DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY & POLITICAL SCIENCE

Faculty

Dr. David Tait Associate Professor Baird Hall, Room 219J 918-343-7746 dtait@rsu.edu

Education

Ph.D., U.S. Social and Intellectual History
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK
Dissertation: “From Confidence to Confusion in Moral Teaching: Episcopalians, Pluralism and Gender, 1892-1997.” 
1999

M. Div.
Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, University of Texas, Austin, TX
1982

B.S. Public Relations
Boston University
Magna Cum Laude
1975

Teaching Experience

1996-present, Associate Professor, Department of History and Political Science
Rogers State University, Claremore, OK

• Courses: War, Ethics, and Religion,Historical Research and Writing, US History to 1877; US History from 1877; Oklahoma History; Famous Trials in American History; Reformers and Liberators; Perspectives on Human Behavior; Social Science Senior Capstone Seminar; Human Geography; New Testament
• Teaching formats: traditional classroom, broadcast television, videoconferencing, and Internet

1995-1996, Instructor
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK

• Class taught: Western Civilization since 1500. Teaching Assistant, 1993 to1995:  US History Survey and Western Civilization to 1500

Educational & Pastorial Experience

• 2005-present, Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church
• 1982-2004, Episcopal Church
• Subdeacon, St. James Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2005 to present.  Assist clergy in worship and education.
• Pastoral Associate, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2001 to 2004.  Assisted rector in preaching, liturgy and pastoral care. Non-stipendiary.
• Chaplain, Camp New Hope, Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, 2000-2002.  Led worship and developed activities at summer camp for children with relatives in prison.
• Supply Priest, Church of the Ascension, Pawnee, Oklahoma, 1993-1998.  Provided liturgical leadership, preaching and emergency pastoral care for small congregation.
• Education Officer, Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, Topeka, 1987-1993.  Organized and conducted educational events for clergy and laity.  Designed educational programs for children. Provided consultation to parishes and diocesan organizations.
• Theological Consultant to Clinical Pastoral Education Program, Veterans Administration Hospital, Topeka, Kansas, 1989-1992. Assisted in teaching and training of seminarians, clergy, and laypersons for crisis ministry.
• Interim Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church, El Dorado, Kansas, 1990-1992.  Provided pastoral leadership for congregation following severe conflict with previous rector. 
• Vicar, St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Topeka, 1987-1990.  Pastor for small urban congregation.  Developed a lay-led pastoral care team that ministered to families in crisis situations.
• Pastoral Assistant, Christ Episcopal Church, Overland Park, Kansas, 1985-1987.  Assisted the rector in worship, education and pastoral care.  Designed and carried out “Pentecost 86,” a parish planning process that resulted in a major expansion of mission and physical plant.
• Acting Episcopal Chaplain, University of Kansas, during chaplain’s sabbatical, Spring 1985.
• Assistant to Rector, Trinity Episcopal Church, Lawrence, Kansas, 1983-1985.
• Chaplain Resident, St. Luke’s Hospital, Kansas City, 1982-1983.

University Service

• Member, Bookstore Advisory Committee, 2004-present.  Committee of faculty, staff and students meets with campus bookstore manager to facilitate improvement and expansion of bookstore services.
• Member, Distance Education Committee, 2003–2005. Chair, 2004-2005.  This committee, including faculty and staff, reviews academic issues pertaining to RSU’s Distance Education programs.
• Chair, Academic Integrity Committee, 1999-2003. This committee implemented the first
  Rogers State University Academic Integrity Code.  During the 2002-2003 academic year the committee completed a comprehensive review and revision of the Code, which was adopted as official policy for 2004-2005.
• Chair, Social and Behavioral Science Department Curriculum Committee, 2000-present.
  This committee supervises development of new degree programs,  revision of existing degree programs, and  development of new courses in several disciplines.
• Member, University Committee on Assessment, 1999-2000.  The committee laid the
  foundation for assessment in all academic programs.

Publications

“Who Will Your Neighbors Be?  Anglicans After Realignment.” The Living Church, December 18, 2005.

Laura Hubbs-Tait, David Tait, Charley Hare, and Erron Huey,  “Involvement of American Indian Families in Early Childhood Education,” in Contemporary Perspectives on Families, Communities and Schools for Young Children. Ed. Olivia N. Saracho and Bernard Spodek.  Information Age, 2005. 

Review of The Spiritual Lives of Bereaved Parents by Dennis Klass.  Death Studies 25:2 (2001), 192-197.

“A Tree House for Zacchaeus?” The Living Church, September 1999.

Conferences

Oklahoma Sociological Association, Norman, Oklahoma, November 5, 2005.  “Signs of Secularization in Canada: The 2001 Census Report on ‘Religions in Canada`”

Oklahoma Sociological Association, Norman, Oklahoma, November 5, 2005. David Newcomb and David A. Tait, “Monitoring Social Well-Being: Measures of Social Health and Human Development.”

