As this semester comes to a close, so too will Associate Professor of Politics Adam Carrington’s time at Hillsdale.

Carrington has accepted a position as an associate professor at his alma mater, Ashland University in Ohio. The position includes a joint appointment as co-director and chaplain at the John M. Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs.

Carrington began his teaching job at Hillsdale in fall of 2014 right after getting his Ph.D. at Baylor University. 

“Leaving here is going to be really hard,” Carrington said. “We are not leaving, my family and I, because we’re frustrated or angry or don’t like it here. We have really loved our time here. It really was a question of where we felt called to live out our vocation.”

Carrington said he loves the work that Hillsdale has done.

“There are amazing things going on here that I’m proud and happy I’ve been a part of,” Carrington said. “If I had stayed, I would have been continuing to be a part of those good things. But there is a chance to go back to my alma mater and try to be part of building something— and that is certainly attractive.”

Carrington said he hopes he can resonate with the many first generation college students who are like he was in college.  

“I’m hoping that this can be an avenue through which I introduce them to the fact that it is  wonderful and exciting to get to study these things in a way that I didn’t appreciate till I got to college.”

At Ashland, Carrington said he expects to continue to study and teach in his area of expertise: American political institutions and constitutional law. With his new position, Carrington said he will also have the opportunity to start and direct a law and society program.

“This would be very much liberal arts focused,” Carrington said. “It’s an interdisciplinary major looking to prepare students for the study and the practice of law, whether that be law enforcement, lawyers, judges, or other things like that.”

He will also oversee a minor called “Faith and Society,” in which he will study and teach the intersection of political theology and political philosophy. 

Senior politics major Caleb Sampson has taken three classes with Carrington and said he has enjoyed seeing him and his family at church on Sundays. 

“I am so excited for Dr. Carrington as he begins this new chapter of life,” Sampson said. “From what I’ve heard, he has the opportunity to create a truly special academic environment at Ashland—one that looks similar to Hillsdale and advances the same values that we do. More than anything, though, I’m grateful for his kindness and mentorship over the past two years.” 

Associate Professor of Politics Khalil Habib said he has had great memories working with Carrington over the years.

“I am sad to see Dr. Carrington leave Hillsdale College,” Habib said, “but I know that it is a great opportunity for him and his family to return to their roots and to be closer to family.”

Carrington said he greatly appreciates what he has learned as a professor at Hillsdale.

“Teaching and learning really requires that you truly care about and love, not just the material, but the people you’re learning and studying with,” he said. “Unless you start from that perspective, it doesn’t really matter how much you know if you don’t first love.” 

Carrington said the same love of the subject that drives professors also drives the students.

“I have learned that myself, but I’ve also seen it in other faculty, I’ve seen it in the students. The relational leads to the educational,” Carrington said. “Never shortchange that or second guess that or think that isn’t an essential thing. If you can’t laugh and cry together, then that puts a limit on how much you can learn together.”