‘I Just Asked’ | Retired Professor Dr. Joan Tompkins

A Series of Firsts Over Three Decades

As Dr. Joan Tompkins prepared her first Victorian tea for Lancaster Bible College students in her Victorian Literature course, she realized she did not have the proper place settings or even a location for this unique student experience. So the now-retired faculty member did what was part of her personal and professional nature: “I just asked.” On the receiving end of her question was then-President Gilbert A. Peterson, who indeed granted access to his presidential office and the presidential china.

During her three decades at LBC during the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, Tompkins did much asking of colleagues and administration and even provided opportunities for others, including students, to ask of her. While teaching her classes, she was open to discussions, even uncomfortable ones, with students where she would often say, “Let’s talk about it.”

Peter Cuthbert (’16) was in one of Tompkins’ literature courses. “She always has a pleasant demeanor followed by edifying words,” shares Cuthbert. “She truly is a leader and positive example to follow.” He continues that Tompkins taught him “to appreciate the different literary genres concerning the books of the Bible. I learned and am continuing to learn how to read Psalms different from Ephesians or 1 Samuel different from Revelation. She would oftentimes stress it is not just what you read but about how you read it that can make all the difference in the world.”

When her husband, Jonathan, was a youth pastor at a church in the Philadelphia suburbs, Tompkins was asked to teach as an adjunct at Philadelphia College of the Bible (now Cairn University). At first, she was reluctant, as their family included two small children. Tompkins recalls, however, a woman in their church who knew of the opportunity and said, “I’ll watch your kids. This is my time with them—just go!” And go she did!

When the Tompkins prepared to return home to Lancaster for a church-related job opportunity for Jon, Joan struggled with letting go of being an adjunct. Within an hour of her surrendering to God about the move, then-President Stuart E. Lease called her after he heard the family was moving back to the area and asked, “Do you want a job?” Tompkins remembers thinking, “The Lord granted this for a special reason, and I loved every single minute of it.”

Tompkins’ decades of experiences at LBC were filled with firsts. As the first full-time female faculty member, she taught English and was the first to establish the fourth-year general education division of the college. She was also the first female class advisor and the first to develop a “Bible as Literature” course where she loved seeing the eyes of her students open to realizations found in reading the Bible as a piece of literature. Tompkins was also the team lead on the first evaluation process for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, subsequently involved in three of those evaluations over the years.

Tompkins formed the first drama club that provided a foundation for the current Music, Worship & Performing Arts Department and was involved in the establishment of the RAP (Reaching Academic Potential) Center, a precursor to the current Ally Center, which she describes as “started in the open cubby hole of the old library.” Tompkins also worked with Student Affairs in the 1980s to coordinate the wearing of slacks—in the form of pantsuits—for the first time by female students.

All of Tompkins’ firsts—from that first Victorian tea experience to the first reading of the story of Ruth as a piece of literature and more—have made a lasting impact on students during and after her time at LBC. Since her retirement 20 years ago, Tompkins has taught Bible studies in a retirement community, has been involved in ESL programs within her church and community, and has mentored immigrants and international college students. She continues to make a difference.

Dr. Joan Tompkins holds a Bible certification from Philadelphia Bible Institute, an English Education degree from Taylor University, a master’s degree in English from West Chester University and a doctorate in English from Temple University.