2016
YAMAUCHI LECTURE
|
A
UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT'S TESTIMONY |
|
by
Doug Ward |
OXFORD, OHIO-Molecular biologist Santa J. Ono is a successful and beloved
university president, first at the University of Cincinnati (2014-2016) and
since then at the University of British Columbia. Ono is known for his
effective use of social media. He also makes no secret about his strongly held
Christian convictions, something one might not expect of a scientist and
administrator at a public university. In a lecture at Miami University on March
5, 2016, Dr. Ono explained the way science, service, and faith come together in
his life and worldview.
Ono
grew up in the Baltimore area, the son of mathematician Takashi Ono, who taught
for many years at Johns Hopkins University. High academic achievement was
emphasized in the Ono household, and this is reflected in his life and those of
his brothers. His older brother Momoro, a professor
of piano at Creighton University, had performed with symphony orchestras by the
time he was ten years old. His younger brother Ken, who started thinking about
the concept of infinity by age seven, followed in his father's footsteps and is
now a prominent mathematician at Emory University.
With
such talented brothers, Santa Ono-despite his own achievements-suffered from
feelings of inadequacy as a child and thought about taking his own life at age
14. (He was later diagnosed with a mild form of bipolar disorder.) He credits
God with turning his life around.
Ono
struggled during his freshman year at the University of Chicago. One night he
got drunk at a party, and two friends kept him from falling from a fifth floor
window in his dormitory. The two friends were Christians, members of
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, and they introduced him to the Christian
faith. Later, as a graduate student at McGill University, he met his future
wife Wendy, who is also a Christian. Through the influence of Wendy and Baptist
pastor Lloyd Pierce, he accepted Christ as Savior and was baptized in Montreal
at Easter in 1986.
|
Science
and Faith in Academia |
Ono noted that science and faith often have had an uneasy coexistence at
secular universities. He mentioned John William Draper (1811-1882), a founder
of the New York University School of Medicine, and Andrew Dickson White
(1832-1918), the first president of Cornell University, who wrote books
portraying religion as an enemy of science. Science, they said, should not be
held back by old superstitions.
However,
the "conflict thesis" of Draper and White has been thoroughly
discredited on historical grounds, and other scientists have seen compatible,
complementary roles for science and faith. Ono mentioned geologist John William
Dawson (1820-1899) of McGill University as an example.
Ono
said that he does not see a conflict between science and faith. Part of loving
God with all our minds (Matt 22:37) is the exploration of challenging
questions, and faith is strengthened through this process. He believes that
both the strongest universities and the strongest churches are places where
people can be safe to ask questions and debate.
Ono
explained that in his own field of molecular biology, there has been an
explosion of knowledge over just the past generation. As we learn more about
the awe-inspiring complexity of biological structures like the human eye and
immune system, we come face to face with the limitations of human
understanding. Ono came to faith when he embraced these limitations. With all
that we know, he pointed out, we cannot begin to create life. Our current
knowledge of biology points us in the direction of God.
Ono
observed that he is not the only scientist who thinks this way. He mentioned
Francis Collins, who led the Human Genome Project, as a prominent example. He
said that in general, scientists are less religious than the general
population, but he sees that gap shrinking over time.
|
Servant
Leadership |
As a disciple of Jesus, Ono wants to be a servant leader. He often quotes Mark
11:45, where Jesus said that he "did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many." Scientifically speaking, this
means that he wants to use the knowledge that he has been given to do good. In
his research he studies the immune system; the eye; eye inflammation; and
age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness. Early
detection and treatment of macular degeneration can reduce vision loss, so he
hopes to improve our ability to detect this condition.
As a
president of a secular university, Ono tries to start from a position of
humility and respect for everyone in the organization. When he takes this
approach, Ono says, there is no need for him to be a "stealth
Christian" and hide his faith. He strongly believes that universities, as
inclusive institutions, should not shut out faith or pretend that it does not
exist. Spiritual life, he notes, is an important part of overall health and an
essential part of our identities.
Ono
sees it as part of his responsibility to support faith-based groups of all
kinds, and in general to support those who are searching for the truth and
those who have no faith. His own period of searching stretched over a number of
years, and the support of a number of people helped him to find God and
discover God's purpose for his life.
Ono
sees the position of university president as the place where he can accomplish
the most good and be truly evangelical. To those who heard his lecture at Miami
University, he stands out as an inspiring example of a Christian scholar and
leader.
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