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One of the blessings of being a faculty member at a Christian college, is the ability to perform research that is interesting and relevant. This allows for a broad-based approach to scholarly activity, in keeping with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professorate report. Four types of scholarly activity were recognized by this report: the scholarship of teaching, the scholarship of discovery, the scholarship of integration, and the scholarship of application. This categorization is one that often brings out the best in educators.
In the Christian college, faith and scholarship should go hand-in-hand. Christian professors are well equipped to examine issues of faith-learning integration. They can investigate social issues. They can learn about ethical issues. Even when looking at theoretical issues, the Christian professor can bring reality into the process, and thereby make significant contributions to the field.
Another blessing of being a faculty member at a Christian college is that I can choose the appropriate journal to publish in, or meeting to present at, rather than having to try to get published in the "best" journals or present at the "top" meetings.
One drawback of being a faculty member at a Christian college is that fewer resources are available for research. This drawback is real, and it influences the types of research that can be undertaken. I have not found this drawback, however, to prevent me from doing high-quality research; it merely makes me be more creative concerning the types of research projects that I choose to pursue.
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