Heather Thompson Day is returning to Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States as an associate professor in the Department of Visual Arts, Communication & Design (VACD). Thompson Day, who recently published her seventh book, It’s Not Your Turn (IVP, 2021), will teach graduate and undergraduate communication courses, including ethics and interpersonal communication. “We are very excited to once again share the classroom with Heather. She is an outstanding professor and writer who cares deeply for students,” T. Lynn Caldwell, chair of VACD, said.
Since leaving Andrews in 2019, Thompson Day has been teaching at Colorado Christian University in Lakewood, Colorado. In addition to teaching, she has also been writing for the Barna Group, contributing to the blog I’m That Wife, and developing a podcast for Christianity Today — Viral Jesus — launched in late July.
Thompson Day said she chose to rejoin the Andrews learning community for a number of reasons. She will be closer to her family, and she looks forward to being back in a diverse campus environment. Furthermore, she said, she believes it is important to serve one’s roots. She explained, “When you get to where you’re going, go back to where you came from and help people who are there.”
Thompson Day is a graduate of Andrews University, and she describes herself as a “home-grown Andrews student.” “If I can go back and mentor kids just like me, what an honor,” she said. “Serving in my denomination is a unique experience, so I’m excited about that; just to be with young people and help them dream and reach whatever goals they have for when they leave the university. That’s how I approach my teaching; it’s really through mentorship.”
Providing opportunities for students to grow both professionally and spiritually is important to Thompson Day. For example, she recently helped a student secure a fellowship at Newsweek, and she hopes to include students in the production of her new podcast. She shares further, “My calling from God is to stand in the gaps for our young people. Not just for our university students, but within the church, to stand in the gap for them and provide a path, so they feel like there’s a place for them here.”
Among Thompson Day’s seven books are How to Feed the Mediavore (Review and Herald, 2013), Cracked Glasses (Review and Herald, 2013), and The God Myth and Other Lies (Review and Herald, 2014). Her latest book, It’s Not Your Turn: What to Do While You’re Waiting for Your Breakthrough, reached Amazon.com’s best-selling list of new releases in the category of Christian Inspirational soon after its publication. The book is about “showing up to our lives with intentionality and purpose even when it’s not our turn,” she said. Thompson Day continued, “Who we are when it’s not our turn is actually more important than who we will be when it is.” In a recent interview with the Detroit affiliate of Fox network, she described the challenge and importance of cheering for others when we are still waiting for our own big break.
The Department of Visual Art, Communication & Design at Andrews University offers undergraduate degrees in communication, public relations, photography, graphic design, and fine arts. The department also offers a Master of Arts in communication. Ten faculty members take an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to training the 21st-century communicator.
Heather is married to pastor Seth Day, and together they have three children.