Oklahoma Political Science Association, Claremore, Oklahoma, November 4, 2005.  David A. Tait and David Newcomb, “Policy and Social Well-Being: Toward Developing a Social Wellness Index for Oklahoma.”

Southwestern Social Science Association, New Orleans, March 24, 2005. “Trackless Wastes: The American Episcopal Church After Christendom.”

Twelfth International Roundtable on School, Family, and Community Partnerships, San
Diego, April 12, 2004.  Laura Hubbs-Tait, David Tait, Charley Hare, and Erron Huey, "American Indian Families and Early Childhood Education."

Oklahoma Sociological Association, Claremore, Oklahoma, October 31, 2003.  “The Illusion of Inclusion: Why the homosexuality crisis in the Episcopal Church is not just about sex.”

E-College User’s Conference, Kansas City, Missouri, April 11, 2002.  David Tait and Myra Haulmark, “The Unit Wrap-Up: Consolidating Academic Learning and Personal History.”

Oklahoma Association of Professional Historians, Stillwater, February 20, 2001.  “Periodization in Oklahoma History: A Revised Framework.”

Organization of American Historians, St. Louis, Missouri, April 2, 2000:  “The Wrong Church at the Wrong Time: Moral Teaching in the Episcopal Church since the 1960’s.”

Mid-America Conference on History, Stillwater, Oklahoma, September 19, 1997: “The End of History or the Liberation of the Historian?  Television, Taping and Teaching.”

Mid-America Conference on History, Topeka, Kansas, September 13, 1996:  “The Herodian Sin: Opposition to Birth Control in the Episcopal Church of the 1920’s.”

Graduate Research Symposium, Oklahoma State University, March 18, 1996: "Atheists in a Christian Sea: Bolshevik Revolutionaries and Christian Resistance in the Early 1920's."

Oklahoma Association of Professional Historians, Phi Alpha Theta Session, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, February 17, 1996:  "National Church or English Enclave?  The Troubled Episcopal Church of the 1920's."

Southwestern Social Science Association, Phi Alpha Theta Session, Dallas, Texas, March 25, 1995:  "From Antisocial Act to Individual Right: Changing Views of Contraception in the Episcopal Church, 1890-1960."

Graduate Student Research Symposium, Oklahoma State University, February 18, 1995: "From Family to Individual as the Basic Unit of Society: Changes in the Social Teaching of the Episcopal Church, 1892-1982."

Presentations for Professional, Religious & Community Audiences

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma. December 4, 2005.  Homily,  “Jesus Christ Wants to Heal on the Sabbath: How will we help Him?”

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma. November 20, 2005.  Homily, “Rich Toward God.”

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma. November 6, 2005.  Homily, “Bring Your Faith With You.”

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma. October 16, 2005.  Homily, “A Sower Went Out.” 

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma. October 9, 2005.  Homily, “Get Up Out of that Coffin!”

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma. September 18, 2005.  Homily, “After New Orleans: Time for the Cross.”

St Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Church, Oklahoma City, August 28, 2005.  Homily, “Only By Prayer And Fasting.”

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma. August 2005. “Orthodox Summer School Session: The First Epistle of Peter.”

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma.  July 24, 2005.  Homily, “She Loved Him.”

St. Antony Orthodox Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma.  July 14, 2005.  Presentation, “Crisis in Christianity: The Episcopal Church Conflict in Global Perspective.”

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma.  June 12, 2005.  Homily, “And This Is Eternal Life.”

St. James Orthodox Christian Mission, Stillwater, Oklahoma. June-July 2005. “Orthodox Summer School Session: The Gospel of Mark.”

White Wind, Inc., Coffeyville, Kansas. April 9, 2005.  Professional seminar. “Regret, Remorse and Repentance: Reconnecting the Present and the Past.”

St. Elijah Antiochian Orthodox Church, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, September 26, 2004.  Presentation, “Embracing Orthodoxy in Earthquake Times.”

Salem Lutheran Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, September 19, 2004. Presentation, “History, Heresy and Homosexuality.” Delivered as part of ELCA dialogue on sexuality.

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma.  June 20, 2004. Sermon,
“Confronting the Gospel in Earthquake Times.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas.  Pentecost, May 30, 2004.  Sermon, “I will Pour Out
My Spirit on All Flesh.”
Rogers State University Library, April 21, 2004, with William Toliver. Review of Mark Fuhrman, Death and Justice: An Expose of Oklahoma’s Death Row Machine (William Morrow, 2003).

Claremore Home Schoolers Association, April 15, 2004.  Presentation, “The Salem Witch Trials of 1692.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas.  April 18, 2004.  Sermon, “All the Jesus We Need.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas.  Maundy Thursday, April 8, 2004. Sermon,
“Remembering: Until His Coming Again.”

Claremore Home Schoolers Association, April 1, 2004.  Presentation: “Tudors, Stuarts and the Reformation in England.”

