Greetings to Friends, everywhere:
Friends Association for Higher Education held its annual conference from June 2-8, 2026, at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Since 1981, FAHE has been lending support and encouragement to Quakers at Friends colleges and universities as well as those at non-Quaker institutions. Among our various purposes, our organization helps to clarify and articulate the distinctively Quaker vision of higher education, in terms of both curriculum and teaching. We assist the Quaker colleges and universities in affirming their Quaker identity. We invite Friends to join us.
This year, the conference theme was “A Quaker Pedagogy.” There were fifteen presentations in addition to the three plenary speakers responding to such queries as: what makes Quaker education unique, how being at a Quaker institution shapes instruction, and what the lived testimony that underlies our pedagogy offers the wider world of Quaker education.
Each morning we worshipped together; on Tuesday, Mimi Holland led us in semi-programmed worship where we joined our sacred harps together in hymns. On Wednesday, Randall Nichols led us in unprogrammed worship at Coal Creek Meeting House, a short distance from the University, where his great grandparents were married and where his great grandmother’s wedding dress hangs. And on Thursday, Jacci Stuckey shepherded us as we worshipped in the unlit underground while violent weather passed above us.
Monday, the first evening of the conference, we heard a plenary talk by Philip Clayton, “What We Teach and How We Teach it: Pedagogy and the Quaker Way of Being in the World.” Philip guided us in exploring different commitments that inspire Quaker pedagogy: being fully present and focused on what is happening right now and then doing something redemptive; entering the classroom or learning space as a full person listening for small leadings from God; following a Jesuanic pedagogy; balancing acquired knowledge and experienced knowledge; creating a classroom that is a community after the manner of Friends; and committing ourselves to our interconnectedness, the sacredness of the Other, and authenticity. We also examined how Quaker pedagogy sometimes parallels the Buddhist mindset.
Tuesday invited us into further discovery. In her presentation, “Implementing the Commonplace Book in the Modern Quaker Classroom,” Amy Andreassen (re)introduced us to the practice of the Commonplace Book–a book we curate and gather and edit as we read (and experience life) “pen in hand.” Paul Anderson then presented on “D. Elton Trueblood, the Order of Common Life, and Spiritual Renewal.” Paul wove concepts from Trueblood’s four programmatic books into memories and anecdotes of their time together.
Tuesday was also the second plenary session. Via Zoom, from his home in Kaimosi, Kenya, Robert Wafula presented “A Quaker Pedagogy from the African Perspective.” Robert spoke about how education is a communal endeavor–no one is educated for themself–and how identity develops with others. He also spoke about the theology of imago Dei and the Kenyan Quaker intertwining of the SPICES with African Indigenous wisdom. Lastly, Robert led us through an exploration of specific ways that each of the SPICES is reflected in the pedagogy of Friends Theological College in Kenya, again underscoring that they are often woven together with African systems.
After this Lisa Payne Ossian spoke about Herbert Hoover’s work for famine relief and his ideas about humanitarian obligations to Germany post World War Two, in her presentation, “The Hoover Plan: A Moral and Spiritual Reconstruction, 1947.” Michelle Rhea then presented, “Problem-Based Learning as Quaker Pedagogy: Clinical Reasoning, Communal Discernment, and Whole-Person Formation in Physician Assistant Education.” This is a pedagogy that, comparable to a Quaker Clearness Committee, starts with a problem/dilemma, and is based in quietness where answers are not given. What is taught rather is a process that leads to answer finding.
Tuesday afternoon we heard a presentation called, “Teaching as Testimony: Preparing Educators Through Christ-Centered Quaker and Mennonite Values” from Dana Oswald. Dana used the SPICES to illustrate how utilizing Mennonite and Quaker values can improve teaching practices. After that Wilton Wright and Destiny Kiddoo presented “Co-Teaching as Quaker Pedagogy,” using their experience of co-teaching as a way of modeling community values, collaboration, multiple perspectives, and trust in the person you are teaching with.
Tuesday evening Middle River Friends Church hosted us for a potluck near Carlisle, Iowa and we had the opportunity to tour the Norman E. Borlaug Hall of Laureates at the World Food Prize Center in Des Moines.
