Abstract

University instructional faculty members are educational leaders who yearly influence millions of students, especially guiding and mentoring graduate students. The personal epistemological and ethical perspectives of faculty members, as core elements of their overall worldviews, justify and guide their perceptions and behavior in their academic discipline---and how they convey their beliefs and values to their students. Abraham Lincoln's statement is true, "The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of society in the next generation" . ;Many faculty members today, including Professors James Davison Hunter , Martin Anderson , and Bruce Wilshire , make the assertion that university professors are turning away from an Objectivist understanding of the nature of truth and adopting a Relativist position towards truth and morality. This descriptive study endeavored to explore what the faculty members at the University of Michigan, a large Midwestern, Division One, Public Research University, actually do believe about the nature of truth and morality, and examine if there is support for Hunter, Anderson, and Wilshire's assertions. ;The Nature of Knowledge and Moral Perspectives questionnaire compiled for this study referenced the work of James D. Hunter , J. D. Forseyth , and Marcia B. Baxter-Magolda and William Porterfield . A sample of faculty members was randomly selected and sent the NKMP questionnaire, and respondent data was used to assess their beliefs regarding the nature of truth and ethical perspectives. ;Better understanding faculty members' worldviews is crucial to missionary success with them. It will enable the Christian message to be encoded for more meaningful communication, especially for more effective evangelism and discipleship. Suggestions for meaningful communication of the gospel message with faculty members were made