Alumni and faculty books

Janet Sarjeant ’73 has announced that her first book “Deep Calls Upon Deep: Reflections on the Intersecting Lives and Writings of Frederick Buechner, Tony Abbott, and Louis Patrick,” was recently published through Parson's Porch & Company. 

The book outlines how the life experiences and teachings of Buechner, Abbott and Patrick are intertwined in their journey towards God and divine understanding, thanks in part to their developed friendship over many years. Sarjeant’s hope is that readers, using the three men’s experiences as inspiration, form a deeper and more reflective relationship with God. 

Sarjeant lives with her husband, Dale Sarjeant ’74, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Sarjeant was an English professor at Central Piedmont Community College for 25 years, but now spends her time writing and enjoying the families of her sons, Daniel and Christopher. She has been a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church for 47 years. She credits her church as her inspiration for this book. 

Rev. Dr. Graham Standish ’81 has published his ninth book titled “…And the Church Actually Changed: Uncommon Wisdom for Pastors in an Age of Doubt, Division, and Decline” in the fall of 2020. Noticing that mainline church attendance is in drastic decline and pastors are struggling with maintaining the pace of ever-changing trends in theology, Standish writes that he set out to share insight from clergy members on how their roles in the church are transforming. 

Each chapter of the book addresses a significant clergy leadership issue through dialogue between clergy coaches and pastors on ways to address issues pragmatically to ensure healthy church life for both clergy and congregation.   

Brian D. McLaren, author, speaker and public theologian, said, “‘And the Church Actually Changed’ may be the most practical, insight-packed, easy-to-read, realistic, and hope-inspiring church leadership book ever written. Standish is the ideal person to write this book; he combines the experience of a pastor with the sensitivity of a counselor and the insight of a widely-read scholar.” 

Standish is the executive director of Samaritan Counseling Guidance Consulting in Sewickley, Pennsylvania. He works with clergy as a spiritual director and coach, facilitating clergy leadership groups and offering training for pastors. Standish is also an adjunct professor at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary Doctor of Ministry program and has taught in its Certificate in Spiritual Formation Program, as well as in Toronto at Tyndale Theological Seminary's Doctor of Ministry program, focusing in the areas of spirituality and congregational leadership.  

Dr. Leslie Warden, Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo Associate Professor of Art History at Roanoke College, has authored “Ceramic Perspectives on Ancient Egyptian Society.” Released in May 2021 by Cambridge University Press as a product of its Cambridge Elements publications, "Ceramic Perspectives” explains how ceramics can forward the study and understanding of Egyptian society. 

Dr. Warden argues that the vast amount of ceramic material produced during the time period indicates how important pottery was to Egyptian life. "Ceramic Perspectives,” the fifth volume in the “Ancient Egypt in Context” series, explores how ceramics focuses the social analysis of the time period through four areas of research: regionalism; ties between province and state, elite and non-elite; domestic life; and the relationship of political change to social change. While the case studies presented largely come from the Old through Middle Kingdoms, the methods and questions are applicable to any period of Egyptian history, Warden writes. 

Warden teaches archaeology courses at the College, introducing students to mortuary archaeology, settlement archaeology, Egyptian art, and museology, among other topics.