The beginning of the school year brings a very particular sensation. For many of us in the academic world, we experience this feeling with a measure of affection and excitement. Freshly sharpened pencils and clean notebooks, a stack of textbooks, a new haircut, and an aspirational scarf. Let’s go!

But accoutrements aside, we love this season for all of the hope it contains — for learning, for growing, and for an opportunity to begin again. We’ve gathered together our best resources and articles for new graduate students and for new faculty members to support you as you start this new year. (Stay tuned for a special back-to-school podcast episode dropping on Tuesday!) Whether your life centers around the school calendar or not, we hope that you receive this freshness as an invitation from God to launch into your next chapter.

“We offer this collection of articles gathered from The Well to help you thrive in this new endeavor. But no matter where you are in your program, we hope these articles will encourage you in your calling to teaching and scholarship.”

For some of us, our beginnings might hold a sense of the bittersweet. Every beginning also embodies an ending — the last days at your former institution, a job left behind to pursue a new direction, or a move away from an old home. For those who are relocating, we offer this prayer by professor Carmen Imes to help name those parallel feelings of excitement and disorientation and bring them all before Jesus.

“Moving is exciting, exhausting, and disorienting. I’m convinced that God has work to do in us that can only be done in a state of dislocation. As much as we dislike being unsettled, it’s an opportunity for God to show us the state of our heart and the ways we depend on predictability and familiarity rather than depending on God.”

You’re Invited!

Weekly Prayer is back! Join us online for 30-minute guided prayer meetings on Fridays at 8 am, 9 am, and 12 pm (Eastern). Can’t come? Send your prayer requests anyway by emailing us at wsap@intervarsity.org.

Faithful Politics — Fall Book Club. If you’d like to discuss Christian political engagement in our present context in a non-partisan and safe environment, join the Women Scholars and Professionals Fall 2024 Book Club as we discuss Faithful Politics (IVP 2024). Miranda Zapor Cruz helps us to envision what faithful citizenship looks like in light of being citizens of God’s kingdom. Click through to register!

IVP Faculty exam copies. Professors can request a free exam or desk copy for InterVarsity Press titles adopted for classroom use up to three times a year. Your free exam or desk copy will be sent to you within four weeks. Register for a professional account to access this benefit!

Are you an InterVarsity alum? Use promo code IVCFALUMNI to get a 25% discount at ivpress.com.

Are you a Christian woman working in a STEMM field? We need your voice! WISH (Women in Science & Humanities) aims to encourage and support Christian women in STEMM. As part of the WISH Program’s commitment to understanding and empowering Christian women in all disciplines who are interested in the intersection of Science & Faith, we invite you to share your experiences and felt needs in our survey. Survey will remain open until August 13.

Four More Things We Loved This Week

1. “People want to connect…. The issue is that we lack practical knowledge about how to give one another the attention we crave.” David Brooks shares important insights about social connection that can transform those awkward moments with new colleagues and peers. (NY Times, unlocked)

2. Thérèse of Lisieux teaches us that profound joy doesn’t require good fortune.

3. This article about cleaning up your phone’s photo library to free up space offers an easy way to delete duplicates. (NY Times, unlocked)

4. Fresh tomatoes and corn — this summer tart looks captivating (and easy to de-escalate with a store-bought pie crust).