Feature Story
Seeking Wisdom, Uncovering Truth: Professors Lee and Silver Speak at Annual Professor of the Year Forum
On Oct. 9, the Southern Virginia University community gathered in the Knight Arena to hear from Dr. Jared Lee and Dr. Ariel Clark Silver, who were named as Professors of the Year for the 2025-26 school year. As the inaugural recipients of the Kenneth F. MacDonnell Endowment Professor of the Year award, Lee and Silver spoke about scientific discovery, literary research, and the search for truth, identity, and wisdom.
A professor of biology at SVU, Lee used examples from genetics, history and scripture to explore what human biology can teach us about our physical differences and the way we respond to them. He explained how the non-functional Gulo gene leaves humans unable to produce their own vitamin C, leading to historical struggles with scurvy, and discussed how mutations in the FBN1 and F9 genes affected historic figures ranging from volleyball legend Flo Hyman to European royal families. He also shared the biblical story of Christ healing the man blind from birth.
“Looking at the Gulo gene in humans is like looking at the charred remains of a burned-down house,” Lee said. “It turns out there are at least 30 different genes that can cause blindness from birth. Before healing the blind man, Jesus shared that neither the parents nor the man’s sins caused the blindness, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
“We do not have these mutations because we did something wrong,” Lee continued. “These mutations, these genes, give us opportunities to engage with our society and demonstrate Christlike attributes, because each gene has a story.”
An associate professor of English, Silver shared how searching for truth and learning to read deeply can profoundly change the way people see themselves and the world around them. She drew from her study of 19th-century American literature, including the recovery of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s long-lost 1845 poetry collection, “Forest Leaves.”
“‘Our masters always tried to hide book learning from our eyes. Knowledge didn’t agree with slavery; ‘twould make us all too wise,’” Silver quoted. “Harper understood that knowledge and slavery were incompatible, as Jesus declares in the Gospel of John: ‘Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’”
Silver also shared that seeking wisdom was not simply an academic exercise, but a spiritual calling as well. Referencing the Doctrine and Covenants, she reiterated that the knowledge and wisdom we gain in this life remain with us in the resurrection.
“When we search and research, we are fulfilling the mission of this school, gathering insight, understanding, and truth, allowing it to lift us and others,” Silver said. “Learning to read the truth together has set us free.”
The forum opened with the audience singing “Teach Me to Walk in the Light,” followed by a performance of “Palladio” by the Camerata Orchestra and directed by Dr. Jakob Hofer. The campus community also joined together in singing the traditional closing hymn “Love One Another.”
