"I am inspired by the young women I journey alongside in the classroom. To see them embrace their learning and apply it in their lives and careers demonstrates the power of whole-person education and the application of the Gospel to lived experience."
— Dr. Robynne Rogers Healey, Professor of History
Faith, sister to Dr. Robynne Healey, was born with Down syndrome.
After Faith's birth, Dr. Healey's mother devoted herself to advocating for individuals with special needs. Dr. Healey's mother is among many who inspired Dr. Healey on her own leadership journey. "My mother's dedication to those on the margins of our society has shown me that equity, diversity, and inclusion...are the deepest reflections of our Christian faith," she said.
Dr. Robynne Rogers Healey is Professor of History and the Co-Director of the Gender Studies Institute at Trinity Western. She is also Associate Editor (History) for the Brill Research Perspectives in Quaker Studies. Dr. Healey’s research interests include gender and Quakerism, the transatlantic world in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the twentieth-century peace testimony. Her publications include books and articles in many aspects of Quaker history. In her book From Quaker to Upper Canadian: Faith and Community among Yonge Street Friends, 1801-1850, Dr. Healey explores how a group of Quakers settled in what is now Toronto, capturing how Quakers lived out their faith within their new context, while also providing insight into the diverse roles of women in nineteenth-century Canada.
At TWU, Dr. Healey teaches introductory courses in gender studies and post-1945 global history and senior and graduate courses in the Atlantic world, history of the family, gender studies, and war, peace, and society. Her overarching goal in classes is to help students discover how interesting, applicable, and important history is.
In 2020, Dr. Healey was featured on The Religious Freedom Center’s Freedom Forum panel. She presented on the topic, “The Grimkés Speak Out on Faith, Race, and Civil Rights,” which honoured the story of sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimké, abolitionists and advocates for women's suffrage. In the midst of the 2020 pandemic year that prompted instructional and learning adaptation, Dr. Healey’s students creatively produced full-colour digital magazines as the capstone projects for their classes, exploring lesser-known histories of the Atlantic World, and histories of gender.
This year, Gender Studies students have been invited to participate at the Margins to the Centre history conference through presentations of their research. The March 2021 virtual conference features undergraduate scholars who are investigating people, places, ideas, and movements that marginalised individuals have historically centered themselves around. TWU’s Alyssa Broadbent, Sydney Dvorak and Carter Sawatzky are each presenting on their research exploring different histories of marginalised peoples, and their papers will be published in the Margins to the Centre journal.
Reflecting on the impact of the pandemic on higher education, Dr. Healey wrote, “(At TWU) we have an incredibly supportive community committed to learning, integrating, and disseminating the most recent developments in our disciplines. We will—we must—remember and learn from this important historical moment as we adapt and journey forward together.”
Honouring International Women’s Day at TWU: Faculty Reflections
Every year on March 8, the global community celebrates International Women's Day. It is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. At Trinity Western, we seek to honour the many women leaders and educators who help our University thrive and advance into the future.
In the following interview, we hear from Dr. Healey on what has inspired her on her journey of leadership:
1. Hi Dr. Healey, what has helped you in your journey of teaching and leadership, and what are a few tips you have?
Dedicated, daily time to pray has been immensely important to me. When we get busy, and academics are often extremely busy, it is easy to let busy work take over time dedicated to prayer. I have learned over the years, sometimes the hard way, that being still in God's presence and abiding in Christ is the foundation of the faithful life.
Learn the value of humility and keep conversations going with those with whom you disagree. In today's social media saturated world, we are bombarded with so much information and so many messages that are often delivered from a posture of certainty bordering on arrogance. It can be difficult to stand apart from that when one participates in discussion with those with whom we disagree. Christ calls us to a posture of humility.
2. Who are some of the women who inspire you, and why?
There are so many women who inspire me. I am inspired by the Quaker women I study. Researching and analysing the stories of women who, because of their faith, endured horrendous persecution, created space for women's voices in religious conversation, and dedicated themselves to social justice causes is both moving and humbling.
I am inspired by the young women I journey alongside in the classroom. To see them embrace their learning and apply it in their lives and careers demonstrates the power of whole-person education and the application of the Gospel to lived experience.
Finally, I have always been inspired by my mother who is celebrating her ninetieth birthday this March. She started teaching in 1948 in small prairie schools when she was seventeen, barely older than some of her students. She taught on the prairies, along the Alaska Highway, and in the Yukon, and went on to get a bachelor's degree in education. She had modelled the value of education. When we lived in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in the late 1960s (my father was in the Canadian military), my twin sisters were born. My sister, Faith, has Down syndrome; at the time special needs children like my sister were institutionalized. Since Faith's birth, my mother has dedicated her life to advocating for individuals with special needs, even helping to create agencies to support special needs individuals and their families where no services existed. My mother's dedication to those on the margins of our society has shown me that equity, diversity, and inclusion—buzz words in academic circles today—are the deepest reflections of our Christian faith.
3. What has been a highlight of teaching at TWU in recent months?
The support of the entire TWU community to the collective success of students and faculty together has been enormous. We may be physically distant from one another, but we do not feel alone. We have access to resources that have assisted us in the shift from face-to-face to virtual teaching. And, while we are all feeling fatigued, our students continue to show up eager to learn. While I have really missed the opportunities for connection that happen when we encounter one another in offices and hallways, or while we're walking across campus, we continue to share aha moments. In the midst of uncertainty, it is my fervent hope that we can say along with Julian of Norwich, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”
See also: Dr. Robynne Healey’s interview on Learning Matters Podcast:
Learning Matters Podcast
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has five campuses and locations: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, Ottawa, and Bellingham, WA. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
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