The Eighth Annual Day of Common Learning
The Day of Common Learning is a campus in-service day during which faculty, staff and students have the opportunity to participate in a learning community outside the traditional classrooms. Because of the day's events, all seminars, classes, and labs held before 3 p.m. have been cancelled. All classes and labs after 3 p.m. will be held as usual. Community members are welcome to attend all events.
Transformational Leadership
Ronald C. White, Emeritus Professor of American Religious History at San Francisco Theological Seminary
Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 10 a.m.
Royal Brougham Pavilion
The day will begin on Wednesday, October 14th, with a public keynote address, Transformational Leadership, by Professor Ronald C. White, faculty emeritus of American religious history at San Francisco Theological Seminary.
Ronald C. White, Ph.D., is the author of A. Lincoln: A Biography, a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times bestseller. White is also the author of Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural (2002),a New York Times Notable Book of 2002 and a Washington Post and the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller, and The Eloquent President: A Portrait of Lincoln Through His Words (2005), a Los Angeles Times bestseller and a selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and the History Book Club. He has lectured at the White House and been interviewed on the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. White is a graduate of UCLA, Princeton Theological Seminary, and earned his Ph.D. in Religion and History for Princeton University. He has taught at UCLA, Princeton Theological Seminary, Whitworth University, Colorado College, and served as Dean and Professor of American Religious History at San Francisco Theological Seminary. He is presently an ordained Presbyterian minister, a Fellow at the Huntington Library and Visiting Professor of History at UCLA.
Afternoon Seminars
In the afternoon, the Center for Scholarship and Faculty Development will hold two concurrent one-hour sessions of forums, seminars and panel presentations, led by faculty, staff and students. The first session will be held from 1 p.m. - 1:50 p.m. and the second from 2 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
As a further way of promoting and celebrating learning, ASSP, Student Life, and the Office of Academic Affairs are co-sponsoring a raffle that will pay for one student's winter textbooks, up to a $300 maximum. The raffle is open to graduate and undergraduate students who are not full-time SPU employees. Any student in attendance at an afternoon workshop can pick up and turn in (at each workshop) a raffle ticket.
Lincoln on Education
Christopher Sink, Professor of Education
Demaray Hall 261
In this interactive presentation, Lincoln's views on education will be explored in light of contemporary perspectives. Small group discussion and implications for classroom practice are included.
Lincoln Among the Scientists
Rod Stiling, Associate Professor of History
Otto Miller Hall 127
In the midst of war not going well, Abraham Lincoln interacted with scientific ideas and the American scientific community. This session will consider the intriguing account of Lincoln's midnight signing into law the charter establishing the U. S. National Academy of Science in the closing hours of the last day of the (very lame-duck) 37th Congress, March 3, 1863.
Civil Discourse in a Coarsening Culture
Ronald C. White, Emeritus Professor of American Religious History at San Francisco Theological Seminary
Douglas M. Strong, Professor of the History of Christianity and Dean of the School of Theology
Library Seminar Room
How can Christians listen and speak in an increasingly discordant culture? How can A. Lincoln become a guide fore wisdom and witness?
Lincoln and the Possibilities of Prudential Politics
Bo Lim, Assistant Professor of Old Testament
Caleb Henry, Assistant Professor of Political Science
Demaray Hall 258
Lincoln's conflict with southern apologists is widely known. Less well known is his conflict with anti-slavery leaders. This conflict points towards the difficulties of prudential politics. Even when citizens agree on the desired goal, they may drastically differ on the appropriate tactic. Of course, politics always affects legitimate competing goals. This session will examine why prudential politics is so difficult. What biblical lessons might apply? How did Lincoln handle this difficulty?
The Lincoln/Douglas Debate
Shannon Scott, Assistant Professor of Communication
SPU Debate Team
Demaray Hall 150
The legends about the Lincoln-Douglass Debates are myriad, but how many of us know what actually occurred? Join the SPU Debate Team as they recreate part of the debates that helped propel Lincoln onto the national stage.
Abraham Lincoln: Classical Orator
Owen Ewald, C. May Marston Professor of Classics
William Purcell, Associate Professor of Communication
Bertona 3
This session considers Lincoln in the context of the tradition of classical oratory. In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln reframed recent American history in order to stress the justice of the Union cause. In using history for such ends, Lincoln deployed strategies that had deep roots in Greco-Roman oratory. Professor Ewald will dig up some of these roots and show how similar they are to the Second Inaugural in their handling of history. Cicero says that the perfect, or ideal, orator has three obligations, or offices, to teach, to delight, and to sway, or move: "To prove is the first necessity, to please is charm, to sway is victory." Professor Purcell argues that Lincoln's Cooper Union Address exemplifies the completion of all three duties as he addresses the issue of the founding fathers' original intentions in regard to the regulation of slavery.
Lincoln's Use (and Abuse?) of Presidential Power
Bill Woodward, Professor of History
Bertona 4
Abraham Lincoln was both commended and condemned for his dramatic expansion of the powers of the presidential office. What would you think if a president named Clinton or Bush or Obama tried what Lincoln did? This session asks the audience to judge both Lincoln's actions and parallel instances today with regard to five transforming ways Lincoln wielded presidential power: circumventing a Supreme Court ruling, subordinating the Constitution to the Declaration of independence, ordering arrests of dissidents, masterminding military campaigns from the White House, and confiscating the property of rebels.
