Dr. Ben McFry to speak at Shorter University's fall commencement

December 4, 2012 - Shorter University Alumnus and Faculty Member Dr. Ben McFry will be the featured speaker at Shorter’s fall commencement exercises on Friday, Dec. 7. Approximately 525 students will graduate during the ceremony, which will begin at 10 a.m. at The Forum in downtown Rome. Tickets are required for admission.

A Shannon, Ga., native, Dr. McFry graduated from Shorter in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a minor in German, after studying for two summer terms at Salzburg College in Austria and supporting himself by rebuilding engines at a local automotive machine shop. He began graduate study in 2004 at the University of Georgia, where he taught Asian-American, World, and Western World literature. In 2007, he earned the Master of Arts degree in comparative literature and returned to Shorter as a faculty member that same year. In 2009, Dr. McFry earned the Doctor of Philosophy degree in comparative literature from the University of Georgia, with a dissertation that explored several Christian and Jewish religious texts in their original languages in a diachronic fashion.

The same year, he became the department chair for English and Modern Languages at Shorter. Dr. McFry teaches English, German, Philosophy, and Humanities to traditional, adult, and international students in courses in the traditional and professional studies programs. He is currently Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences overseeing the Humanities and Social Sciences Division. Dr. McFry has published and has presented on such topics as discourse analysis, epistemology, metaphysics, digital media, post-structuralism, emergent literatures, modernism, and existentialism in the works of such authors as Samuel Beckett, Jean Améry, Georg Büchner, Karel Čapek, Franz Kafka, Søren Kierkegaard, Michel de Certeau, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gilles Deleuze, Felix Guatarri, and the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing.

Dr. McFry has been the recipient of three teaching awards—two at the University of Georgia and also the Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership Award at Shorter. He has chaired and co-chaired several committees for Shorter’s reaffirmation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and is currently serving as Shorter’s institutional accreditation liaison. He also chairs the Curriculum Committee and serves on the General Education Assessment Committee.

Dr. McFry and his wife, Paige, are the proud parents of Emma. They live in Lindale, Ga., and attend Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, where Dr. McFry runs the sound system for the Sunday morning service.

Founded in 1873, Shorter University is a Christian university committed to excellence in education. The Princeton Review annually includes Shorter on its list of best value and best Southeastern Colleges. Shorter University is a member of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). Shorter offers traditional bachelor’s degree program in 48 areas of study, online courses and degree programs, undergraduate programs for working adults, and four master’s programs. Shorter is online at www.shorter.edu.

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