| By
Damien T. Frierson, M.S.W, graduate assistant, Office
of University Communications |
 |
|
Professor
Bertram L. Melbourne, Ph.D., was recently
named an educator of excellence by the Seventh-day
Adventist Church. (Justin D. Knight) |
|
For
Bertram L. Melbourne, Ph.D., professor of biblical
languages and literature and former interim dean
for the School of Divinity, education has less to
do with filling a space in a classroom and more
to do with creating opportunities for others to
learn. This philosophy, which has guided his academic
and community involvement nationally and internationally,
recently earned him recognition from the Seventh-day
Adventist Church as an educator of excellence.
| Originally from Jamaica, Melbourne’s approach
to life developed at an early age. An image from
a book his mother purchased for him as a child
often comes to mind. “I remember the phrase
‘I can’t’ and a character knocking
out the ‘t’ and it becoming ‘I
can,’” he says. “Where others
like to give up, that’s where I begin.” |
“I often tell my students I am
not teaching them for an exam or a grade but for
life.” |
Melbourne’s philosophy can be seen through
the work that he has done as both a professor at
Howard and as an ordained minister within the Seventh
Day Adventist denomination. While challenging his
students to learn from one another, Melbourne asks
that they look past the test and requirements in
his course and focus on the process of learning.
“I often tell my students I am not teaching
them for an exam or a grade but for life,”
he says. “If you approach what you are doing
in a way that makes it applicable to life, then
your grade falls into place.” |
In
his 20 years as a faculty member and administrator
at Howard, Melbourne has continued to build on his
approach to faith and education. “By the time
I got to Howard, I had worked with numerous faculty
and students. I was able to reflect on the approach
I would take to education,” he says. “Howard
gave me a laboratory to develop those concepts I
had worked on.”
His desire to assist others in interpreting and
applying biblical scripture to their lives has led
him across the world. He has taught at colleges
and universities in several countries including
South Africa, South Korea, Australia, India and
Great Britain. His book Discipleship: A Bible
Study Guide for Members of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church has been used by a worldwide denomination
of 15 million people.
In addition to serving as interim pastor of a congregation
in Rockville, Md., Melbourne founded and continues
to work with College Educate Our Sons, an organization
dedicated to increasing the number of young men
on university campuses in the U.S. and overseas
through prayer and mentoring.
With his most recent honor and achievements as an
educator, Melbourne says he will continue to use
every opportunity he has to educate those he comes
in contact with. “Whenever I get up to speak
in whatever setting, somebody should hear something
that they have never heard before so that they have
learned something new.” |
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