Lincoln and the Lilacs
Susan VanZanten, Professor of English and Director of the Center for Scholarship and Faculty Development
Weter Hall 202
A few months after Lincoln's assassination, poet Walt Whitman wrote a haunting elegy commemorating the grief with which Americans struggled following the death of a charismatic and transformational leader. In this session, we will read "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," and examine how Whitman captured both Lincoln's magnificence and American grief. Copies of the poem will be provided.
Examples of Transformational Leaders
Tanya Boyd, Instructor of Management
Denise Daniels, Professor of Management and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies
Randy Franz, Associate Professor of Management
McKenna Hall 118
Using the transactional-transformational leadership model to frame this discussion, we will look at video clips of various leaders and discuss what makes them so inspirational (or not). Do they tap into foundational human needs or spiritual hunger? What aspects of their context make them more likely to be influential? What can we learn from them about our own leadership abilities or potential?
Transformational Leadership: In Practice and in Progress
Owen Sallee, John Perkins Center Coordinator for Global and Urban Involvement
Liz Andes, John Perkins Center Assistant Coordinator for Global and Urban Involvement
Marissa Ukosakul, Urban Involvement Student Coordinator
Michael Richards, SPRINT Student Coordinator
Natalie Clements, Latreia Student Coordinator
Bertona 1
Many Americans reflecting on President Lincoln call to mind a bold, visionary leader whose presidency weathered the Civil War and helped bring about the abolition of slavery. However, this view fails to consider the path Lincoln traveled to this position of leadership: a journey of discovery starting from humble beginnings. In this session we will introduce the John Perkins Center model of student leadership development and share stories of growth and engagement from student leaders currently serving in volunteer programs and at various stages along the leadership development continuum. Following the presentation, participants will be encouraged to reflect on their own growth in leadership and reconciliation
Ode to Joy: Tragedy, Triumph and Transformation in the Life and Music of Beethoven
Wayne Johnson, Professor of Music
E.E. Bach Theatre
The name Ludwig van Beethoven is known by nearly everyone in the Western world and his music is loved by millions. But nothing ever came easy for this great composer - in fact, his whole life was a series of tragedies and struggles. So how did he achieve so much as a leader in the world of music? Did Beethoven's struggles have anything in common with other leaders and high achievers? Can adversity help create qualities of determination, character and transformative leadership?
Transforming Leadership and the Power of Service
Kathy Stetz, Professor of Nursing
Rick Jackson, Assistant Professor of Journalism
Otto Miller Hall 118
The story of physician Paul Farmer and his care for the needy in Haiti and other nations has inspired thousands and challenged assumptions about how best to care for underserved populations around the world. Two faculty members who teach Farmer's story in their respective capstone courses discuss how Farmer's journey offers insight for everyone, inside and outside medicine, on how real leadership arises from service anchored in vocation.
U2 and the Future of Transformational Leadership
Jeff Keuss, Associate Professor of Christian Ministry
Otto Miller Hall 109
"We want our audience to think about their actions and where they are going, to realize the pressures that are on them, but at the same time, not to give up." - "U2: Here Comes the Next Big Thing", Feb 19, 1981, Rolling Stone magazine. Can a rock band change the world? One of the biggest rock acts in music history continues to challenge and provoke the meaning of transformational leadership into the 21st century. This seminar will look at how the Irish rock band U2 has taken a punk rock aesthetic blended with a deep reading of Carmelite spirituality after St. John of the Cross and framed in social ethic of Dorothy Day and Martin Luther King Jr. to provoke leaders of the free world to reconsider everything from immigration policy to debt relief.
From Just Paying the Bills to Intentional Living:
Leadership Transforming the Off-Campus Housing Experience
Matthew Koenig, Associate Director of University Ministries
Student Representatives, Sharpen Ministry Intentional Living Core
Bertona 6
How do we take off-campus living beyond arguments over paying the bills and who does dishes? In this session we'll introduce the demographic changes at SPU which find more and more students commuting, and how groups of students are responding through innovative forms of Christian community, developing a "mission to one another" and a "mission to their neighborhood."
Bringing Out the Best in the People Around You
Paul Yost, Associate Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology
McKenna 117
The Power of Lincoln, Gandhi, Mother Theresa and other transformational leaders was not their charisma, but their ability to bring out the best in other people. Over two thousand years ago, Lao-Tzu is credited with offering some simple advice to the leaders of his day, "Of the best leaders, when their work is done, their people will say, 'We did it ourselves.'" In this session, we'll explore how you can be a catalyst of change wherever you are, and how in God's upside down world, He's just as likely to use your weaknesses as your strengths to change the world.
Transforming Self to Transform Others: Lessons from the Prodigal Father
Margaret Diddams, Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology,
McKenna Hall 111
The most effective transformational leaders are those who can envision change in others because they have experienced deep change in themselves. By focusing on the Father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, this presentation will walk through the practices necessary to become a transformational leader and the unique types of changes that transformational leaders are most likely to make possible.