilities of teaching and administration.
“We love teaching and being with Milligan students, but it is also good to have a break sometimes to learn new things, encounter new people and develop a wider perspective,” said Pat Magness.
Taking a sabbatical gives a professor time to work or study abroad, write a book or become involved in some type of learning experience.
“In theory, the word sabbatical refers to every seven years,” said Lee Magness, Britton Professor of Bible. Although most professors do not receive a sabbatical that often, they are allowed no more then one every seven years. “I have been teaching for 21 years at Milligan, and this is my second sabbatical I have taken, so I average about one every ten years,” said Lee Magness.
“As far as our classes, either other Milligan professors teach them, or we put them off a year and change our teaching schedule to accommodate our absences,” said Pat Magness.
In order to compensate for the Magness’ sabbaticals, Old Testament and freshmen humanities section professors will have larger classes in the fall, and Dr. Craig Farmer, associate professor of history and humanities, will take over the position of director of humanities for the year. “We are very grateful to our colleagues for their willingness to support our efforts in this way,” said Pat Magness.