FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQS)

Q: What is New College-Madison?

A: New College-Madison (NCM) is an "experiment in stimulating 'prophetic inquiry' on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus…" The notion of "prophetic inquiry" was first put forth in 1969 by Kenneth Underwood in his book The Church, The University, and Social Policy (Middletown, CN: Wesleyan University Press, 1969).

Q: You're on the UW-Madison campus. Are you connected with the university?

A: Although NCM couldn't do its work without UW faculty and students, we have no official connection with UW-Madison. We do much of our programming, however, on and about the UW-Madison campus, usually in conjunction with other interested groups.

Q: The word 'prophetic' has a 'religious' ring to it. Are you connected to a church or a church-related institution?

A: Although NCM's commitment is basically Christian (to what C. S. Lewis called "Mere Christianity"), NCM is not a part of any church group. Furthermore, although NCM has been inspired by other "lay schools of theology and ethics" around the country and Canada (New College-Berkeley, Regent College in Vancouver, BC, the Toronto Institute for Christian Studies, and the Christian Study Center in Charlottesville, VA, for example) it has no official link with these institutions, either.

Q: You speak of "lay schools of theology and ethics." Is this what you're basically about?

A: Yes, in one sense. There are all kinds of ethical and religious questions that arise in the life of a scientific and technical university like the UW-Madison, but they are often sidestepped or ignored by the pace of life in a research institution and because of the institution's commitment to value-free knowledge. That is a shame, because some of the most interesting and important questions which arise on a campus like ours involve ethical and religious dimensions.

Q: Some of the most interesting, and most controversial, as well…

A: Yes! Almost by definition, questions involving ethical and religious dimensions are controversial. Unlike some projects like ours around the country, we head straight for the most controversial subject matters like the issues of sexuality, war and peace, the relationship between rich and poor, and other issues of this kind.

An example coming up shortly is a program we're co-sponsoring with the Local Society Initiative of the Metanexus Institute and the Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religiouns on "Stem Cells, Embroyos and Ethics: Is There a Way Forward?" (Tuesday, December 5, 4-6 p.m., Union South, UW-Madison campus). Stem cell research is a very controversial question on this campus, and we wish to see that all the significant points of view are represented...

Q: Most of what you've described sounds like conferences or periodic lectures. Are you planning on offering courses and seminars, and will they be offered for credit?

A: Yes, most of our initial efforts will be in the form of conferences or one or two time "events." But we're exploring whether it would be a good idea to offer various courses and seminars for credit. Check our web site periodically to check on our progress on this matter.

Q: How would you characterize NCM's educational strategy?

A: Foundationally, we're interested in strengthening the church on campus, which means attending first of all to the Biblical, theological and what might be called the "church historical" strengthening of the faculty and student body. But beyond these basic or fundamental matters are certain problems, topics and issues of the day that need addressing in academia, by both Christians and non-Christians. We will work back and forth on these issues.

Q: What does "church historical" mean? What do you mean by that?

A: Well, historical circumstances change, and with them, the mission of the church changes to some extent, although in every time and place, the church is charged with honoring God and loving our neighbor as we do ourselves. Today, issues of sexuality, family, economic justice, and war and peace are central issues, and we would be remiss if we failed to facilitate discussion in these areas.

Q: What other issues concern you at the present time?

A: Well, the environmental crisis is another area in which we feel called to do some programming, and we have the connections and resources to do something significant in this area (look for our series, co-sponsored with the Bradshaw-Knight Foundation of Madison, WI, on "The Future of Environmentalism"). The issue of "calling" and vocational choice is a major issue for college students and to some extent even of faculty, and we are exploring programming in this area. Then again, certain persons within our circle are at the cutting edge of research and practice on the issue of forgiveness, and we are exploring programming in this area as well.

Q: Anything else?

A: Yes, small as we are, we're even involved in a research project! We're planning a second installment in our series of programs on evaluating the quality of life in the state of Wisconsin, this time on the question of how we might measure the quality of economic life in our state. Look for this program in our calendar of events!