Name: Derek Nelson
Background: I grew up in Vasa, Minnesota on a small farm, am a proud member of Wabash ’99, went to Yale for a Master’s Degree, then Graduate Theological Union/University of California, Berkeley for a Ph.D. I’m married to Rev. Kelly Nelson, and we live with our newborn daughter Madeleine Grace in the woods outside Crawfordsville.
Department and specialty at Wabash: I’m in the Religion department, mostly teaching theology and the history of Christianity. Editor's note: Derek was recently granted tenure.
Special involvement at Wabash: I direct the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program, and serve as faculty adviser to the Lambda Chis.
Favorite part of Wabash: Students who care enough to get upset about stupidity, injustice and apathy.
Favorite place on the campus: The walkway from Trippet to the mall. Every time I walk up that sidewalk and enter campus, I’m 18 again, for good or ill.
Favorite food: I vowed only to eat it once, and I have. It was the favorite food of soul singer Luther Vandross, who called it the Luther Burger. It’s a double cheeseburger piled with bacon, served not on a bun but between two Krispy Kreme donuts. Vandross died at 54 of a heart attack.
Something most people don’t know about you: Like half the world, I’m a below-average driver.