By Ella Quigley, Reporter

ROME, Ga. – Curiosity and wonder. The understanding of the divine. What it means to live a good life. These are only some of the ideas that are daily inspirations for Dr. Dale McConkey, professor of sociology at Berry College.

McConkey has embarked on his last year as a full-time professor. For the next two years, he will be teaching a few upper-level classes before fully phasing out and into a retirement that will end more than 33 years at Berry.

He said he hopes that he accomplished his mission of making Berry an “inspiring and fun place for colleagues and students to experience.”

His colleagues assure McConkey that, yes, he can proudly say, “Mission accomplished.”

McConkey “got a lot of students to challenge or be aware of their assumptions or beliefs on a lot of different topics,” said Dr. Anne Lewinson, an associate professor of anthropology. She also said that he made Berry a “very welcoming” place for her when she was hired in 2001.

Reverend Jon Huggins, who replaced McConkey as college chaplain in 2012, echoed Lewinson’s praises, describing his colleague as “a friend to everyone.”

What’s next

The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., native said he looks forward to working more in ministry. Already, he is a pastor at the United Methodist Church in Armuchee, Ga., where he has been for 12 years.

In his free time, he said he enjoys recording and producing his podcast, “Church Potluck: A Smorgasbord of Christian Curiosity,” for which his two goals are exploring the Christian faith through different perspectives and having an inviting and friendly conversation with smart people.

McConkey invites professors and colleagues that have different religious beliefs and backgrounds to come on the podcast to speak about their opinions on certain topics. Based on the success of the podcast, McConkey said he hopes to form an independent production company to create religious books, devotions, and videos that complement the podcast. The literature and videos would be aimed at helping people think about the Christian faith without feeling pressured into believing it, just like the podcast.

Flashback

In his first semester as a fresher at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla., McConkey said he had no idea what to pursue. While taking a required statistics class, the professor, who also taught sociology, reached out to him and recommended that he consider sociology as a major. He gave McConkey a book introducing him to the subject. 

The next semester, McConkey took an introduction class to sociology, which sealed the deal.

“The wonder of sociology just jumped out,” he said.

From then on, his love for the subject grew, which prompted him to want to teach it, as well, and he knew he wanted to do it at a small liberal arts college like Eckerd. He earned his PhD from the University of Illinois, and he saw a job post from Berry College. He joined the faculty in 1993.

After teaching at Berry for years, McConkey said he began connecting sociology to his religion, loving the idea of applying his Christian faith to the ideas and discipline of sociology. At public universities, this would be forbidden; at Berry, it’s welcome.

Meanwhile, at about the same time, Berry’s religious life on campus was in turmoil. Tension between the college chaplain at the time and the faculty of the religion and philosophy department escalated during the 9/11 memorial at the college held just after the terrorist attacks of 2001.

McConkey said he had on his mind then what he might do to resolve the tension. A few weeks after the memorial, riding his bike around campus, thinking about the tension, McConkey said “all of a sudden, I heard this voice saying, ‘Prepare.’ For whatever reason, I immediately understood that it meant to prepare to be chaplain at Berry.

The process of becoming an ordained pastor and chaplain would take five to six years, so he got started. Five weeks into that process, McConkey learned that the chaplain resigned. In short order, McConkey became chaplain and got ordained by the United Methodist church.

Tragedy strikes

Nine years into his term as chaplain, in 2011, McConkey’s wife became mysteriously, gravely ill. It became clear that she needed McConkey to care for her, so he stepped down from the position he so loved. He was able to be with his wife in her final days, and he was able to devote himself again to teaching sociology courses.

In retirement, he says he looks forward to playing lots of golf and spending time with family. He has two adult children, “both of whom I am very proud of,” he said. His daughter, Kristen, is a mental health specialist in Illinois. His son, Stephen, is the assistant manager of films and special events for New York’s Central Park. He’s also working toward his master’s degree in urban planning at Hunter College in Manhattan.

As for golf, a recently acquired passion, McConkey said he’s already playing three times per week when weather and schedules permit.

Tribute

McConkey is someone who “mourns with those who mourn and rejoices with those who rejoice,” in the words of Huggins, who replaced McConkey as chaplain.  

One of McConkey’s favorite things about Berry are the deer.

“Never take Berry’s beauty for granted,” he advised.

When he needs to wait for a deer to cross the street or footpath, when he steps in something a deer has left behind, McConkey said he never complains.

McConkey said he also appreciates his colleagues, including Lewinson and Dr. Sarah Allred. Lewinson calls them “frolleagues,” or a cross between “friends” and “colleagues.”

But what McConkey said he enjoys most are the students.

“Berry has the highest ratio that you can get in smartness, pleasantness, and earnestness,” he said.