Class notes - Princeton Theological Seminary

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fall 1997 Student Life Perspectives on Princeton's Ph.D. Prog_ra_m _ Rolf Jacobson: An Advocate It is difficult not to admire Rolf Jacobson, a native of Minnesota, in part because of his Garrison Keillor-like sense of humor and in part because of the courage with which he has so clearly lived his life. Jacobson, a second-year Ph.D. candidate in Old Testament, developed bone cancer at the age of fifteen and was treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. But, the sarcoma spread to his lungs, and by the time that he was sixteen years old, he had lost both legs. This all made for a rather abnormal path, as Jacobson says. How did he deal with such a loss as a teen? A Scandinavian Lutheran, he credits his coping skills to his background. "We don't have feelings," he says with a smile and then adds that "at best, teenage boys skip the anger stage in the grief cycle." Nonetheless, the experience impacted Jacobson radically. One of four children, Jacobson was the son of a pastor. In his early teens, he was set against a vocation in the church and planned to go into business, but his experience living in a communal home with other cancer patients and receiving incredible emotional support changed him. In 1987, Jacobson graduated from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul. It was there that he first started thinking about doing a Ph.D. That same year, he began his graduate studies at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, from which he received an M.Div. in 1991. One of the most influential people in his life during his four years there was Princeton's own Don Juel, the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament Theology, who was then on the faculty at Luther and encouraged Jacobson to pursue an advanced degree. "You do a degree because you like what you're studying," says Jacobson. And he for All liked studying the Old Testament, particularly the psalms. "Actually, I have been accused of being narrowly interested in the psalms," Jacobson admits. That interest brought him to Princeton. "Princeton has two strengths," Jacobson says. "The faculty and the students. The faculty are excellent. No one has a better program in Old Testament. And the students engage in healthy interaction. They disagree well; they don't fight. They defend each other." Jacobson, who is co-president (with Elizabeth Johnson) of Koinonia, the Ph.D. students' society, tries to emphasize this with new doctoral students during orientation. "Most students have no experience in disagreeing well; they are poorly trained in how to disagree," Jacobson observes. "Voting is a horrible way to resolve problems. To paraphrase Don [uel, 'In order to vote something down, someone has to die." Jacobson believes that when theology is involved, relationships can be easily destroyed. Among Princeton Ph.D. candidates, however, "disagreement doesn't mean assassination." As co-president of Koinonia, Jacobson sits on the Seminary's Ph.D. Studies Committee and tries to bring the concerns and problems of Ph.D. candidates to the attention of the faculty and administration. The most critical issues facing students today are, according to Jacobson, money and housing. He expresses the students' concern that the basic doctoral program costs $11,000 more in fees, housing, and food than the $7,000 tuition per year. While cost of living expenses continue to rise each year, the financial aid awards have not been increased in a long time. In addition, not all Ph.D. students receive financial aid, and many will leave Princeton with massive loans to repay. Housing is also an area of concern. Currently, housing is available only for four years. Yet few Ph.D. candidates complete their programs in that short time, and many are from abroad and have no contacts in the United States. Jacobson's goal is to find a way to provide housing for graduate students for a fifth year. Life isn't all advocacy and issues ~ for Jacobson. He derives a lot of ~ pleasure from teaching Hebrew .~to M.Div.'s at Princeton, and his ~ students derive an equal amount !of pleasure from him as he transforms a potentially tedious course into a more pleasurable experience through song and chant. He teaches the Hebrew alphabet to the tune of the "ABC song" and chants Hebrew phrases like an army drill sergeant that his class dutifully repeats. In addition, he translates texts in an "archaically colloquial" fashion (a pedagogical tool that he admits to having stolen from Academic Dean James Armstrong). "This is a fun time in my life," Jacobson says. As for what comes next, he "would like to be a teacher within the Lutheran church, either in a teaching position or as a pastor." Meanwhile, he will continue to share his humor, his help, and his hope with the Princeton community. I 8 • inSpire
