Religion Professor Dr. Jonathan Tran Receives 2017 Collins Outstanding Professor Award

Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia

Media contact: Terry Goodrich, (254) 710-3321

WACO, Texas (April 18, 2017) – Jonathan Tran, Ph.D., associate professor of religion in the College of Arts & Sciences, was chosen for the 2017 Collins Outstanding Professor Award by the senior class.

“The award is huge to me, since it’s something students choose, and, hence, speaks to a life with students that I’ve always seen as part of Christian education,” Tran said.

The Collins Award is provided by the Carr P. Collins Foundation to honor and recognize outstanding teachers at Baylor University. The winning professor is awarded a cash prize of $10,000, as well as citation on a plaque.

“About the same time that I was notified about the Collins Award, I found out that I would be giving the 2017 Fall Academic Convocation address, and that honor is bestowed by faculty,” Tran said. “To be affirmed by both students and colleagues is undoubtedly a nice feeling, but more so, it affirms a common set of hopes we share at Baylor, and I’m just privileged to be a part of it.”

Each year, the Collins Professor delivers a special lecture on the topic of his or her choosing. Tran will deliver a lecture entitled “My Life with Students: Wittgensteinian Thoughts on Baylor Students” at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 20, in Room H101, formerly known as Kayser Auditorium, of Hankamer Building, 1428 S. Fifth St.

“My lecture will combine my two professional worlds: that of academic research related to linguistic theology and that of student life in terms of intentional community,” Tran said. “I hope to draw on some insights from the 20th-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein in order to portray what is at stake in shared life, all of its demands and promises and its possibilities for companionship, goodness and even God—with some funny stories along the way.”

This lecture is free and open to the public.

by Kalli Damschen, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and 13 academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit www.baylor.edu/artsandsciences.