In this episode, Dr. G shares one of the most important — and most challenging — responsibilities of the Academic Dean’s Council: deciding what truly matters when evaluating and hiring faculty. While Multnomah’s evaluation categories looked similar to other colleges (scholarship, pedagogy, and mentoring), Dr. G knew the key wasn’t the list itself but the weight each category carried. Every school values scholarship. Most give it the lion’s share of importance. But the Council at Multnomah understood that a great scholar isn’t automatically a great teacher — and certainly not automatically a great mentor.

So the team gathered in a room, each member carrying their own convictions:
• Dr. G championed pedagogy.
• A trusted colleague emphasized scholarship.
• Others fought for mentoring and student care.
What followed was a long, heated, deeply meaningful debate — vote after vote, challenging each other’s percentages, refining, arguing, and shaping the future culture of Multnomah one number at a time. Dr. G knew this difficult conversation would determine the kind of teachers the school would attract and develop for years to come. In the end, the Council reached a remarkable conclusion. Scholarship remained important, but it no longer dominated the evaluation like it did at many institutions. Instead, teaching ability and mentoring — the things that most directly affected student transformation — received the highest weight. As Dr. G reflects, what a school emphasizes in its evaluations is exactly what it will eventually produce. And he was thrilled that Multnomah chose to elevate great teaching and godly mentoring above everything else.

In This Video
• How Multnomah designed its faculty evaluation system
• Why weighting the categories mattered more than the categories themselves
• The conflicting priorities within the Academic Dean’s Council
• Why teaching and mentoring ultimately outranked scholarship
• How evaluation values shape the faculty a school attracts

About This Series
This video is part of a collection celebrating the story, ministry, and legacy of Dr. Garry Friesen (Dr. G), honoring the heritage of Multnomah School of the Bible / Multnomah University and the continuing work God is doing through new ministries around the world. Videos are also available at https://www.youtube.com/@ABCMultnomah.

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If these stories encourage you, feel free to like, subscribe, and share with others who knew and loved Multnomah — and with believers growing in faith in Rwanda and beyond.

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The production of these videos was provided by the Multnomah Family Team, if you would like to help sponsor more videos like this, please contact us here.