Two Harding faculty members will be taking a leave of absence this fall to achieve professional degrees.
Nathan Guy, who teaches in the Bible department, and Ginger Blackstone, an instructor in the communication department, are both leaving in August to pursue doctoral degrees.
Guy is going to Cambridge University in England to achieve a doctorate in philosophy of religion. Guy has two master’s degrees, one in theology from Oxford University and one in philosophy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. This degree, he said, will be the capstone for his two masters degrees.
“I’ll be studying philosophy of religion,” Guy said. “I’m asking philosophical questions, but I’m interested in theological answers.”
Guy said he hopes this degree will help answer questions students may have.
“These issues are ripe,” Guy said. “Students are so interested in philosophical questions like the existence of God. People need answers and it’ll be great to be able to offer that.”
Blackstone is going to the University of Florida to get her doctorate in communication. She received a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in broadcast journalism in 2011.
“A master’s degree kind of lays the ground for an advanced degree in terms of research,” Blackstone said. “A Ph.D. is the next step, and it’s very research- based. That research helps expose you to a deeper understanding of what knowledge is about.”
Blackstone’s doctoral degree takes three years to complete, comprising two years of coursework and one year of composing her dissertation. Blackstone spent 20 years in the broadcast journalism industry before she began teaching at Harding University.
“An advanced degree really served no purpose when I was in the broadcast journalism industry,” Blackstone said. “But as an academe, I do need an advanced degree.”
To earn the title of professor, Harding faculty must achieve the highest degree possible in their field.
