“I was the guy that, I would go to my professor at the end of the semester and say, ‘Hey, I’m writing a paper in my lit class that addresses some of these things we’re doing in sociology. Can I combine these?’ And they would go, ‘Of course you can’t! Tat’s cheating,’” he remem- bers.
He was actually trying to do more, not less, by combining the knowledge he learned in differ- ent classes, he says. Tis tendency clued him in to go the direction of interdis.
HOME AWAY FROM HOME After finishing his degrees, Bruce bounced be- tween several universities near his hometown of Atlanta, GA, and finally landed at a Christian one. But despite its alignment with the church, one day the school administration reprimanded Bruce for teaching that Jesus was the only way to God.
He taught New Testament. After that, Bruce decided to leave.
“I wanted to be in an expressly Christian en- vironment. I was tired of being kicked around because I wouldn’t shut up about Jesus in the classroom,” he confides.
He applied to more than 20 schools and got ev- ery single job offer, including the one at NGU.
“You know what it really boiled down to? I drove up this hill, and I saw the statue of Jesus washing feet, and I heard God say, ‘You’re sup- posed to just serve here. Tat’s it. Period. Don’t try to get too fancy. Just serve. ‘Cause kids need you,’” Bruce remembers fondly.
Bruce and his family still live in Atlanta, so he commutes three hours one way every week to teach. He’s sincere when he calls NGU his “home away from home.”
SWEET VOICES AND POETRY NIGHT Bruce first started at NGU by teaching freshman English. When he wasn’t in class, he would sneak around, perhaps even hiding behind trashcans, to listen to students and get a grasp on what mattered to them. He says that he heard “sweet voices” eager to make an impact. He noticed right away that NGU students needed a voice — to know how to use their passions, their art, their gifts for God’s kingdom.
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His first semester here, he started what would become the biannual Poetry Night, where students could express themselves through any medium: music, improv, poetry. It’s become a favorite for creative types on campus.
Bruce says giving students a voice — just like Poetry Night does on a microscale — is what interdis is all about. He quickly transitioned to lead the program at NGU, which had already been running since the mid-’90s.
THE MAJOR THAT IS WHATEVER YOU WANT IT TO BE Te interdisciplinary studies degree prepares students for the workplace, perhaps like no other major can. From day one, IDS students are groomed to be problem-solvers who can contribute to the world, think outside the box, and work collaboratively — all traits that employers look for in the 21st century more than ever.
Unlike Bruce’s experience in undergrad, the IDS program focuses on integrating disciplines, rather than keeping them separate. But it begins on a much deeper level.
“Tere really are three types of integration: you integrate head and heart, you integrate disciplines, and you integrate classroom with real world. And those are the three types of integration that we push in the program,” he says. “Students come in thinking it’s about disciplines. But once we start talking to them, they want to be integrated. And then they real- ly, really want to be able to see that what they’re studying at the collegiate level is connecting to the world.”
Tat’s what’s at the heart of the interdis senior seminar, which leads students in combining
their components to craft a doable project that solves a real-world problem.
OUTSIDE THE PARTITIONS Bruce himself continues fine-tuning his own components — English and theology — to help students find their voices so they can impact the world in a way unique to them, just like the senior seminar project allows them to do.
“Tese partitions that we’ve superficially put up have to fall away because people are hurting. We have to help them. Trying to do that within the confines of one discipline can be restric- tive,” he argues.
You could say he’s already been very successful at his interdis project. Under his leadership, the department has experienced tremendous growth: an astonishing 15 percent of NGU’s Class of 2016 traditional graduates earned an IDS degree.
Bruce also facilitates an ever-growing list of Greenville partnerships he’s built on his own watch. In fact, his list features more than 25 businesses and organizations, including NEXT High School, Te Collective at Society Hall, and Upstate International. Tey provide NGU’s interdis students with shadowing, volunteer, and internship opportunities; many have even hired NGU graduates as a result.
But Bruce, late 50s, claims he has 10 to 15 more years left in him to finish his work here at NGU. Curious, I ask him about his end goal.
“I don’t know. I’ll know it when I get there,” he laughs. But with great conviction, he adds: “Tere’s still more voices that need to be heard.”
Interdis at a Glance Interdis degree programs in the U.S. National growth in interdis degrees earned since 2011 Interdis degree type options at NGU: BA and BS NGU’s Class of 2016 traditional graduates who earned a degree in interdis Interdis components to choose from at NGU Students in the interdis program at NGU during an average semester NGU interdisc alumni (1998 to present) Partner organizations in Greenville that provide hands-on learning opportunities for NGU’s interdis students Possible combinations for your customized interdis degree at NGU
450+ 36% 2
15% 21
150
900+ 25+
1,330
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