As an adjunct faculty member at SPU, Dr. Margaret Sampson Edgell taught and wrote a great deal about the integration of Christian faith and business. She had a strong desire to see students live for Christ in the business world.
Edgell was obviously well-qualified to stake a claim in both commerce and the classroom, with an undergraduate degree in international relations from Stanford University, a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University, and a doctorate from the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong education (HALE) program at Michigan State University.
She also brought with her a broad experience, having previously worked for the U.S. Treasury as an international economist/trade specialist, developing and negotiating government industrial policy in finance. She was the founder and president of International Economics Inc., consulting in export-import business, high-tech management, accreditation and practice of business education, writing, and editing. An accomplished writer, she enjoyed writing fantasy fiction and was a founding board member of the Northwest Christian Writers Association.
Edgell’s research with business students showed that Christian students mature in their chosen disciplines differently than other students. Her findings are in a book she co-authored with Johan Hegeman and Henk Jochemsen, Practice and Profile: Christian Formation for Vocation.
Friends and colleagues remember her as a woman of prayer, a unifier, a calming presence, a professor devoted to students, and a person others aspired to be. She liked salsa lessons and cross-country ski trips arranged through her church.
Ultimately she established the Margaret Edgell Faith at Work Prize Endowment to encourage students to investigate the integration of faith and work. This endowment, once fully funded, will make a distribution each year to fund the Margaret Edgell Faith at Work Prize. Recipients are selected based on a class project in which teams each submit a video report of a business they studied that exemplifies the integration of Christian faith and business. Winning projects are voted on by classmates and professors.
