President's Perspective

Who We Are: The College as a Learning Community

Thesis:  A college is a community of learners, made up of students, faculty, staff, and alumni/friends, who share a common care for the formation of people toward particular ends – preparing students to explore the world and imagine their place in the world.

• John Tagg, The Learning Paradigm College, pp.119-127 (available through the Corriher-Linn-Black Library)
• 2008 White Paper on Institutional Philosophy
• Further reading: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (available through the Corriher-Linn-Black Library)

Join President Nelson and others on September 6th from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in Tom Smith Auditorium to further discuss this topic.

Who Each of Us Is: The Moral Imagination

Thesis:  One of our particular ends is the formation of people, which we describe with the language of ‘vocation,’ which includes the cultivation of imagination, virtue, and purpose.

• 2022 Convocation Address
• 2017 Mass Art Inaugural Address
• 2017 On the Importance of the Arts, interview with Megna Chakrabarti (15 min) 
• 2013 “With Imagination: Reading the Scriptures By Faith, For Faith,” delivered at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Winston Salem
• Further reading: Alisdair MacIntyre, After Virtue (available through the Corriher-Linn-Black Library)

Join President Nelson and others on  September 21 from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. in Peeler Crystal Lounge in the Robertson College-Community Center to further discuss this topic.

Who We Will Be: A Twenty-First Century Campus

Thesis:  The best colleges guide students to learn how to think, and to cultivate their innate powers of imagination and creativity, and to apply their learning for the common good.

• Joseph E. Aoun, Robot-Proof (available through the Corriher-Linn-Black Library)

Join President Nelson and others from across campus on October 4 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon in Hedrick Little Theatre, Robertson College-Community Center to further discuss this topic.

How We'll Get There: On Leadership

Thesis:  Leadership is the stewardship of people, place, and resources, guiding us to live and work together in particular ways, including mutual respect and love for one another.

• 2022 “On the Presidency”
• HBR, “What Great Listeners Actually Do”
• HBR, “Why Curiosity Matters”
• Lea Winerman, “The Seductive Power of Curiosity”
• Further reading: Robert Kegan and Lize Laskow Lahey, An Everyone Culture (available through the Corriher-Linn-Black Library)
• Further reading: Stephanie Vozza, “Six Habits Of People Who Know How To Bring Out The Best In Others”

Join President Nelson and others from across campus on October 25 from 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. in Peeler Crystal Lounge, Robertson College-Community Center to further discuss this topic.

How We'll Get There: A More Excellent Way

Thesis:  We pursue the college’s mission grounded in love, rooted in our dependence upon and care for one another, and we do so in a manner that is continually increasing in excellence. 

• 1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:13
• Mark 12:28-31

Join President Nelson and others from across campus on December 1 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon in Hedrick Little Theatre, Robertson College-Community Center to further discuss this topic.