Selected Publications
The Scholar-Practitioner
Ewert, D. Merrill. (Fall 2017). “Faith and Life of the Mind.” Direction Journal, Vol. 46, No. 2, pp.134-147. https://directionjournal.org/46/2/faith-and-life-of-mind.html.
This article was part of a publication that engaged college professors and writers in reflection on how their academic and faith journeys connected as part of their calling and vocation. Writing forced me to examine how my life and career integrated work as a community development practitioner with teaching working in higher education administration. This is the story of reflection and action, theory and practice, thinking and doing.
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College as the Best Investment
Ewert, D. Merrill (Jan-Feb 2015). “Going to college: Why it could be the best investment you’ll ever make.” The Marketplace, pp. 18.20 .College-as-the-Best-Investment
A friend and colleague suggested to me that college might not be for everyone. “Look at Bill Gates, Michael Dell and Steve Jobs; none of the graduated.” Indeed. Unlike them, most of us are not inventor-geniuses. That being the case, the research suggests that college is the best investment that we’ll make.
A President’s Final Thoughts to his Colleagues
Ewert, D. Merrill (Dec 2012/Jan 2013). “Dear Colleagues: a president’s final thoughts regarding FPU, Christian higher education.” The Christian Leader, pp. 15-16.
For 14 years as the Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension and then later as President of Fresno Pacific University, I wrote a brief memo to my colleagues at the start of every week. I called it Merrill’s Monday Morning Memo(MMMM). This was my final MMMM for the faculty, staff and trustees of Fresno Pacific before I retired as President.
Ewert, D. Merrill (Oct/Nov, 2010). “Fired.” The Christian Leader, pp. 12-13).
Following a strategic planning and cost reduction process, the liberal arts college in the Midwest where I served as Director of Extension and Continuing Education, eliminated my position and cut the program back to a maintenance level. This article describes what I learned in the process.
Ewert, D. Merrill (2009). “Letter from a Cousin” The Christian Leader.
This is the story about a special card that I read several hours after my mother’s death. It affirmed for me, God’s grace and goodness.
Ewert, D. Merrill (July, 2004). “Learning that transforms.” The Christian Leader, pp. 4-7.
This is the story of how I learned about learning. It subsequently became part of workshops and seminars that I led around the world on personal transformation and social change.
Higher-Education-that-is-Christian
Ewert, D. Merrill, and Nikkel, Larry W. (Nov., 2003). “Why we should value higher education that is Christian.” The Christian Leader, pp. 3-9.
Is there a place for Christian colleges and universities? This article addresses that question and suggests why Christian higher education matters to the Church.
Ewert, D. Merrill (December 2002). “No Room: a True African Tale.” The Christian Leader, pp. 5-6.
Every Christmas season, I remember what happened in the middle of a cold and stormy night in an isolated village in central Congo. Two American Peace Corps volunteers left me standing outside in the storm but a young African student took me in. This article tells that story.
Merrill Ewert (July/August 1994). “Beyond the Outhouse.” The Marketplace, pp. 8-10.
While visiting one of my graduate students and participating in a rural development seminar in Ghana, I was asked to offer the dedicatory prayer for a new outhouse. That outhouse became the source of some important lessons for community development workers.
Merrill Ewert (May/June 1985). “Lessons from the goats.” The Marketplace, pp. 4-5.
The ink was barely dry on my college diploma when I found myself working in relief and development in southern Congo (the Democratic Republic of Congo). Raised on a farm in the Midwest, I thought I knew agriculture but I discovered that I didn’t understand food production in Africa. This article describes what I learned from some goats.