Abbylynn Helgevold
Abbylynn Helgevold joined the Wartburg College faculty this month after teaching at the University of Northern Iowa since 2012. Helgevold earned a Bachelor of Arts in women’s studies from Iowa State University and a doctorate in religious studies from the University of Iowa.
“I am very excited to join the Wartburg community,” said Helgevold. “I am especially drawn to Wartburg’s vocational mission and am thrilled by the opportunity to bring my passion for ethics education to a college that so clearly values it.”
The Board of Regents Distinguished Professor in Ethics was established in 1989 through a gift from Harry and Polly Slife and contributions from other members of the Wartburg College Board of Regents. The late Harry Slife of Cedar Falls, then the board chair, led the effort to establish a professorship in ethics, noting that “since the transmission of the ideal and the ethical value-centered life is an integral part of what Wartburg is all about, we felt there was no better place for the board to leave its mark.”
“I am always thinking about how best to reach students in the classroom and am particularly concerned with helping students to understand why the important ideas, questions and skills raised in ethics are relevant,” said Helgevold. “As the Distinguished Professor in Ethics, I will work with the Center for Integrative and Interdisciplinary Studies to support the ethics component of integrated learning and to support interdisciplinary efforts on campus.”
The breadth of Helgevold’s teaching experience and interests include courses on western civilization, sexual ethics, environmental ethics, business ethics, world religions, religion and film, comparative religious ethics, and philosophy.
“Understanding our values and dealing ethically with all people in our diverse nation and world is a fundamental pillar of Wartburg’s mission,” said Mike McCoy, current chair of the Wartburg College Board of Regents. “Abbylynn brings to the Board of Regents Distinguished Professorship in Ethics an ability to challenge and nurture students as they face these challenging times. Her proven ability to bring critical thinking to her classroom will contribute to our students’ success and their ability to live ethically in this complicated world.”
Helgevold remains engaged in scholarship and public speaking. Her current research focuses on the ethics of microaggression and the value of a virtue ethical approach for shedding light on the complicated dynamics and questions involved. This research is tied to deeper questions about the role of emotions in the moral life. In particular, Helgevold is currently interested in the role that experiencing shame plays in contemporary discourse about pressing political and social issues. She hopes to bring this investigation into the classroom at Wartburg.
Concurrent with her teaching and research, Helgevold is a member of the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Christian Ethics, which hosts annual meetings with the Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics and the Society of Jewish Ethics. At UNI, she facilitated workshops with the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and developed a teaching strategy focused on strengthening resilience for first-year students with the TEACHUNI certificate program.
Recent professional awards and honors include Provost’s Leadership Academy (II) Participant, “First-Year Student Advocate” recognition and “Transfer Student Friendly” recognition, among many more.
“I am most proud of the times when I know that my teaching has made a difference in a student’s life,” said Helgevold. “Occasionally, students will share their excitement about a question making them see the world differently, or sometimes I’ll get a note from a student who is about to graduate who tells me that the class they took with me made an impact. This is when I feel the proudest because it reveals the value of education, and it makes me feel honored to be a part of the educational process.”
A public event to recognize Helgevold will be deferred until the campus community can gather in accordance with COVID-19 safety guidelines. However, personal notes of congratulations can be sent via email to abbylynn.helgevold@wartburg.edu.