College honors Dr. Roger Lundin in Day of Tribute

Wheaton declared Mon., March 13 to be a “Day of Tribute” to former Professor of English and Arthur F. Holmes Professor of Faith and Learning Roger Lundin, who passed away in 2015. Lundin was a 1971 graduate, widely published scholar and beloved professor for over 36 years at Wheaton College. His son, Matthew Lundin, is a current associate professor of history.
 
A 4 p.m. dedication ceremony officially recognized the naming of the former English Seminar Room as the Roger Lundin English Seminar Room. Featuring words from Chaplain Timothy Blackmon and President Philip Ryken, dozens of students, faculty and guests gathered in Blanchard Hall to participate in the ceremony. Blackmon concluded the event with a moment of silence and prayer in the newly dedicated classroom, expressing a hope that the room will promote academic and spiritual development in students. “What we have seen and heard in Roger, may we too practice these things,” he said.
 
In the evening, Dr. Jeremie Begbie of Duke University presented a lecture on transcendence and the arts, followed by a piano performance of a piece by Niccolò Paganini which he dedicated to Lundin. Begbie stressed the importance of exploring, relishing and celebrating the arts in order to “become re-captivated by the endlessly rich, fruitful and disturbing transcendence of the triune God.” His light-hearted tangents were met with laughs from the audience, his profound tribute with quiet admiration. Following a brief reception, the night closed with a lecture by Dr. Charles Taylor of McGill University entitled “The Strange Uses of Political Religion.”
 
The room will house the senior seminar class, which Lundin taught, as well as faculty meetings and will preserve his legacy as “Christian scholar, master teacher and faithful mentor.”