Alumni

CU Martus Leader Earns Prestigious Fellowship at Penn

By Tom Campisi and Fuji Kim

Michael Hagan is one of eight undergraduates in the inaugural class of fellows for the University of Pennsylvania’s new Office of Social Equity and Community.

Grandson of Evangelist Recalls Defining Moment

By Will Graham

Editor’s note: The following article was written by Will Graham, grandson of Billy Graham and vice president and associate evangelist at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Article was first published in 2014, four years before the passing of Billy Graham; Reprinted with permission.

On a daily basis I’m blessed with memories and stories of the many ways God chose to use my grandfather to reach people around the world over the course of many decades. Nearly everywhere I go people stop to tell me about how entire families and generations were impacted by his ministry. It’s humbling.

Penn Professor, Yale Lecturer Make Shocking Statements 

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

This spring, two academic seminars with ties to Ivy League universities came under fire for incendiary comments regarding race. A University of Pennsylvania professor said white evangelicals are racists who “may end up killing us all,” while a guest lecturer at the Yale School of Medicine expressed frustration with the national dialogue by saying she had fantasies about shooting white people.

“Whose Voice Are We Hearing?”

 By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

At first glance, the career path of Amilee Watkins may seem somewhat random. A trained classical musician, her resume includes employment as a manager of a Starbucks in New York City, assistant director for the Center for Faith and Work at Redeemer Presbyterian Church, and COO of a startup that centers on spiritual formation.

CU Vox Shares Good News at Dartmouth with Blog

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

In the midst of this uncertainty, Paul Jeon ’21, a leader with CU Vox at Dartmouth, stepped up to create blog content that focused on the sure promises of God in scripture and the question, “Who Does God Say I Am?”

Dr. Matthew Suh Speaks at NYCU Salon

Dr. Matthew Suh, a Harvard-educated surgeon, retired from the operating room to become a practitioner of ministry that is focused on proclaiming the good news of the gospel and supernatural healing.

Where Does Our Help Come From?

By Chloe Cropper, Cornell ’23

Editor’s note: This article was reprinted with permission fromCornell Claritas, “an ecumenical, interdenominational Christian publication that was founded on the hope of starting thoughtful Christian conversations within the academic community at Cornell University.”

There are few things that elicit such pure joy within me as the first bite of boneless wings with Boom Boom sauce do, under the fluorescent lights of a crowded Sheetz dining room. For those unfortunate enough to have never encountered this fine dining establishment, Sheetz is the East Coast’s premier location for gourmet gas station food. What’s so special about a gas station, you might ask?

CU Ministry Center Named for Brown’s 1807 Valedictorian

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

The Adoniram Judson Ministry Center is a strategic meeting place at Brown University.

Christian Union Libertas uses the facility for a wide range of events and functions, including fellowship, Bible courses, one-on-one mentoring, prayer, training, meals, and administrative work.

CU Nova Hosts Alumni Panel

By Kelly Parks, Staff Writer

The mission of Christian Union is to connect and develop Christian leaders to create a spiritually vibrant nation marked by Christian values permeating every corner of society. One of the main methods through which Christian Union strives to accomplish this goal is by ministering to Christian students at some of the nation's most influential universities to boldly live out their faith in whichever career path they pursue post-graduation.

He Is Doing His Work One Student at a Time

By JUSTIN YIM

Henri Nouwen, who authored such books as The Wounded Healer, The Way of the Heart, and The Return of the Prodigal Son, resigned from Harvard’s Divinity School in 1985 citing that God was dead at Harvard—that it was a spiritual desert.

“CU Martus Made a Profound Impact”

By Emily Solomon, Penn ’21

Someone recently asked me the best way to find community when arriving on campus for the first time. I thought about this question a lot before I first came to Penn as well. Would I be able to find a Christian community at an Ivy League university? Would I be able to grow in my faith, or would secular thought extinguish it?

The Impact of Christian Union Lux

Editor’s Note: The following article contains first-person accounts from alumni who were actively involved in CU Lux, Christian Union’s ministry at Yale University. 

Learning to Engage for the Sake of Mission   

Christian leaders falling from grace has become a routine headline over the past few years. Our leaders have been caught in abuse, scandals, addiction, or lavish spending of church funds, leaving a trail of wreckage in the congregations they led, but also a bad impression on a watching world. It appears that Christians, who declare love and grace and humility with their lips, are often living a life that is out of sync with their declared good news. The word for this is hypocrisy, and it’s hurting the church more than ever.

CU Libertas Celebrates Seniors

By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer

In an exciting and encouraging end to their time in college, seniors of CU Libertas gathered in person to be celebrated and recognized by underclassmen and to get off campus for a seniors-only day retreat. Though these kinds of events are typical for the graduation season, Ministry Fellow Laurel Copp says that these were the only two in-person events the ministry formally hosted all year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Revival, Reformation Are Preceded by a Return to God 

By Chuck Hetzler

“We need to admit that there’s a problem,” said Matt Bennett as he addressed the need for widespread repentance to Christian Union Cornerstone Partners in a Zoom meeting, Monday evening, June 7, 2021.

Prayer, Revival, and Societal Transformations

At Christian Union’s Cities Conference in Manhattan in 2018, George Otis, Jr. talked about the first Great Awakenings in the United States and the ensuing socioeconomical impact that followed in various cities and communities that were “overwhelmed by the grace and presence of God.”

Tim Keller: We Need a Gospel Perspective 

In the past several years, the new racial justice movement has begun. But unlike the previous racial justice movements of Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, whose actions and methodology were marked by Christian beliefs and “the ethics of love, forgiveness and reconciliation,” this new battle for justice is leaving the concept of forgiveness behind. 

CU Gloria Law Leader Pursues Dual Degree

By Kelly Parks, Staff Writer

After serving in the Marines for seven years, Joel Malkin made a major career change and enrolled in the joint degree program at Harvard Law and Business Schools in 2020. One year into pursuing his Juris Doctorate and Masters of Business Administration, Malkin has been an active participant in Christian Union’s ministry at Harvard Law, CU Gloria Law. 

Santavicca ’73 Serves with Other Alumni on CU Vita Board

By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer

The year of 1969 might call to mind images of anti-war protests, Woodstock, or landing on the moon, but for Ed Santavicca it was the year he experienced a revival on Cornell’s campus. Arriving as a freshman in Ithaca, New York, Santavicca’s world was saturated with the cultural upheaval of the Vietnam war, rigorous academics, and a very limited understanding of God.

Christian Union Alumnus Founds NYC Design Studio

By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer

Strategy is the name of the game for Cody Min, the founder of Astronaut Monastery, a creative studio operating out of New York City. 

With the tagline of “Making work that thinks and thinking that works,” Min, the company’s head of new business and strategy, has created a sleek and successful firm serving clients like Hyundai, the popstar Kesha, Cole Haan, Rowing Blazers, Disney-ABC, Samsung, and Uniqlo. Min’s creative work today is deeply rooted in his faith, which was cultivated through the ministry of CU Martus (formerly called Penn Faith and Action or PennFA).