Executive Director of EKU Honors
Professor in the Department of History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies
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Contact Information
Department: EKU Honors Program
Office: University 137
Mailing Address: University 137
Email: david.coleman@eku.edu
Phone: 859-622-1403
Bio
I have taught at EKU since 1998 and in the EKU Honors Program since 1999. I have always loved the unpredictable and unscripted energy of our Honors classrooms, and my experiences with our Honors students and my team-teaching honors faculty partners over the years have defined my development as a teacher. Having the opportunity to serve as director of our Honors Program since 2013 has proven by far to be the most rewarding experience of my career in higher education. I especially love the ways in which the position demands both creativity and daily interaction with outstanding students. In my administrative and teaching duties alike, I have found that it is essential to listen to and learn from students as well as fellow faculty. I care deeply about continuing to build within our program a culture not only of vibrant intellectual exchange and growth, but also of service to our campus, community and world.
My field of scholarly training is the history of late medieval and early modern Europe, and my research area has been the social, cultural and religious history of early modern Spain. I have had the great fortune of spending nearly two years of my life living and working in Spain, mostly in the cities of Granada and Málaga. Outside of my professional life, I enjoy making use of my Spanish language skills by working with my church’s clean water mission program in Honduras, where I have travelled extensively in recent years. My wife is also a professor here at EKU and a specialist in Korean Studies, and we have also had the opportunity to travel extensively and live in South Korea. Together we have three amazing grown children and a wonderful granddaughter. I am also a lifelong runner—although admittedly not a very fast one. The highlights of my “running career” (such as it is) include completing Kentucky’s famous overnight “Bourbon Chase” relay three times and running many 10K races (including one in Incheon, South Korea).