Equipping Tyndale students to make a difference
Dr. Anthony Hutchinson is using his social work experiences and expertise to teach and prepare his university students for careers in this field. Outside of his job as Assistant Professor of Human Services at Tyndale University College, Dr. Hutchinson is a national street gang expert for the Superior Court of Justice, a successful licensed psycho-social clinician and clinical epidemiologist, and a consulting clinical director to Region of Peel Children’s Aid. When asked why he chooses to teach university students on top of his social work career, Dr. Hutchinson says it comes from the need for more positive role models in our society.
Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Dr. Hutchinson had a difficult childhood, experiencing abuse, illiteracy and youth gang involvement. It was the support of kind youth workers and Christian high school teachers that helped him overcome these adversities. Those Christian teachers showed him what it meant to be salt and light and now he is equipping university students to do the same.
The Health and Human Services program is preparing students for teacher’s college, social work careers and leadership roles. Over the past year, Dr. Hutchinson has collaborated with other Tyndale professors to introduce two new academic programs. The first is a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration – Health and Human Services, for students who want to oversee health and human services organizations in leadership and management roles. The second is a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Human Services with a minor in Psychology, and Dr. Hutchinson explains that it will allow “graduates to pursue professions where they will be doers.” Dr. Hutchinson is excited for these new programs: “They augment Tyndale’s reputation as a leading-edge university. We’re also building on our partnership with Seneca College to launch students into a broader range of vocational pursuits.”
Dr. Hutchinson remembers the days when he was a young social worker, seeking to be salt and light in the secular world. Now he passes on his experiences and knowledge to his university students. “I want to use the gifts God has given me and put them forward. I’m using my skills within the Christian body to empower and enable my students to go out into the secular world.” That is the calling, he says, “to serve our neighbours.”
For more information about these programs, please visit the program descriptions: