First Fellowship Schedule

First Fellowship Adult Programs

September 11
9-11: Four Years Later
Dr. Chris Marsh

Chris Marsh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Soviet and East European Studies and a Master’s Degree in Internation Studies from Central Connecticut State University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Connecticut. He is An Associate Professor and Director of Asian Studies at the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University. He previously served Baylor as an Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, and Associate Director of Slavic and Easter European Studies in the Department of Political Science. He has also taught at Connecticut College, Central Connecticut state University, and the University of Connecticut. His research and teaching interests range from democratization and civil society to the politics of religion. Professor Marsh speaks Russian and Chinese and has conducted field research across Eurasia, from the Gulf of Finland to the foothills of the Himalayas. Dr. Marsh is the author of Unparalleled Reforms: China’s Rise, Russia’s Fall, and the Interdependence of Transition, Russia at the Polls, and Making Russian Democracy Work. He is also editor of Burden or Blessing? Russian Orthodoxy and the Construction of Civil Society and Democracy, as well as co-editor (with June Teufel Dreyer), of US-China Relations in the Twenty-First Century and (with Nikolas Gvosdev), of Civil Society and the Search for Justice in Russia. In addition, Dr. Marsh has authored over thirty journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Marsh is currently exploring the intersection of ethnic, religious, and state identity, particularly in Communist and post-Communist societies. Dr. Marsh sits on the board of several journals, as well as serving as chairman of the editorial board of Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization. He also works closely with the Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs at Boston University, where he heads up research on Russia and the post-Soviet world.

September 18
Waco-Tribune Herald: What Makes News
Mr. Michael Vivio

Michael Vivio is the publisher of the Waco-Tribune Herald.

September 25
Islam in American Protestant Thought
Dr. Thomas “Tommy” Kidd

Tommy Kidd holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Clemson University and a Ph.D. from Notre Dame. He is the author of The Protestant Interest: New England after Puritanism, and many articles in scholarly publications. He has served as a Graduate Instructor and a Visiting Associate Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame, and an Adjunct Professor at Bethel College. He is currently an Assistant Professor of History at Baylor University.

October 2
“MacChristianity: How Christianity and Fast Food are Alike
Dr. Tony Talbert

Tony Talbert holds a Bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, a Master’s Degree from Baylor University, and an Ed.D. from the Unversity of Houston. He is currently the interim chair of Curriculum and Instruction at the Baylor University School of Education.

October 9
Defining the Compassion in Compassion Ministries
Ms. Jill McCall

Jill McCall is the Executive Director of Compassion Ministries, a local transitional housing facility for women, children, and families. The general public tends to think of the homeless as the unkempt man on the street corner holding up a sign. In reality, the largest growing segment of homeless in America today are women and children and the signs of the “invisible homeless” are much harder to see. Divorced, abandoned or suddenly single mothers struggle to provide shelter, food and basic needs for their children. For others, homelessness is only a lost job or unexpected health crisis away. Studies show there are 150 families living in our community at any given time who do not have a home. They live with relatives, friends or in cars. They are days away from being turned back out onto the streets. The goal of Compassion Ministries is to reintegrate homeless individuals and families as well as those on the verge of homelessness into permanent housing and employment. A successful graduate of Compassion’s program is one who leaves Compassion Ministries with full-time employment, permanent housing, and the skills necessary to maintain their self sufficiency.

October 16
Two Favorites from the Christian Tradition: Psalms 22 and 23
Dr. William “Bill” Bellinger

October 23
Two Favorites from the Christian Tradition: Psalms 22 and 23 Dr. William “Bill” Bellinger

Bill Bellinger is a professor and the Director of Graduate Studies in Religion at Baylor University. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, a Masters of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. He has also studied at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, and Fitzwilliam College at the Unversity of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Prior to his arrival at Baylor, he served as Supervisor of Undergraduate Studies in Old Testament at the University of Cambridge, Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and as an Assistant Professor of Old Testament at Southwester Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. He is the author of several books, including Psalms: Reading and Studying the Book of Praises.

October 30
How the Dead Talk from the Grave
Dr. Susan Maki-Wallace

Susan Maki-Wallace holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, a Master’s Degree in Anthropology, and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. She has taught at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and is currently and Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of Forensic Science at Baylor University.

November 6
Eliminating Extreme Poverty: The Moral Imperative
Dr. Chara Bohan

Chara Bohan holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences, a Master’s degree in Social Studies Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include curriculum and education history, social studies education, and women’s studies. She is currently and Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the Baylor University School of Education.