
Professor Thomas Kneeland Named 2025 Emerging Scholar
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Anderson, Ind. — Anderson University’s Thomas Kneeland has been named one of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education’s 2025 Emerging Scholars of the Year. Recipients are nominated by their peers. Each scholar is selected based on research, educational background, publishing record, teaching record, competitiveness in field of study, and uniqueness of field of study.
“To be named a 2025 Emerging Scholar—and to be accepted to the 2025 NetVue Seminar—are just two moments of affirmation that I am exactly where I need to be in this season of my life, both spiritually and academically,” shares Kneeland, assistant professor of English. “These accomplishments are the vehicles by which I continue to use my voice, talent, and calling to teach this generation of collegiate learners to not only learn for learning’s sake, but for the sake of what it means to be human to another human.”
Kneeland has also been selected to participate in the Council for Independent Colleges’s 2025 Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE) Faculty Seminar on teaching vocational exploration. Participants will learn to strengthen the teaching of vocational exploration by probing a variety of understandings of vocation and their importance in educating undergraduates, by developing new courses or course materials or redesigning existing courses, and by establishing a broader network of faculty members committed to teaching vocational exploration.
“In a similar vein, my current research explores ancestry, ecological memory, and intergenerational trauma. Through creative and scholarly writing, I contribute to the academy by examining the generational effects of historical events on the fluidity of our current human condition. We have much work to do, but only if we can be transparent enough to name that which immobilizes us,” shares Kneeland.
“Even in his first year at Anderson University, Thomas Kneeland has enriched our students’ academic experience and energized the work and the relationships of the faculty in our Department of English and Modern Languages,” says Deborah Miller-Fox, dean of the College of Humanities, Education, and Social & Behavioral Sciences. “We are delighted to have him in this community and are excited about what he will bring back to AU from his participation in the 2025 NetVUE faculty seminar. In his interactions with students, Professor Kneeland consistently makes purposeful connections between course content and vocational exploration, rooting his instruction in a commitment to fostering intellectual, spiritual, and imaginative development as a vocational pursuit.”
Anderson University educates students for lives of faith and service, offering more than 50 undergraduate majors, 30 three-year degrees, 20 NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports, alongside adult and graduate programs. The private, liberal arts institution is fully accredited and recognized for excellence in business, computer science, cybersecurity, engineering, music, nursing, psychology, and teacher education programs. Established in 1917 in Anderson, Indiana, by the Church of God, the university remains committed to its Christ-centered mission.