Professor Andrew Compton Receives His Doctorate

Dr. Andrew Compton, Associate Professor of Old Testament Studies, has successfully completed his doctoral work at the University of Pretoria. The title of his dissertation is "A Priest Coping with a New Place: A Vocational Psychology And Trauma Reading of Ezekiel's Priestly Identity." The description of the dissertation is as follows: 

"Interpreters have long observed the priestly shape of the book of Ezekiel, but a flurry of publications from 1998-2005 grappled with whether Ezekiel should be called a priest or merely a former priest. This research enters the discussion using the hitherto unutilized (or at least underutilized) tools of vocational psychology. Applying job-crafting techniques and trauma responses observed among present-day migrants to key themes and passages in Ezekiel, this thesis contends that Ezekiel’s priestly vocational identity remains active, though has been modified due to his locale far from the Jerusalem temple." 

From Dr. Compton: "I am grateful to my family for their ongoing support during this process. Indeed, their patience and love throughout our lives together enabled this project not only to fly and successfully land but to get off the ground in the first place! The faculty, staff, board, and students at Mid-America have also been a constant source of encouragement, asking about the project, cheering it on, and tolerating my lengthy monologues about arcane research interests relating to this interdisciplinary project.

This degree is beneficial to our institution by further highlighting the academic qualifications and credentialing of our faculty, and it has benefitted my work here via the discipline of applying all the tools and categories I've learned throughout my education to a culminating project. While it has furnished the foundation for future writing and research on several topics that could not be developed in full in the dissertation, the exercise has also sharpened me as an academic and broadened me as a pastor. These changes have already been brought to bear on my professorial duties."

We give praise and thanks to our great God for sustaining Dr. Compton in this endeavour!