By Rick Cherok
Johnson University recently announced the passing of Dr. Chris Templar, a pioneer in the field of robotics and the integration of technology into education. Templar has served with Johnson University since 1974, when she was invited to join the faculty and to develop the university’s teacher education program. In recognition of Templar’s distinguished service and contributions to the institution, Johnson University honored her in 2012 by naming their school of education the Templar School of Education.
Templar grew up in a Christian home in England, where her parents were zealous advocates for missions and raised her to admire missionaries as the Lord’s servants. “At a very young age,” she recalled in a 2017 interview, “I learned to love China.” Throughout her childhood and young-adult years, Templar had a deep-seated desire to become a missionary to China.
Along with her early love for China, Templar was drawn to math and science during the early years of her education. Her academic abilities in those areas prompted her school’s headmistress to encourage her to pursue university studies in math and physics, but her desire was to serve the Lord as a missionary to China. Upon completing an undergraduate and graduate degree in theological fields, along with a Graduate Teaching Certificate, Templar applied with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (formerly China Inland Mission and now OMF International) to go to China. Due to language challenges related to learning Chinese, however, Templar ended up learning the Indonesian language and serving with a Chinese church in Indonesia for 4 years.
Templar came to the United States during a furlough and worked on a master’s degree and a Ph.D. with the intent of returning to Indonesia and teaching in a seminary. When she was unable to return to Indonesia, she received an invitation from Johnson University (then Johnson Bible College) to join their faculty and develop their teacher education program. Templar’s leadership guided Johnson through multiple state approvals, enabling the university to develop both an undergraduate and a graduate program for teacher education.
In 1981, Templar recounted having attended a Logo programing conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was introduced to Seymour Papert’s ideas of education through creative discovery with computers and robotics. The following year, she submitted a proposal for studying the book of Philippians and Paul’s visits to Philippi in Acts for 4th-6th grade students in Logo and drama. “This work with Logo,” she noted, was her initial “experience of coding and fine arts combined with young children.”
Accompanying her normal classroom activities, Johnson University appointed Templar the Director of International Teacher Education and the Director of Educational Technology, which enabled her to focus her efforts on teaching graduate students from the People’s Republic of China. Templar made multiple trips to China, where she assisted with the development of robotics programs and taught in the area of educational technology and robotics.
“While I have worked for the majority of my professional life in some aspect of technology, it has always been my desire to integrate the Lord, his word, and his ways into the work I am doing,” Templar said. “I have never found this hard to do. The things we use in educational technology were created by the Lord, and in all things I seek to give glory to him.”
Templar had no children of her own, but rejoiced in seeing the success of her students around the globe. “Dr. Templar loved, equipped, and sent hundreds of teachers who continue to share the love of Christ in classrooms across the world,” Dr. Daniel Overdorf, President of Johnson University, remarked. “We honor her memory and thank our God who led her to Johnson 50 years ago.” Overdorf also noted, “I would often hear Dr. Templar’s students say, ‘She was the toughest and the best professor I ever had.’ She loved her students dearly, and one of the ways she loved them was by holding them to high standards. Her graduates went into schools thoroughly prepared to teach.”
To further honor Templar’s legacy and her exemplary service to the university, Johnson recently established a scholarship fund to assist with the education of future teachers. Donations may be given online at Johnson.edu/donate/ or checks made payable to Johnson University can be sent to 7900 Johnson Drive, Knoxville, TN 37998 with a note indicating the gift is in memory of Dr. Chris Templar.
Dr. Rick Cherok serves as Managing Editor of the CHRISTIAN STANDARD.
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