We began Wednesday at Coal Creek Meeting House at Nelson Pioneer Farm, with a presentation from Neil Cantrall, “How Silent Worship Shapes the Practice of Educators.” Neil spoke of how including a period of silent (waiting/expectant) worship creates the opportunity for preparation–spiritual and otherwise–for listening, receptivity, and learning. After that, Amy Andreassen presented, “The Hidden Teacher: Reclaiming the Sacred Rhythm of Rest,” where she discussed seven pitfalls that lead to “Hurry Sickness” and seven practices to combat it.
After we returned to the William Penn campus nine presidents of Quaker colleges joined us online to discuss the state of Quaker Higher education at their respective institutions.
Jacci Stuckey presented, “Quaker Pedagogy at a Holiness Friends University,” examining the question of how we might continue to look back into history to help move us forward holding onto our Quaker and Christian values. George King then presented, “Discovering a Quaker Pedagogy of Attunement: Reflections from an Ecological Outsider”–insights and observations he’s made about Quaker pedagogy as an outsider. He spoke about a communal attunement and a stewardship of attention. He noticed that Quakerism encourages us to listen first and teach second.
Wednesday afternoon we heard a presentation, “Centering the Human: Quaker Pedagogy in the Onslaught of AI” from Don Smith. This presentation helped us understand both the opportunities machine learning provides as well as the dangers of threats it poses. Machine learning (or AI) can reduce repetitive tasks, but it also has the potential to become a giant plagiarism machine and an ethical nightmare. Don reminded us that AI is not a truth machine but a probability machine. After that Mike Heller, in his presentation, “To ‘Be Teachable,’ Mentors and Quaker Faith,” encouraged us to be “teachable” drawing from John Woolman’s journal. Mike noted the ways in which his own mentors were generous with their time with him and we spent time thinking about our own mentors and how Quakerism can inform how we can be teachable and effective mentors.
In Charlotte Stangeland and Dana Oswald’s presentation, “A Quaker Vision: Peace in Our Communities, a Kenyan Peace Curriculum,” we learned that after election violence in Kenya, Quakers in Kenya and Iowa collaborated on creating a curriculum to teach peacemaking and problem-solving skills for children and youth. The curriculum was developed to reflect Quaker values and Kenyan life experiences. Next, Noel C. Stahle presented “Miracle Man: H.W. Van der Merwe: the Quaker Who Brought South Africa Enemies Together.” Van der Merwe was a Quaker anti-apartheid activist who played a leading role in building trust and ending apartheid without massive bloodshed. After he began to think of himself as “African,” he built a nation-wide black-white coalition, which peacefully brought about the end of apartheid.
The final presentation, “Integrity and the Academic Bureaucracy” from Richard Miller, called for integrity of faith and practice. Following fifty plus years of teaching, such issues as Football Thursdays, sexual harassment, two syllabi, chair evaluations, and recruiting majors require us to be patterns and examples after the manner of Friends.
MaryKate Morse closed the conference with her plenary session, “What the World Needs Now: A Quaker Higher Education.” MaryKate argued that Quakers are being asked to step in and take risks to be God’s intervention. After presenting the three main crisis that higher education faces today, she talked about how Quakers are uniquely situated to be a healing and transformative force, offering specific points about how the Quaker way might support that work: the power of being Christ-centered, Belovedness (that of God in all), continuous revelation, world engagement, and the core values of simplicity, integrity, and peace. She continued, “Education is not just the accumulation of knowledge; it is an intentionally curated culture.” She finished by encouraging us to think about the classroom not as a bunch of desks facing a podium, but rather as a sanctuary and laboratory where spiritual formation, contextual learning, and authentic community model how to be in the world in a different way.
The evening ended with a reception hosted by the Social and Behavioral Sciences Division of William Penn University.
We depart from this gathering in gratitude for the many voices who united to create such a rich exchange of ideas and meaning. We leave also with awe for the power and fragility of the natural world–a testament to the glory and empathy of our Divine Creator.
Friends Association for Higher Education 