Karen Robu to resign from faculty, theater positions
Karen Robu to resign from faculty, theater positions
Robu will focus on her ministry duties in Wichita.
Last Friday, Bethel College Vice President for Academic Affairs Bob Milliman announced via email the resignation of Karen Robu, assistant professor of communication arts and director of theater, effective at the end of the academic year.
Robu is a pastor at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Wichita, where she plans to take on her pastor role full-time. The Collegian previously reported her stepping down from her assignment as director of the upcoming spring play, “Tick, Tick… BOOM!”
Robu spoke about her decision to resign, citing how she felt during and after the pandemic, recalling a poem by Kitty O'Meara that took social media by storm three years ago: “And the People Stayed Home.”
“Up until the pandemic I had been a very busy person who worked too many hours,” Robu told The Collegian. “The pandemic forced me to slow down. I stayed home, read books, listened, rested, exercised, made art, and played games and I learned a new way of being. I was healthier and had more time to spend with my family.
“Three years later I seemed to have forgotten all I learned and was even busier than I was before the pandemic.”
Robu also emphasized the increased responsibilities as a full-time associate minister for Plymouth Congregational Church and why she felt like her time at Bethel was coming to an end.
“I was working 10, 12, and 14-hour days six or seven days a week and still felt like I wasn't keeping up with all my responsibilities at the church and at the school. I have enjoyed my time teaching at Bethel and have especially enjoyed directing students in the shows, but it was no longer sustainable for me to do both jobs.
“The students deserve more than I have to give and I need to find time to read books, listen, rest, exercise, create, and be still.”
No timeline was provided regarding a potential replacement for Robu’s position.