Asbury University’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) welcomes Dr. Daniel Strait in his new role as the school’s dean. He previously served as associate dean of the CAHSS.
“Dr. Daniel Strait is deeply invested in Asbury’s missional commitments, administrative processes, university policies, academic programs, and the liberal arts,” said Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Sherry Powers ’77. “His leadership style, academic expertise, and years of experience in higher education will undoubtedly propel the institution forward in new ways.”
Strait joined the Asbury faculty 27 years ago. His research interests include exploring the intersections of literature, philosophy, and religion in Renaissance lyric poetry, especially in the poetry of George Herbert. He received his M.A. in English from Florida Atlantic University and his Ph.D. in English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
“Building on the good work of Dr. Steve Clements, my predecessor and colleague, I am committed to working with faculty and students to distinguish the College as a place of authentic Christian faith and practice and rigorous academic inquiry,” Strait said. “My hope is that the College develops as a place of ‘wonder and welcome,’ to borrow a phrase from G. K. Chesterton. The CAHSS is the only school among the University’s six schools that retains the nomenclature ‘College.’ The name is significant because it represents what it means both to embody the rich history and traditions of learning at Asbury and to prepare students in new ways for the exacting demands of the future.”
Strait received the Frances White Ewbank Award for Excellence in Teaching, the University’s highest honor for teaching, three times (in 2023, 2012, and 2002). Created in 2002 by Dr. Paul A. ’56 and Dr. Kay Fuller ’57 Rader, the award is conferred each year on one full-time faculty member who has demonstrated excellence in teaching effectiveness and spiritual modeling in and outside of the classroom.
Strait reflects on what distinguishes the CAHSS at Asbury.
“We have a remarkably strong faculty in the College, across all program areas: Ancient and Modern Languages, English and Creative Writing, History, Social Work, Political Science Psychology, Sociology, Art, and Music,” Strait said. “Our faculty are excellent teachers, prolific writers and researchers, and leaders on campus and in their respective academic disciplines. I am looking forward to supporting them in their efforts to provide students with a rigorous and fulfilling Christian university education. The College seeks to develop in students the skills and capacities to prepare them to live and flourish in a complex global world, with rapidly changing intellectual, social, moral, and political contexts.”
Strait serves on the editorial review board of The Chesterton Review, the quarterly journal of the G. K. Chesterton Institute for Faith and Culture at Seton Hall University; is a member of the Renaissance Society of America; and a life-time member of the George Herbert Society, where he will be giving a paper on George Herbert at the University of Toronto in the summer of 2025. His paper is entitled, “‘Greet yourself arriving’: Sacred Strangeness and the Stranger Self in George Herbert and Derek Walcott.”
CAHSS alumni work around the world as writers, doctors, media professionals, social workers, marketing executives, artists, lawyers, musicians, missionaries, counselors, business executives, accountants, professors, and teachers.