White Wind, Inc., Coffeyville, Kansas. February 21, 2004.  Professional seminar, “Assessing Relationships, Values and Security: Shared Centers of Value and Power.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas.  February 15, 2004.  Sermon, “The Blessing of God.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas.  January 18, 2004.  Sermon, “Look at Jesus – And Fall in Love with Life Again.”

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma.  January 4, 2004.  Sermon, “Jesus the Nazorean: God’s Plan for Our Salvation.”

Salem Lutheran Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, November 30, 2003.  Sermon: “The Unfinished Mission: Christ Will Come Again.”

Trinity Episcopal Church, El Dorado, Kansas.  November 23, 2003. Sermon, “Not Prophet but Pariah: A Time to Lament and Repent.”

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, November 9, 2003.  Sermon, “Between Appearances.”

Trinity Episcopal Church, El Dorado, Kansas, November 1, 2003.  Seminar, “The Messiah at the Well.”

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, October 21, 2003.  Presentation, “Dallas, London and the Anglican Communion: A Review of Recent Events.”

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma.  October 19, 2003.  Sermon, “Never To Be Divided.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, September 28, 2003. Sermon, “Music in the Sinner’s Ear.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, August 3, 2003.  Sermon, “The Convention and the Cross.” 

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, July 20, 2003. Sermon, “Four Miracles In One: The Feeding of the 5000.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, June 29, 2003.  Sermon, “Jesus said: Open Your Hand to the Poor.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas.  May 25, 2003. Sermon, “Teaching Us About God: The Old Testament Legacy.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas, April 27, 2003.  Sermon, “God After Death: The Resurrection.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, March 16, 2003.  Sermon, “The Vortex of Violence: Jesus in Time of War.”

Order of St. Luke, St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, February 22, 2003.  Teaching Mission, “Living Water: A Seminar.” 

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, February 16, 2003. Sermon, “Athirst for the Living God: Righteousness and the Alabama Tax Code.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas, January 19, 2003. Sermon, “Nathanael Meets Jesus.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, December 29, 2002. Sermon, “The Light Shines in the Darkness: Hope, Peace and Poverty.”

Trinity Church, El Dorado, Kansas, December 22, 2002. Sermon, “Obedience of Faith: Let it be with me according to your word.”

Stillwater Masonic Lodge, Stillwater Oklahoma, December 15, 2002.  Talk, “John the Evangelist.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, November 17, 2002. Sermon, “This Is Not A Test: God’s Emergency Broadcast System.”

St. Paul’s Church, Clinton, Oklahoma, November 3, 2002.  Sermon, “Call to Prayer: Daniel in the Lion’s Den.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, October 13, 2002.  Sermon, “Jesus is Our Prophet: Judgment in the Koran and the New Testament.”

Rogers State University Library, September 2002.  Review of Grif Stockley, Blood In Their Eyes: The Elaine Race Massacres of 1919 (University of Arkansas Press, 2001).

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, September 8, 2002.  Sermon, “The Obedience of Faith: Overcoming Evil by Being the Church.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, July 14, 2002.  Sermon, “You are not in the Flesh: You are in the Spirit.”

Stillwater Masonic Lodge, Stillwater Oklahoma, June 27, 2002.  Talk,  “John the Baptist.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, June 14, 2002. Sermon, “Are We Saved? Sin, Justification and Mission.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, May 12, 2002. Sermon, “There oughta be a Hall of Fame for Mommas, but Mother’s Day Will Do.”

Claremore High School, Claremore, Oklahoma, Spring 2002. Guest presentation for class, “The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, April 7, 2002.  Sermon, “Peace Be
With You.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, March 10, 2002.  Sermon, “O Send Out Thy Light and Thy Truth, that He may lead me.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, February 10, 2002.  Sermon, “May God Bless What We Do Today.”

St. Andrew’s Church, Stillwater, Oklahoma, January 13, 2002.  Sermon, “The Baptism of Jesus: Does it Really Matter?”

Rogers State University Library, September 2001, with Dr. Carolyn Taylor.  Review of Waltzing With the Ghost of Tom Joad: Poverty, Myth and Low-Wage Labor in Oklahoma, by Robert Lee Maril  (University of Oklahoma Press, 2000).

Rogers State University Library, Spring 2001.  Review of Contested Territory: Whites, Native Americans and African-Americans in Oklahoma, 1865-1907, by Murray R. Wickett (Louisiana State University Press, 2000).

"Power, Sex, and Professional Ethics.", College of Presbyters, Diocese of Kansas, 1990, Ministerial Alliance, Emporia, Kansas, 1992, Clinical Pastoral Education Program, Veterans Administration Hospital, Topeka, Kansas, 1992

"Spiritual Development and the Search for Meaning.", Veteran's Administration Hospital, Topeka, Kansas, 1988, Military Chaplains, Episcopal Church, Washington and San Francisco, 1989