Klassen says farewell

Posted by admin on Dec 9, 2005 in Academy | 0 comments

This semester, the English department will lose one of its most esteemed faculty members, Dr. Norm Klassen. After almost ten years as an assistant professor, Dr. Klassen will leave to take a job at St. Jerome’s University at Ontario’s University of Waterloo.
Dr. Klassen’s teaching will be missed by many students. “He’s a very engaging professor,” said Veronica Collins. “He’s brilliant.” In addition to his popularity, Dr. Klassen is also a unique asset to the English department because of his medieval specialization. He was one of few medievalist English professors in Canada when he was hired.

Dr. Klassen gained a considerable reputation across campus for his role in the IDIS 102 program. Dr. Jens Zimmerman and Dr. Klassen developed the content of the course, which received acceptance by the Trinity Western University faculty. Klassen and Zimmerman wrote the primary book used for this class, The Passionate Intellect, which will be published soon. The book delivers “a rationale for what interdisciplinary and integration of faith and learning are in a Protestant context,” said Dr. Klassen.

The book isn’t the only academic accomplishment of Dr. Klassen while teaching at TWU. He has published works on Geoffrey Chaucer and is the director for the first-year English program. Dr. Klassen is also about to complete a project of translating a 16th Century commentary on Romans.

Dr. Klassen accepted the position at St. Jerome’s after serious consideration. His dream has been to work in an environment with people who do not share his own beliefs. “I’ve always seen myself as willing to mix it up in the academy,” says Dr. Klassen; “to show that Christians can be a living example that [we] can think and be unbiased…The decision to go to St. Jerome’s was a walk of faith and still is.”

Commenting on some of his experiences at TWU, Dr. Klassen expressed concern for the academics of Trinity Western University. “I’m fine with the confessional institutions,” he said. “I’m fine with the… interviews we have to do to [teach] in this University… Having done the gate-keeping, you can’t keep suppressing the quality of the faculty once you’ve got them in the gate. For example, when you have all this gate-keeping that goes on in tenure interviews or promotion interviews, or that you don’t have faculty members on the board, or you only allow for limited input.”
Dr. Klassen sees this attitude as limiting the strength of the university in two ways: “one, in terms of not allowing full faculty participation in governance. It has to be a genuine voice at the table… Secondly, [we must] completely rethink the model that [President Snider] has of balancing Student Life and faculty. Does that mean that I don’t believe in Student Life? No, it doesn’t. But do not confuse that with the real mission of the university. People come here to get a degree.”

Dr. Klassen remembers one of the highlights of his time here at TWU as the Trinity v. UBC basketball three-game playoff, especially when “Adam Freisen sunk this three-pointer in overtime that just killed UBC.” Also, Dr. Klassen said that another highlight was meeting Jens Zimmerman. “I recognized that this was going to be a very good friendship,” said Klassen. “Iron sharpening iron.”

Many students and collegues are sad to see Dr. Klassen leave. There was, at the highest level, said Klassen, “a real genuine openness… and a desire to keep me here. I felt valued and I do feel valued.” Dr. Klassen has been grateful for the comments he has received in response to his departure. “I get a lot of people telling me that they will miss me,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”