fall 1997 Student Life Margarete Ziemer: The Inside Story on Being an Outsider at Princeton Margarete Ziemer knows what it is like to be a "stranger in a strange land." Born in Leipzig, in the former East Germany, she is now a woman without a homeland. "My home is where I make a home," she says. Ziemer, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in pastoral theology, has used her experience as a foreigner to help others, both at PTS and elsewhere. "Where I gtew up, helping one another was the norm," she says, "because you couldn't it on your own." make Before joining the Seminary community, she did a nine-month CPE residency at Austin a psychiatric State Hospital, facility in Austin, Texas. "My own experience contributed to building trust," she says. "Being a foreigner, an oddball, too. As a woman, I didn't fit the 'normal' image I was of a pastor." What Ziemer took away from Austin was that we are all vulnerable and struggle in our lives to make even small progress. Just how difficult it is to be a stranger was brought home to Ziemer at both the academic and social levels upon her arrival at PTS. "It took me three weeks to figure our what the word 'paradigm' just because of its unexpected pronunciation," meant she says. "I hadn't read all the right guys ... ; epistemology and post-modernism ... were not theological issues in East Getmany." Socially, Ziemer found it hard to make friends "because everyone is so busy and self-controlled." Rather than throw her hands up in despair, Ziemer threw herself into working with the International Association the transition for other internationals. Students (ISA) and set our to make into a foreign school easier She implemented pragmatic programs like picking up incoming students from the airport, giving them phone cards, and helping them make their first phone calls from the United States to let relatives know they had arrived safely. (This year, for the first time, the Student Relations Office gave out phone cards to all incoming foreign students.) With the help of others, Ziemer got the used clothing students store for international going again. The "store," located in the basement of Roberts Hall and recently taken under the care of Nassau Presbyterian Church, provides free, donared winter clothing for students who come from tropical climates. expanded Last year it was to include some appliances, a feature that is particularly appreciated by Th.M. students who are only here for one year. Also appreciated are the bicycles that Ziemer organized and that give many international students mobility in the Princeton area. Ziemer would like to be able to provide internationals with computers and went so far as to acquire used machines. "But we need a part-time person to match them up and pur the parts together," As yer, no one has volunteered. she says. Some issues that come with the role of the auslander are concrete and can be solved practically; and require more theoretical others are more abstract solutions. For example, Ziemer has found that many women from other cultures have difficulty being assertive (a concept often antithetical to their upbringing) either in the classroom or in social situations. role as being one of an advocate She sees her unaccustomed to American, let alone Princetonian, Ziemer ways. feels that some messages to for those international students are contradictory. "The verbal message is that 'you enrich the community;" the expectation she says, "but often is that you will assimilate." Nonetheless, her experience at Princeton has primarily been very positive. "My time here has changed I have learned both inside and me. outside the classroom. I am more self-confident," appreciates she says. She the "richness of diversity," in both the student and in the faculty. "Where body I went to school, there were no female professors," she says. "It is a privi- ~ lege to see women faculty." ~ She also values the Seminary's ~ resources. "I couldn't be here ~ if! hadn't been awarded a full c.J o sch0I arshi Ip. " ! She is trying to use all resources wisely, particularly the Seminary's libraries. "And whatever at the University possibilities we don't have is next door! The scholarly are amazing." Where will Ziemer go when she completes her program at Princeton? That her homeland no longer exists is not a psychological problem for Ziemer who says "I am moving toward being a citizen of the world." What she hopes for is the opportunity she has learned, and to learn from whatever she is exposed to. I to teach, to share what Would you like to support the education of international students? Consider a gift to the PTS International Students Scholarship Endowment Fund, which provides financial aid resources to students from other nations. inSpire. 9
Page 2 and 3: Princeton in photos This little pig
Page 4 and 5: fall 1997 from the president's desk
Page 6 and 7: fall 1997 on&off Campus Ellen Myers
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Page 12 and 13: fall 1997 ormation Nurtures Sc tish
Page 14 and 15: fall 1997 A COMMUNITY OF SCHOLARS P
Page 16 and 17: fall 1997 Fruits of ~~- -e Their ;t
Page 18 and 19: fall 1997 Class notes Key to Abbrev
Page 20 and 21: fall 1997 Class notes James R. Cham
Page 22 and 23: fall 1997 Class notes fessor of rel
Page 24 and 25: fall 1997 Class notes Paul E. Munds
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Page 28 and 29: fall 1997 Class notes Ben Daniel (B
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Page 34 and 35: fall 1997 \ Obituarie_s ~ PA, from
Page 37 and 38: fall 1997 Theological Education Fun

Class notes - Princeton Theological Seminary

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